Football has been described as many things. A multi-layered strategic contest in which smaller tactical games play themselves out across the pitch; warfare on a standardised battlefield, kit a replacement for military uniform, teams and supporters loyal to flag, insignia and anthem, managers assigning duties as would a general with his troops, military language synonymous with sporting vernacular; tribalism, cult, myth and religion, indoctrination into rites sacred or profane, fan(atics) singing songs in veneration of idols and gods past and present, superstitious rituals practised and performed to exacting standards day after day, week after week. It can be said also that it is a game of moments. An unforced, misplaced pass, an ill-timed tackle, a failed attempt to punch clear, a substitution and a tactical switch, a swing in momentum, these moments collectively may come to define the match, but singularly – and sometimes, admittedly, unfairly – equally they may come to define a player.
The Samurai Blue began their London 2012 Group D match against Morocco almost unchanged from the side which defeated Spain, Gotoku Sakai replacing the injured Hiroki Sakai at right-back, and again they won by a single goal as they qualified for the last eight of the competition with a game spare, but here the similarities ended as Japan were unable to re-produce the level of performance which led to such a memorable result in Round One. Takashi Sekizuka’s side were second-best for a significant period of this contest to an Atlas Lions team in which Zakaria Labyad, Abdelaziz Barrada and Nordin Amrabat excelled, and they were fortunate to claim victory as only a combination of poor finishing, Shuichi Gonda’s commanding performance in goal and some last-ditch defending prevented Morocco from leaving Newcastle with at least a draw.
Round 1 in Group D of the Men’s Olympic football tournament could barely have produced a more favourable outcome for Japan, as the Samurai Blue deservedly beat a heavily favoured Spain 1-0. Takashi Sekizuka’s men made history in the process with their first victory against Spain at any level of competition, while Honduras and Morocco produced a highly entertaining 2-2 draw to leave Japan at the top of the standings, with the Atlas Lions guaranteed to be missing first-choice Lens defender Zakarya Bergdich for their encounter with Japan at St James’ Park on 29 July after he was sent off.
In a tight, tactically interesting affair light on entertainment, Nagoya Grampus limited their own attacking instincts and shackled Vegalta Sendai to record their first goalless draw of the 2012 campaign at the Toyota Stadium, and prevented Makoto Teguramori’s men from scoring for only the third time this season.
Japan Under-23 national team player Kensuke Nagai continued his excellent form of late, scoring his eighth goal in sixteen J.League appearances and his sixth in four as his late equaliser at the Nissan Stadium gave Nagoya Grampus a share of the points against Yokohama F-Marinos. Having contributed more than a third of Grampus’s goals in Division 1 this season, his presence could be sorely missed during the London 2012 campaign, the 23-year old guaranteed to be absent for ties with Consadole Sapporo and Vissel Kobe, and depending on the progress of the Under-23 Samurai Blue, may also be unavailable for the 11 August fixture with Shimizu S-Pulse.
Yoichiro Kakitani deservedly equalised in the first minute of stoppage time to save Hiroshi Kiyotake from the least enjoyable of departures. With former Cerezo great and recent Manchester United signing Shinji Kagawa an interested observer at the Nagai Stadium, Kiyotake left the field in the 81st minute to rapturous applause, frustrated at having been unable to help his teammates level the scores. Cerezo had been the match of an Urawa Red Diamonds team which began the day eleven places ahead, but it was a flurry of late substitutions from Sérgio Soares which finally produced the merited equitable outcome in the game’s final minutes, most particularly that of Branquinho who replaced the FC Nuremberg-bound midfielder in the 81st minute.
Two defensive lapses either side of the half-time break handed Jubilo Iwata their second consecutive defeat, goals from Jungo Fujimoto and Kensuke Nagai giving a competent but uninspiring Nagoya Grampus team the three points, and delivering a jolt to any championship pretensions the Shizuoka Prefecture side may have. Compounding Jubilo’s difficulties was the early enforced substitution of goalkeeper Naoki Hatta, damaging a finger after colliding with teammate Yuichi Komano inside seven minutes, and after lengthy treatment for what appeared to be either a dislocation or break, saw him replaced by Akihiko Takeshige, whose contribution would prove critical to the outcome of this contest.
Vegalta Sendai maintained their grip on J.League Division 1 with victory at the Yurtec Stadium, aided by an inept Consadole Sapporo team whom they dominated across the ninety minutes, 24 shots and 13 corners doing little justice to the scale of their superiority. Consa forward Hideo Oshima may have given the guests a surprise lead in the first-half as he shot wide of Takuto Hayashi’s post from close range, but otherwise it was his opposite number Tetsu Sugiyama who was much the busier of the two goalkeepers, making a fine save from Naoki Sugai as he palmed the right-back’s fierce drive over his crossbar before diving to push Wilson’s left-footed half-volley behind for a corner. The first goal arrived late into stoppage time in the opening period, Kazunari Okayama unable to stay on his feet to leave Wilson to cross, his fellow forward Atsushi Yanagisawa seemingly diverting the ball wide until Masaki Yamamoto’s miscontrol sent the ball spinning into the bottom right corner. There was no question over whether Yanagisawa should be credited for Vegalta’s second, a fine volley two minutes from the restart completing a move in which Shingo Tomita and Yoskiaki Ota were involved.
(Highlights of all the goals from the KINCHO Stadium as Sanfrecce Hiroshima cantered to a 4-1 win against Cerezo Osaka, and remained in touch with league leaders Vegalta Sendai)
A cynical foul from the unexpected quarter of Toshihiro Aoyama forced Hiroshi Kiyotake to limp from the pitch with a quarter of an hour of this match to play, and depending upon the severity of the injury sustained may have played his last of what would otherwise have been his penultimate J.League appearance at the KINCHO Stadium. Of equal, if not greater concern to manager Sérgio Soares is how to replace the young midfielder at a time in which Cerezo look likely to be drawn into the relegation fight which has already engulfed their city rivals Gamba. Kiyotake was his side’s outstanding player as he displayed his full repertoire of two-footed passing in a performance brimming with wit and invention, and had Kempes not once again flattered to deceive in attack, Kiyotake, Kim Bo-Kyung and Yoichiro Kakitani could each have recorded assists and provided a more respectable outcome to this encounter.
(Highlights of all the goals from Japan’s 6-0 demolition of Jordan, a result which puts the Samurai Blue five points clear of the next-placed side in Group B)
A superb display from Japan resulted in a resounding 6-0 victory over Jordan in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Saitama Stadium, Keisuke Honda once more dominating the headlines with a hat-trick but Yasuhito Endo providing an exhibition of the array of passing at his disposal. The Samurai Blue head Group B at the end of Matchday Two following their first competitive win against their guests in normal time, and they could not have hoped for a better outcome as results elsewhere gave them a five point cushion in advance of their fixture against Australia on Tuesday.
In a match that Japan dominated for all but the opening five minutes of the second period, and in which Eiji Kawashima was not called upon until the 41st minute, even in the face of the final scoreline it would be no exaggeration to suggest that goalkeeper and captain Amer Shafia was one of the more able players in an otherwise desperately poor Jordan team. Shafia stood strong in the face of an opening barrage from the home side, a fine save preventing Shinji Okazaki from opening the scoring with a bicycle kick after five minutes following a sublime lofted pass from Makoto Hasebe, then punching clear a deliberate attempt at scoring direct from a corner by Endo, before diving at full-stretch to push a fierce Honda drive behind for a corner.
With minimal support offered to Shafia by his Al-Nashima teammates, however, and in particular the bewildering movement and passing fluency of Japan’s advanced players a level beyond Jordan’s defensive capabilities, resistance could only be sustained until the 18th minute. Honda swung over a corner from the right towards the back post, and rising above Saeed Murjan, Ryoichi Maeda encountered some good fortune as the ball deflected off his shoulder and into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Three minutes later Honda scored his first of the day, Endo delivering a stunning first-time angled ball into his path forty yards from goal having spotted the CSKA Moscow midfielder’s run, and he skipped across Anas Bani Yaseen before slotting calmly to the right of Shafia for Japan’s second.
Moments of ill-discipline were the least Jordan could afford in trying to cope with such an onslaught, but two bookings in as many minutes saw their numbers reduced to ten with only 27 minutes played. Abdallah Deeb had no cause for complaint, shown his first yellow card for pulling back the effervescent Maeda after nimble footwork had taken him past the midfielder, and then a raised arm across the face of Hasebe as they contested an aerial ball giving South Korean referee Kim Dong-Jin no choice other than to book Deeb for a second time and confirm the dismissal.
Jordan were in disarray, and it came as litttle surprise when goals three and four arrived before half-time. Endo, who combined superbly with Okazaki on a number of occasions, spotted the VfB Stuttgart player alone in space in the right channel, Basem Fat’hi having drifted in-field. Although the defender was able to recover to block Okazaki’s left-footed shot, the ball spun across the six yard box, and Honda was on hand to steer home having continued his run beyond Baha’ Abdul-Rahman at the back post.
Ten minutes before half-time Shinji Kagawa had his reward for his superlative efforts in closing down the Jordanian midfield and the pressing game for which he is renowned. Defending close to his own goalline, Kagawa challenged Ahmed Hayel to win a throw-in for his side. Advaning quickly downfield, Honda carved a ball out to the right-hand side which Hasebe did well to pull back across the face of goal. Although Maeda’s header was half-cleared to the edge of the penalty area via a Shafiah fist, Atsuto Uchida unselfishly rolled the ball across the 18 yard line for the Manchester United-bound forward to fire through the legs of the hapless Khalil Bani Attiah and into the bottom left corner.
As Dong-Jin signalled for the interval, the question was how many more would be added to the scoreline, the visitors not having recorded a single shot in the first 45 minutes, but Japan first had to withstand a spirited start to the second-half as Saeed Murjan, Hayel and Odai Al-Saify all gave some pause for concern and the home side played well within themselves. Nonetheless, any hopes Jordan may have had of making the scoreline more respectable were soon snuffed out, as Maeda’s skill drew a foul from Bani Attiah in the penalty area, and Honda stepped up to seal his hat-trick from the spot, Shafia diving the wrong way.
Substituted to rapturous applause shortly after, Honda took his place on the bench as Kengo Nakamura entered the fray, and Yasuyuki Konno was then withdrawn for Masahiko Inoha with a view to what should be Japan’s most difficult AFC Fourth Round qualification game next week. The Samurai Blue came close to adding to their total on several occasions, Endo once more trying to score directly from a corner, while first Yuzo Kurihara from a header and then Inoha with a low shot saw their efforts cleared off the goalline by Abdul-Rahman. Kagawa caught the outside of the right upright with an attempt from distance late on, and with time running out Kurihara finally put away the sixth, Yuto Nagatomo’s cross to the back post inviting the header from the substitute defender.
Any anxiety for Japan as they head to Brisbane will merely come in the form of centre-back Maya Yoshida, outstanding in partnership with Yasuyuki Konno and whose involvement in the match came to an early end having jarred his leg in a challenge with Abdul-Rahman. Early prognosis suggests damage to knee ligaments, and with Alberto Zaccheroni having confirmed he will play no part in the match against the Socceroos, he has flown back to Japan for treatment. Otherwise the Samurai Blue look in excellent shape and they should be confident of taking a point or more on 12 June, and then await the visit of Iraq in September perhaps already on the brink of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
