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Gamba Osaka vs Kyoto Sanga 30 July 2022 Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Kyoto Sanga
2022 J1 Season Round 23
Saturday 30 July 2022
Panasonic Stadium Suita
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

This Saturday marks the first of 12 remaining ‘cup ties’ for Gamba as they bid to save themselves from an inglorious drop down to the second tier. Covid-ravaged opponents Kyoto would appear to be made-to-order for Tomohiro Katanosaka’s beleaguered troops, but as we all know too well, if it’s predictability you’re after then Japanese football probably isn’t for you. The Nerazzurri last saw league action a fortnight ago in a gut-wrenching 2-1 home loss to prefectural rivals Cerezo, a game which marked the second time this year the Cherry Blossoms have come from behind to defeat their more well-decorated northern neighbours. Kyoto, on the other hand, earned a valuable point against fellow purple kit-wearers Hiroshima. Veteran forward Genki Omae was on hand to head home after Sanfrecce ‘keeper Keisuke Osako had misjudged a rather innocuous looking cross and that strike cancelled out Tsukasa Morishima’s opener for the visitors. The Royals did ride their luck though, when the referee chose not to overturn his decision of no penalty for Takuya Ogiwara’s apparent trip on Tomoya Fujii, despite being summoned over to the VAR booth for a second look. Since the round 22 fixtures took place there has been a 2 week hiatus in league action during which time Gamba have fitted in a glamour friendly against a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side while Sanga have been laid low with Coronavirus, 11 players and 7 staff members being affected which led to team activities being halted from July 18th-24th. A home win here could possibly see the Ao to Kuro ease out of the bottom 3 and release some of the pressure that’s steadily been building around Katanosaka following a run of 1 win in 9 J1 matches. Meanwhile for Kyoto kantoku Cho Kwi-jae, after the tumultuous couple of weeks his side have endured, any positive result will surely suffice.

Tale of the Tape



Jean Patric’s last gasp winner in the Osaka Derby really was a dagger into the hearts of the Gamba-nation and was eerily reminiscent of Takuma Nishimura’s strike to earn Sendai a 3-2 victory at Panasonic Stadium last year and to a lesser extent Shoma Doi’s run and finish for Kashima in Ibaraki 12 months ago. Critics of Tomohiro Katanosaka will say that he’s done nothing to fix the Nerazzurri’s susceptibility to counter attacks during his tenure, and they’d have a point. Late fallaways in games have also hurt the Ao to Kuro badly, particularly during their hectic summer run. They’ve taken the lead in each of their past 4 home J1 fixtures against Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Urawa Reds and Cerezo, but have emerged victorious on just one occasion. Gamba got a second soon after their opener against Sanfrecce and that killed the game off, had they bagged football’s most important goal, the one that takes the score from 1-0 to 2-0, against Urawa or Cerezo then neither of those two would have come back in my opinion, though you could argue that Marinos may have been able to eke out a draw. The Nerazzurri and their supporters must be hoping the two week break in league fixtures brings with it a change of luck in the wake of Kohei Okuno’s 7th minute ordering off versus Kawasaki and Jean Patric’s 0.05xG winner for the pink half of Osaka, incidents that are very much the kind of things that happen to teams in trouble. Looking in a more positive direction for a moment, Gamba answered my criticism over poor set-plays by netting their first goal from a corner all year against Cerezo. Ryuya Nishio and whoever is responsible for setting up the Cherry Blossoms’ zonal marking system certainly won’t want to see either Kwon Kyung-won’s initial effort which deflected off the bar or his powerful header from the resulting Hideki Ishige’s corner that sent the Curva Nord faithful into raptures, but this does neatly lead on to my point about the South Korean international’s effectiveness. During the former Seongnam stopper’s 876 minutes on the field in J1 this season, Gamba have conceded just 10 times (once every 87.6 minutes), but that number shoots up to a goal every 52.6 minutes when he’s not playing. The Nerazzurri simply can’t afford to lose him to injury again if they want to maintain their status as a J1 club in 2023. Kwon put in a generally solid display in the Osaka Derby, he went off with cramp prior to Cerezo’s late winner, however, he and Genta Miura both pushed up to play offside while Keisuke Kurokawa and Shota Fukuoka stayed back allowing Hiroto Yamada to slip through for the Cherry Blossoms’ equaliser. This conceded goal was disappointing from a Gamba perspective for a number of reasons, not least of which was the fact that it was nearly a carbon copy of Yokohama F. Marinos’ winner a few weeks back with the only difference being, on that occasion Hiroki Fujiharu was the sole culprit. This situation has come about due to the constant tinkering between a back 3 and back 4, something I’ve highlighted time and again in this blog. Vissel Kobe used to irritate me by doing that sort of thing and Yuji Ono’s opener for Gamba at the Noevir Stadium in 2020 should be sought out on YouTube if you’re looking for further evidence of the perils of messing around with your defensive shape on an almost weekly basis. All 4 goalkeepers used by Gamba this season have had a tough time trying to mop up the mess left in front of them and I’ve included a table below that compares some key stats between senior custodians Masaaki Higashiguchi and Jun Ichimori, I won’t say too much about it, I’d prefer to let you draw your own conclusions. At the moment, going forward things aren’t much better from a blue and black perspective. After 22 league games, the Nerazzurri’s joint top scorers are midfielders Dawhan and Kosuke Onose with just 3 goals apiece while Hideki Ishige and Leandro Pereira are the leading assist makers with 2 (Ishige has 2 in the last 2 home games). At present Hiroto Yamami’s 2.98 shots per 90 minutes is the highest figure among everyone at the club who has played 90 minutes or more, Musashi Suzuki, on debut, managed 3 attempts against Cerezo (4 if you include his wild shank in the first half that was incorrectly ruled offside) which is definitely a positive sign. Yamami was rested for the Osaka Derby with the double arrival of Suzuki and Ryotaro Meshino allowing him to take a night off following half a year of leading the Gamba attack. His 25 last passes is the best at the club, while his 32 shots on goal ties with Kosuke Onose as the top effort from a Gamba attacker.




Kyoto kantoku Cho Kwi-jae appears to strongly consider what he expects opponents to do prior to deciding his tactics and selecting his starting eleven for each match. However, with that said, up until their last outing at home to Sanfrecce, Kyoto had always kicked off in a 4-1-2-3 system (4-3-3 if you prefer) before attempting to match their highly-talented visitors from Hiroshima by lining up in a 3-4-2-1 shape. With Gamba constantly shifting between a back 3 and back 4 (much to the chagrin of me and many others), I’d bank on Cho reverting to the system he knows best in the face of such uncertainty, with only the personnel to fit the attacking midfield and wing roles up for debate (this sentence was written prior to news of Kyoto’s Covid outbreak reaching me, but once that passes it’ll still ring true, so I’ve left it in here). In a similar vein to Cho’s previous side, Shonan, Kyoto, as one of the smaller fish in the J1 pond, must make up for the absence of premium quality in their ranks with sheer grit and determination, and to that end they are currently averaging 35.7 more sprints per game than Gamba. Right-back Kosuke Shirai (a backup for most of their 2021 promotion campaign) leads the way with 606, which is a staggering 234 more than his nearest team-mate (perhaps not surprisingly left-back Takuya Ogiwara). Sanga’s xG for stats are generally on par in terms of number of goals scored, a phenomenon I’m tempted to christen, ‘the Utaka effect,’ but at the other end of the pitch they have massively overperformed defensively, which must be a worry for their coaching staff and fans alike. Taking all 22 fixtures into account, Sanga have conceded 7 times fewer than expected and a big chunk of that number (4.62) comes solely from opponents’ squandered opportunities in Royals’ away games. Should some of those chickens come home to roost on Saturday night then Gamba will be the gleeful recipients of a much needed change in fortunes. Any discussion about Kyoto wouldn’t be complete without mention of the man, the myth, the legend himself, Mr. Peter Utaka. I’m a mere 4 months younger than the 38 year-old goal machine and I get tired just watching games during the Japanese summer, yet Utaka put in three 90 minute appearances in the space of a week earlier this month, his stamina and endurance are frankly staggering. Currently lying 2nd in the J1 Golden Boot race, one strike behind man-of-the-moment Léo Ceará (Marinos) and the recently departed for Europe, Ayase Ueda (Kashima), it would be a fantastic story if he were to finish the campaign as top scorer (he was joint top in 2016). However, the downside to all of this is that perhaps the Royals depend on him a bit too much and any loss of form or fitness could bite them badly. His tally of 9 makes up 42.9% of Sanga’s yearly total, a percentage that sat at 35.6 last year, so if there is any spare cash floating around in Kameoka this summer then it might be wise to use it on a Utaka insurance policy. Away from the age defying veteran in attack, there are a plethora of young talents in this Kyoto squad and the two I’d briefly like to shine a light on are, holding midfielder Sota Kawasaki and centre-back / makeshift full-back Shogo Asada. Kawasaki is arguably the most talked about player in the team not called Utaka and despite a couple of niggling injuries he still sits in the top 10 in the division for tackles (51, 9th) and interceptions (6, 10th) which gives you a flavour of the defensive side of his game, though he is more than adept at going forward and linking up with his front 3, one goal plus 2 assists this campaign attest to that. The 27 fouls he’s given away in 17 appearances suggest plenty of youthful enthusiasm that I’m sure will be tamed over the coming years. Long term Twitter followers of mine will know I picked Shogo Asada out as a person of interest during Kyoto’s time in J2 and he’s made the step up with relative ease. He’s ranked 7th in the top flight for aerial battles won (61) and 9th for blocks made (53). As pointed out above, he started the season at left-back, before switching to his best position of centre-back, and it’s that spell out wide that likely accounts for his club leading 208.7 km distance covered as well as 363 sprints (that sees him rank 3rd behind his aforementioned team-mates Shirai and Ogiwara).



First Match Recap

April’s draw at Sanga Stadium by Kyocera saw both Kyoto and Gamba leaving with a point, but probably feeling like they could, and should, have gotten more. Fresh from an impressive 3-1 home win over Nagoya the previous weekend, the Nerazzurri were the brighter of the two teams early doors, but couldn’t make their dominance pay and were punished by Sanga talisman Peter Utaka right at the end of the first-half. They needn’t have worried too much though, as the home team’s lead lasted just 13 minutes before Dawhan’s powerful low volley squared things up. It was the Brazilian’s first strike for his new club and it went on to win J1’s April Goal of the Month Competition. Youngsters Isa Sakamoto and Jiro Nakamura were introduced during the second period, and Sakamoto almost had a dream J1 debut as his lovely weighted pass put Kosuke Onose clean through on Naoto Kamifukumoto’s goal, however, with the Sanga ‘keeper bearing down on him Onose poked the ball just wide. After that the home side rallied and the Ao to Kuro were left holding on for dear life during a final ten minute siege that culminated with substitute Mendes firing off target with the goal at his mercy in stoppage time. It finished 1-1 and both sides will have a sense of unfinished business as we approach the return fixture.



Gamba Osaka

Gamba went down 6-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in their friendly match played out in sweltering conditions at Panasonic Stadium on Monday night. The visitors sauntered into the break 4-1 up courtesy of goals from Pablo Sarabia, Nuno Mendes, Lionel Messi and a hugely controversial Neymar spot kick. Keisuke Kurokawa grabbed the Nerazzurri’s consolation and potentially alerted European scouts to his abilities with a decent first-half showing while guardian deity Masaaki Higashiguchi played like a man possessed to prevent an even more one-sided outcome. The 38,251 fans in attendance were treated to a generally slower paced second period which began with the home side making 7 changes with 1 ½ eyes on the important match against Kyoto this Saturday. Neymar made it 5-1 on the hour mark before Hiroto Yamami pulled one back from close range 10 minutes later. Substitute Kylian Mbappé (not a bad player to have on the bench, is he?) wrapped up the scoring from penalty spot near the end after being clearly upended by Ryu Takao. I’m recording a Patreon exclusive podcast with Jon Steele this Friday (29 July) where we’ll discuss PSG’s Japan tour in detail, look out for that next week!



It has now been confirmed that 2021/2022 Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt will come to Japan for a short tour in November just prior to the FIFA Men’s World Cup kicking off in Qatar. Makoto Hasebe is a legend at both Frankfurt and Urawa making the Saitama side a natural opponent (on November 16) while Daichi Kamada spent time in Gamba’s youth set-up which may explain why they’ve been chosen above the likes of Cerezo and Vissel for the West Japan leg of the tour. The match against the Nerazzurri will take place at Panasonic Stadium on Saturday 19 November.

A word on attendances – It was interesting to note that in the midst of Japan’s 7th Corona wave the turnout for the Panasonic Stadium leg of the Osaka Derby was just 22,531. This compares with 35,861 back in 2019, the last time it was played under normal circumstances. The Hanshin Derby against Vissel Kobe in Golden Week brought in just under 4,000 more paying spectators and the 26,490 attendance that day is the Nerazzurri’s best Covid-era figure. Unlike previous Osaka Derbies, steps taken by both clubs served to kill off any particularly bad behaviour, much to the disappointment of those who’d have been delighted had there been any hint of crowd trouble.

Transfer Round Up – On 24 July Gamba announced the capture of impressive young Japan U-23 international Rihito Yamamoto from Tokyo Verdy for a reported fee of €700,000. Yamamoto can play either as the anchor in a midfield 3 or in a double-volante system as he did successfully alongside former Verdy team-mate Joel Chima Fujita at the recent AFC Under-23 Cup. To date he has 104 J2 appearance and 3 goals to his name and of the midfielders currently on the books in Suita, his playing style most closely resembles that of Kohei Okuno. There had been strong rumours linking Gen Shoji with a return to his former side Kashima and these grew stronger after Shoji was the featured face on the starting eleven graphic for the game with Paris Saint-Germain as well as being the only Gamba player to go the full 90 against the French giants. However, the following day (26 July) speculation began to mount over an Antlers move for Vissel Kobe’s versatile defender Leo Osaki which, if true, would likely render any Shoji deal dead in the water. Leandro Pereira’s future in Suita remains up for debate with Júbilo Iwata suggested as a possible destination. Recalled to the enlarged 23 man matchday squad on Monday, Pereira cut a disinterested figure in the pre-game warm up, but gave a decent account of himself after replacing Musashi Suzuki at half-time. Other than that there’s not a whole lot to report other than Sports Hochi journalists Kanagawa and Uchida held a Twitter Spaces chat on Tuesday (26 July) and it was revealed there that Gamba are still pursuing new targets, but talks are not far enough advanced to publish the names of the players involved.

Random application of how much time to add on at the end of a game rant no. 328 – I’ve had a week off so I went back and did the maths, Jean Patric’s Osaka Derby winner came with 89:45 on the clock, it was followed by 1 minute 25 seconds of Cerezo celebrating and then making a time wasting substitution, absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. However, referee Ryuji Sato only added on a whopping 5 seconds to the initially awarded 5 minutes to make up for the break in play. Again, just as in the 1-0 loss to Shonan, there’s little doubt in my mind that Gamba would still have failed to score even if the extra time was played out, so my point is merely that I’d just rather we got a fairer application of the rules.

Any Gamba fans waking up to an Osaka Derby induced bout of nausea on Sunday 17 July were given some light relief in the shape of the club’s Under 18’s romping past Cerezo 3-0 in their Prince Takamado Cup West Division clash. A double from high school second-grader Renko Hikasa after Harumi Minamino’s early opener sent the Ao to Kuro on their way to only a second win of the campaign. After being struck down with Covid issues earlier in the year, Gamba Youth, like their senior counterparts face an uphill battle to remain in their division, but this result will give them a huge boost. Also of note was the presence in the matchday squad of Futa Endo, son of Yasuhito, as well as Haruta Yamaguchi, son of current Shonan boss Satoshi.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

DF Kwon Kyung-won – Played 180 minutes for South Korea during the EAFF Cup including the whole game in the 3-0 loss to Japan on Wednesday. He has been struggling with cramp in recent outings and may not be risked as a result.

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, shown jogging on the club’s official YouTube channel on 8 July, potentially back in August

MF Rihito Yamamoto – It was announced today (28 July) that he had fractured his foot in a league match against FC Ryukyu at the beginning of July. He was seen walking unaided at the PSG game so it can’t be too serious and the club have said it will take about a month for him to recover.

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, shown jogging with Fukuda on the club’s official YouTube channel so the problem may not be as bad as first feared

FW Isa Sakamoto – Sat out the match with PSG on Monday, presumably with a minor injury

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the majority of the season

Dawhan, Shu Kurata and Kosuke Onose are all just a single yellow card away from the one game suspension threshold of 4

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Kyoto Sanga

After what the majority of observers labelled a mediocre winter transfer window, it’s fair to say that not a whole lot was expected from Kyoto prior to the commencement of the 2022 campaign, mere survival in their first year back in Japan’s top flight since 2010 would surely be treated as a success, many thought. However, as newly promoted sides tend to do, they made a bright start to life in J1, earning 4 wins and picking up 15 points from their opening 10 fixtures. Though, from that point onwards they’ve found things pretty tough, going on a run of 2 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses across their subsequent 12 outings in which they failed to score 5 times and kept just a solitary clean sheet. With only 12 matchdays remaining, Kyoto really need a spark from somewhere to lift them out of their present rut or they’re soon going to find themselves mired in the relegation dogfight. It has to be said that their trip to Júbilo Iwata in round 34 already has all the hallmarks of a rather tasty bout filled with last day drama. To put a more positive spin on proceedings, Cho is an excellent manager to have in this kind of situation, he’s been there before with Shonan and he knows what he’s doing. I’ve no doubt he’ll have his players organised, motivated and ready to do battle until the last minute of the last game of the season. Sitting 4 points above Gamba, who presently occupy the promotion / relegation playoff spot, the match situation is clear, the Nerazzurri need a win, Sanga only really require to avoid defeat. Will Cho stick or twist? I’d say he’ll follow the template of former club Shonan, who’ve already notched up 1-0 home and away victories over the Ao to Kuro thanks to a strategy aimed at frustrating Gamba early doors and knocking them out of their stride before striking decisively on the break. Perhaps Genki Omae is the man for that decisive strike, he certainly was in their previous match against Hiroshima, and he was one of 11 new additions prior to the start of the season. However, almost 2/3 of the way through the campaign I’d argue that only really, ‘keeper Naoto Kamifukumoto has equalled or exceeded expectations. Rikito Inoue, someone who I picked out in my Scouting J2 article last autumn can’t seem to dislodge Hisashi Appiah Tawiah from the starting centre-back role for reasons known only to Cho. Appiah Tawiah has picked up 7 yellow cards in 17 J1 appearances in 2022 and now has a disciplinary record of 16 cautions and 1 red in 52 J1 outings, the Japanese Richardson? Elsewhere, Daiki Kaneko and Kiwi ‘keeper Michael Woud are maybe the only additions who haven’t quite done as well as I thought they might, which is to say, I didn’t think much of their winter business was that great in the first place. I feel like I’m being a bit negative and Kyoto’s a lovely place, especially Arashiyama, a few train stops down the track from Sanga’s wonderful new stadium, so let’s finish this section on something of a high note by name-dropping a couple of promising youngsters. Wingers Fuki Yamada (a Japan U-23 representative) and 19 year-old Keita Nakano offer a glimpse into a bright future for the Royals, but for the next 3 ½ months at least, it’s shaping up to be squeaky bum time in Kameoka.

Team News

**Note – 11 players were struck down with Covid and club activities were shut down from 18-24 July so basically expect the unexpected from Kyoto. As we don’t know who was and wasn’t infected I’ve just gone for their strongest eleven, but that’s likely to differ a fair bit from their actual starting lineup on Saturday night.**

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

MF Alan Carius – Joined the club on a permanent deal from Saudi Arabian side Al-Adalah on Tuesday (26 July), but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to feature on Saturday.

MF Naoto Misawa – Achilles tendon rupture similar to Usami, likely to miss the majority of the season

MF Fuki Yamada – Went off in 2nd half of Emperor’s Cup win away to Tochigi SC on 13 July and was missing from the matchday squad for the 1-1 draw with Hiroshima on 17 July

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

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Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka 16 July 2022 Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Cerezo Osaka
2022 J1 Season Round 22
Saturday 16 July 2022
Panasonic Stadium Suita
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

The final round of J1 fixtures before the two-week break to make way for the EAFF Cup sees Gamba host Cerezo in a vitally important Osaka Derby at Panasonic Stadium. Both sides are involved in battles at opposite ends of the table making the outcome of this particular contest of huge interest to fans of a number of clubs, not least the passionate supporters in Osaka. With that said, tempers have boiled over at times in the 3 previous meetings between the Nerazzurri and the Cherry Blossoms this year, so let’s hope everyone is on their best behaviour for this clash. Gamba were thrashed 4-0 away at defending champions Kawasaki last Saturday after playing 83 minutes with 10 men due to Kohei Okuno’s VAR assisted red card. Frontale were 4 up at the interval and then Masaaki Higashiguchi bailed the Nerazzurri out on numerous occasions in the second-half meaning that the Ao to Kuro were spared any further indignity. Cerezo raced into a 2-0 lead at home to league leaders Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday night thanks to quality strikes from Mutsuki Kato and Adam Taggart. However, Marinos underlined their title credentials with a dramatic late fightback courtesy of a Léo Ceará brace. His first came from the penalty spot after an incident which saw Ryosuke Yamanaka ordered off for a DOGSO offence, and the Brazilian completed the fightback with a beautiful glancing header from Tomoki Iwata’s cross in the 92nd minute. Gamba lie just 1 place and a solitary point above the promotion / relegation playoff spot and indeed could find themselves bottom of the pile after this weekend’s action should results conspire against them. Things are far more rosy in Cerezo’s garden with yet another top 4 finish seemingly possible. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Tomohiro Katanosaka and his Gamba side, it’s a game that could make-or-break their season while Akio Kogiku’s Cherry Blossoms should be the more confident of the two outfits and will be seeking to extend their recent dominance over their prefectural rivals.

Tale of the Tape



The Frontale game was the terminus of a run of fixtures which saw Gamba in action Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, while their opponents had the 2 preceding midweeks free. Add that to the fact the Nerazzurri were forced to play 10 vs 11 for 83 minutes after Kohei Okuno’s early red-card on Saturday and I’ve been left feeling like there’s very little to comment on from a statistical perspective. But, I can’t leave this section completely blank so here goes. Perhaps most interestingly, Frontale struck 4 times from just 8 efforts and an xG of 1 in the opening period, before failing to add to their score after the break despite racking up 16 shots and 1.73xG (after losing at Todoroki 4-1 last year and 5-0 in 2020, maybe 4-0 with 10 men wasn’t such a bad performance after all?) Needless to say, the guardian deity Masaaki Higashiguchi was in fine form with 5 saves in total including 4 from inside the box, what would Gamba have done without him? The loss in Kanagawa extended the Ao to Kuro’s horror run on the road to 5 defeats on the spin and it now seems that Katanosaka will need to rely largely on home form to dig the Nerazzurri out of trouble. Beyond Saturday’s Derby lies bouts with Kyoto and Shimizu (both in Suita) plus Fukuoka away sandwiched in the middle, that trio of fixtures will unquestionably go a long way to shaping the rest of the blue and black’s season. Of course, the transfer window has now opened in Japan meaning that Musashi Suzuki and Ryotaro Meshino are eligible to play against Cerezo. Suzuki has a fortnight of training with his new team-mates under his belt and could start, something made all the more likely by Katanosaka’s decision to play high school third-grader Harumi Minamino ahead of Patric during last Saturday’s ill fated visit to Kawasaki. Isa Sakamoto was being rested, but Patric hadn’t accumulated enough minutes to warrant getting rotated out, suggesting to me that the Brazilian’s days as a starter are essentially behind him. Therefore, it’s Suzuki and / or Sakamoto leading the line for me this week. A couple of other selection quirks that we had a mere 7 minutes to digest were Shota Fukuoka starting ahead of Ryu Takao at right back (the early signs were not good) and Kosuke Onose on the left wing, Hiroto Yamami on the right and captain Shu Kurata up top with Minamino. I went into detail a few previews ago about Katanosaka regularly shifting from a back 3 to a back 4 and how much this irritated me, well he did it again versus Kawasaki. I get that he doesn’t yet have the players he wants at his disposal, there were scheduling issues and I’m not sure what’s going on with Kwon Kyung-won, all I can say is I hope and pray Katanosaka and the front desk have gotten together and worked out a proper battle plan for this summer’s transfer window.



Cerezo come into this installment of the Osaka Derby 6th in J1 a mere 2 points behind 4th placed Hiroshima (how those late dropped points against Antlers and Marinos last week are hurting now) and have accrued an equal 50% of their 32 points at home and on the road. Their away tally has come from one game fewer and from a statistical point of view they have overachieved somewhat outside the confines of the Yodoko Sakura Stadium. In front of goal, they’re netting 0.6 more goals per game than their xG total suggests they should, while it’s a little less pronounced at the other end of the field as they’re conceding 0.16 fewer times per 90 minutes compared with their xG against figure. Additionally, when on their travels the Cherry Blossoms have been outshot by 3 efforts per game, so in the light of that, a lot of credit should go to their clinical attackers. It has very much been a team effort at Cerezo as Mutsuki Kato’s wonderful finish against Marinos last Sunday took him clear as their top scorer in J1, though even he only has 4 goals while 5 players are tied on 3 strikes apiece. In terms of creativity, it’s a similar story as left-back Ryosuke Yamanaka plus midfielders Riki Harakawa, Seiya Maikuma and Tokuma Suzuki lead the way with 3 assists each. The driving force behind the side is Hiroaki Okuno who has covered a league best 248.7 km this season and although in my mind he is more of an attacking force, it’s his defensive stats that have really stood out in 2022. He ranks in the top 10 in the division for, interceptions (13, 2nd) tackles (60, 6th), blocks (54, 6th) and recoveries (71 10th). A couple of other veterans I’d like to shine a light on are, first of all, right-back Riku Matsuda, who has really had to up his game following the arrival of Seiya Maikuma. The former FC Tokyo man has made the 3rd most blocks in J1 this campaign (58), is ranked 5th for recoveries (81) and 7th for crosses (66). Lastly is Cerezo’s very own guardian deity, Kim Jin-hyeon, who despite a couple of dicey moments in recent weeks has generally been a rock at the back for the Sakura and his 61 saves in 21 outings sees him rank 2nd for that particular metric. Ahead of the previous Osaka Derby in round 14, I pointed out that Cerezo hadn’t won back-to-back J1 games all year up until that point and indeed had the Nerazzurri come out on top in that tussle then they’d have overtaken their prefectural rivals. However, the Cherry Blossoms’ 3-1 triumph in May was the first of three victories on the spin which actually remains their only winning streak of the 2022 campaign so far. Cerezo are W3D3L1 over the 7 matchdays since 21 May with their only defeat a 2-1 loss at Hiroshima, by contrast Gamba have gone W1D1L5 and, by chance, their only win in that time period came against Sanfrecce.



First Match Recap

Gamba were humbled by Cerezo 3-1 at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium in round 14, a chastening defeat that extended the Nerazzurri’s hunt for a league derby win to over 3 years. Due to the condensed nature of the 2022 season, the last match between these bitter rivals took place a mere 2 months ago and it was a day all of a blue and black persuasion would rather forget. Things started promisingly with Hiroto Yamami arriving at the back post to nod home Leandro Pereira’s cross despite Kim Jin-hyeon’s best efforts to convince everyone the ball hadn’t crossed the line. It was Yamami’s first goal of the campaign and it sent Gamba into the sheds one up. That was as good as it got, as soon after the re-start Adam Taggart fired home the equaliser from close range, the big Australian profiting from Genta Miura’s attempted clearance falling fortuitously into his path. Then, midway through the second period Hiroaki Okuno rose highest to power a header past Jun Ichimori in the visitors’ goal and turn the tables. Tempers flared and team-mates Gen Shoji and Leandro Pereira had to be separated by both Gamba and Cerezo players after a verbal altercation with 3 minutes of normal time remaining. A last gasp chance was then spurned by the Nerazzurri as Hideki Ishige’s free-kick failed to find a Gamba head, Cerezo broke quickly and that man Okuno sealed the deal with his second of the day. The drama wasn’t finished there though as the Ao to Kuro players and fans exchanged words at the final whistle, a couple of plastic bottles and a drumstick were reportedly thrown and an entire supporters group ended up getting banned from attending matches indefinitely. A horrible day on and off the field for the club and like that D:Ream song from the 90s, ‘things can only get better’ this time round surely.



Gamba Osaka

I’d just like to quickly point you in the direction of this week’s episode of the J-Talk Podcast where I filled in for the holidaying Sam Robson and discussed round 21 as well as all things Gamba. Certain comments I said on there may overlap with my thoughts below, but as they say in Japanese 仕様がない…it can’t be helped.

The first order of business is Tomohiro Katanosaka and his future at the club. Having been assistant to both Akira Nishino and Kenta Hasegawa during the most successful spells in Gamba’s history, Katanosaka has a lot of goodwill and support from the fanbase as a whole, a completely different set of circumstances to, say, the Levir Culpi era of 2018. Players such as Ju Se-jong, Leandro Pereira and Wellington Silva were all meant to be part of Tsuneyasu Miyamoto’s system last year until Covid struck and Miyamoto got canned early in the season. Katanosaka has now had 6 months to run the rule over the squad, identify who he wants to keep, and who he doesn’t. From my perspective, changing coaches mid-summer with the transfer window open would be madness. Get the kantoku working in unison with the front office and arm him with the weapons he requires to move the Nerazzurri forward rather than bringing in a new face who’d likely spend the rest of the season getting up to speed, something the club simply cannot afford to allow given their current perilous state near the foot of the table. I’m still behind Katanosaka and honestly I’d probably back him even if the Ao to Kuro do the unimaginable (or very imaginable in Japanese football) and drop down to J2 for next year. To those in the ‘Katanosaka Out’ camp, I’d say bear in mind that Gamba haven’t been in the bottom 3 since after the round 1 loss to Kashima so bringing in a Japanese Sam Allardyce type may generate headlines of them having ‘saved’ the Nerazzurri from the drop while the reality might state that results hardly improved despite significant upgrades being made to the playing staff over the summer. I’m all ears to comments saying Katanosaka could, and should be doing better, however, I don’t see a silver bullet solution. The club’s front office have done nothing in the past 2 decades to show they could attract a Postecoglou or a Skibbe, there are numerous players on high salaries doing little to justify their hefty pay cheques, and at present it feels like narrowly escaping the drop under a caretaker would be akin to bandaging up a wound that requires pretty urgent surgery (relegation).

Transfer Round Up – Ryotaro Meshino became Gamba’s second summer recruit on 8 July when he put pen to paper on a permanent deal from English giants Manchester City who had loaned him out to Estoril in Portugal’s top flight during the 2021/2022 European season. Gamba youth academy graduate Meshino, who netted eye-catching goals against Tosu, Shonan and Kashima in 2019 before his move to the UK is, in theory, fit and ready to play this Saturday and I see him as a potential bench option with fellow new signing Musashi Suzuki possibly leading the line from kick-off. On Thursday (14 July) it was confirmed that Ju Se-jong would return to him homeland to link up with K2 outfit Daejeon Citizen on a loan deal, though judging by his comments it appears unlikely he’ll be back in Suita anytime soon. He had spoken of his desire to return to the South Korean national team set-up before the World Cup, but unfortunately a move to the second tier would appear to have killed his chances stone dead.

Emperor’s Cup Wrap – Gamba bowed out of the Emperor’s Cup at the last 16 stage on Wednesday after going down 2-0 away to Kashima Antlers. Brazilian duo Diego Pituca and Everaldo sent the Stags on their way to their 4th victory over the Nerazzurri in all competitions this year. Gamba kantoku Tomohiro Katanosaka fielded a pretty strong lineup and may live to regret that as Dawhan seemed to be struggling with his hamstring towards the end of the game while Kohei Okuno, suspended for Saturday’s Derby, surprisingly remained an unused sub. It should also be noted that upcoming opponents Cerezo were able to rest a number of their key players, yet still advanced to the quarter-finals with Hirotaka Tameda’s late winner sparing them the potentially draining experience of extra-time in their away tie with Nagoya Grampus.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

DF Kwon Kyung-won – Has missed the past 3 games after going down with what appeared to be cramp near the end of the match with Urawa on 2 July. On 11 July he was named in the South Korea squad for the EAFF Cup which suggests any issue he’s had isn’t too serious.

MF Dawhan – Appeared to have a problem with his hamstring at the end of the Emperor’s Cup tie with Kashima, I don’t know any more than that

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, shown jogging on the club’s official YouTube channel on 8 July, potentially back in August

MF Jiro Nakamura – Hasn’t been involved in the matchday squad in recent weeks, an injury is suspected, but nothing has been confirmed by the club

MF Kohei Okuno – Suspended for one match after receiving a red card versus Kawasaki last week

MF Kosuke Onose – Sat out Wednesday’s trip to Kashima, which in itself isn’t anything to be concerned about, however, all the other regular starters were involved so he may have some sort of issue

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, shown jogging with Fukuda on the club’s official YouTube channel so the problem may not be as bad as first feared

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the season

Dawhan, Shu Kurata and Kosuke Onose are all just a single yellow card away from the one game suspension threshold of 4

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Cerezo Osaka

As I mentioned above, it’s very much the result of a team effort that Cerezo yet again find themselves inside the top 6 in the J1 standings. Indeed, since returning from a 2 year spell in the second tier in 2017, they’ve only finished outside the top 7 once, last year’s 12th place. Akio Kogiku (47), is approaching a quarter of a century with the Cherry Blossoms in one capacity or another, and in his first senior management role he is doing an excellent job in a quietly understated manner. However, that seems to be the way that suits Cerezo, a team that generally fly slightly under the radar, even in their own city and prefecture. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what kind of football Stoke City are playing now, but for me and probably a lot of my generation they’ll be forever associated with Tony Pulis’ often slandered, let’s call it rudimentary style. Gamba seem to benefit from this kind of thinking, but in the reverse way to Stoke, as many casual Japanese followers of the beautiful game that I encounter remember the days of Akira Nishino and to a lesser extent Kenta Hasegawa when the Nerazzurri won lots of trophies and played an easy-on-the-eye brand. I’m sorry for dropping this in Cerezo fans, but facts are facts, the Sakura have never won J1 or the ACL like their blue and black rivals which definitely hurts them in attracting new fans and, probably, to an extent, top level players too. With that said, anyone of a pink persuasion will gleefully point out that they’ve been by far and away the most consistently high performing of all the Kansai clubs over the past half decade and that period of dominance shows little sign of abating. In Kogiku they have a coach who knows the club inside and out, they produce a number of promising youngsters on an annual basis (Sota Kitano and Kosei Okazawa this year, potentially Shinnosuke Kinoshita and Nelson Ishiwatari in the near future) and are now comfortably settled into their new home stadium. I don’t want to milk the ‘things are looking rosy in Cerezo’s garden’ pun too much, but I feel it’s a fitting way to end this mini-section.

PS: Obviously I hope that by bigging them up in here, Cerezo will do what all good J. League teams do and fall flat on their faces come Saturday night. But, they can feel free to continue their good work from the following matchday as they continue to push for a top 4 spot. 😋

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

DF Yusuke Maruhashi – Has undergone knee surgery, out for the season

DF Ryosuke Yamanaka – Suspended as a result of the red card he received versus Marinos

MF Hinata Kida – Broken leg in pre-season hindered him, returned to first-team duties, but then had surgery to remove an ingrown toenail (I think that’s the proper translation), expected back in September

MF Hiroshi Kiyotake – Foot injury, expected back next month

FW Sota Kitano – Groin injury, expected back at the end of this month

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

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sport

Kawasaki Frontale vs Gamba Osaka 9 July 2022 Match Preview

Kawasaki Frontale vs Gamba Osaka
2022 J1 Season Round 21
Saturday 9 July 2022
Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

Gamba face their 5th game in the space of a fortnight and just like last Saturday they’re up against a side who’ve had a free midweek, this time in the shape of defending champions Kawasaki Frontale. For the Nerazzurri it’s a 2nd trip to Kanagawa this week and they’ll be hoping for a better outcome on this occasion after meekly going down 1-0 to fellow basement battlers Shonan on Wednesday evening. That result leaves the Ao to Kuro just one place and two points above the promotion / relegation playoff spot, though because of the extremely tight nature of this year’s J1, they’re only 3 points behind Kyoto Sanga in 10th, so there’s still plenty to play for. Frontale currently lie 3rd in the standings, 9 points off prefectural rivals Yokohama F. Marinos’s blistering pace, albeit with a game in hand after their tie with Sagan Tosu, scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the Tosu camp. I’ll get into my thoughts on the J1 summer schedule later in this article, but all I’ll say for now is that regardless of their patchy recent form, the odds are certainly stacked in Frontale’s favour ahead of this clash.

Tale of the Tape



Bellmare Blues – Wednesday’s defeat at Shonan marked the 4th game in a row (and 5th time in the last 6) that Gamba have failed to score against the Seasiders. A fact made more remarkable / dismal [delete as appropriate] because Bellmare’s regular goalkeeper Kosei Tani has been unable to play in any of those matches and a succession of short-term replacements have been deployed. Once again Shonan’s low block lured Gamba into playing about the ball side-to-side along their backline rather than vertically to the danger men like Sakamoto, Yamami and Onose. Across the two 0-1s this season, the Ao to Kuro have averaged 409 completed passes, 85.5 above their yearly mean and it’s a similar story regarding possession, 58.5% when playing Satoshi Yamaguchi’s well disciplined side and 49% when all 20 J1 fixtures are taken into consideration. The final result wasn’t up to scratch and there isn’t a single Gamba player I could give pass marks to on the night so there was definitely plenty of food for thought for Tomohiro Katanosaka in that performance, particularly with the summer transfer window looming large on the horizon.

Away Day Malaise – After kicking off 2022 with 2 wins, 3 draws and just a solitary loss in their first 6 away games of the year, Gamba have subsequently slumped to 4 defeats on the spin. It’s not just the outcome of the tussles with Cerezo, Tosu, Sapporo and Shonan that’s concerning, but also the manner of the defeats. No xG For performance above 1 and only a single xG Against tally below 1. Things looked abject at the Sapporo Dome at the end of June, yet home performances, if not necessarily results, against Yokohama F. Marinos, Sanfrecce and Urawa, were promising. Home form, so long an achilles heel for Gamba appears to be slowly shifting in the right direction and Katanosaka’s dream of once again turning Panasonic Stadium into a fortress seems a bit closer to becoming a reality. However, these road trip no-shows need to stop sharpish or else the Nerazzurri will find themselves in a world of pain at the bottom of the table. I will extend the olive branch of the extreme humidity and packed schedule which probably accounted for the tired performance against Shonan (even the ever-reliable Masaaki Higashiguchi threw in a clanger for the game’s only goal) and that’s illustrated by the work-rate stats I collected, 111.8 km run as a team versus a seasonal average of 115.7 km and 160 sprints performed compared with their regular mean of 167.9 (they sprinted 204, 172 and 184 times respectively in the home bouts with Marinos, Hiroshima and Reds).



The nice thing about good teams and players is that even if you don’t particularly like them it’s still easy to find positive things to say due to their regular impressive results and title wins. I have no particular axe to grind with Kawasaki, but despite the Azzurro Nero having the kind of year the Nerazzurri can only dream of at the moment, because of their past 2 years of utter domination, anything they achieve in 2022 is bound to be overshadowed by the sheer awesomeness of their recent history and as a result the overall tone of this section will be more negative than it normally would be for a side in the top 3. One win and just 5 points from their last 6 outings in J1 is not something Toru Oniki and his troops have been accustomed to in the Covid-era and indeed their 5 defeats to date this season is equal to their total from 72 fixtures across 2020-2021. The biggest fallaway stats-wise has been in attack, though when you lose players of the quality of Hidemasa Morita, Ao Tanaka, Reo Hatate and, of course, Kaoru Mitoma over a 12-month period, some kind of regression is to be expected. Add in the ageing of key attackers such as Leandro Damião, Yu Kobayashi and ex-Gamba prodigy Akihiro Ienaga, Ryota Oshima’s never-ending injury worries and Chanathip’s bedding-in troubles, remembering of course that Takashi Usami was their first choice target last winter, and maybe it’s best for Frontale to use 2022 as a time to re-group and re-focus, rather than aim for a title three-peat. Of course, this is still a Kawasaki Frontale team, one that hasn’t finished outside the top 6 since 2012, so their attack is above par in terms of goals scored versus xG, but when your overall shots total is trending downwards while at the same time opposition efforts increase, there’s only so far good finishing and excellent goalkeeping can get you. In 2022, the Dolphins home and away results have been relatively even, though games at Todoroki Stadium have tended to contain more goals than those played on the road. Frontale score and concede more on home turf, but their home xG for figure is in actual fact 0.12 lower than the total number while xG against stands at 0.15 higher. Owing to Wednesday night’s fixture at home to Sagan Tosu being cancelled, I had a little more time to prepare this section so the second table below contains a comparison of their key performance indicators from their title winning 2021 campaign set against this year’s performance to date. I think the outcomes are pretty self explanatory and they also back up much of what @frontalerabbit has been saying in his blog, and he’s watched Kawasaki an awful lot more than me.




First Match Recap

How might those two dropped points come back to haunt Gamba? I’m sure that’s a thought that often runs through Nerazzurri third choice ‘keeper Kei Ishikawa’s mind when he closes his eyes at night. The Ao to Kuro led defending champions Kawasaki 2-1 going into the 95th minute at Panasonic Stadium, all that was required was for Ishikawa to boot the ball into the opposition half and the game would be won. However, wily Kawasaki attacker Yu Kobayashi had other ideas, sneaking up behind Ishikawa as he dropped the ball ahead of his clearance, the Frontale forward’s toe-poke found Leandro Damião and the 2021 J1 MVP rolled the ball into an unguarded net. As the drama was unfolding I was trying to get my phone out of my bag to check how long was left as there’s no additional time clock in the stadium and upon hearing wild excitement coming from the away supporters’ section I looked up in horror to see the ball seemingly take an age to find the back of the net. Watching the incident again on the train home things went much faster, but I still had a sickening sense of having being sucker-punched in the stomach. In terms of positives, the result did mean the Nerazzurri snapped a 6 game losing run against the Azzurro Nero in all competitions and Mitsuki Saito made an impressive league debut in the middle of the park, but they paid a heavy price with star forward Takashi Usami rupturing his achilles tendon in what was surely a massive turning point in Gamba’s season. Yuki Yamamoto, playing in an unfamiliar role down the left-wing, volleyed the Ao to Kuro into a half-time lead, however, substitute Ten Miyagi evened things up with quarter of an hour still to play after a lovely run and finish. Parity only lasted a mere 2 minutes before Kosuke Onose’s speculative drive was deflected and looped over Jung Sung-ryong to spark scenes of jubilation among the Gamba supporters. It was not to last though as Damião and Frontale had the final say and the points were shared.



Gamba Osaka

I mentioned above that I had a bit to say about some of the scheduling that’s gone on this season in J1. First of all as a caveat for the league itself, they are under a lot of external pressures with their fixtures having to comply with Asian Champions League, EAFF Cup and World Cup demands (not to mention Covid), making getting things 100% right nigh on impossible and I’m sure they’ll do a thorough review of their performance once we reach December. However, I have to question why have Gamba been forced to play fixtures on June 26 and 29 then July 2, 6 and 9? Five games in 2 weeks, but then what lies ahead is 13 matches in 118 days until the end of the season with no more midweek fixtures scheduled and 3 completely free weekends! Of course, the Nerazzurri do face Kashima away next Wednesday in the Emperor’s Cup, so further progression in that competition would use up a little of that available space, however, it seems like the fixtures are set up to only suit teams who are battling it out in 4 competitions, something that simply doesn’t apply to the majority. This may come across as sour grapes, but I had this rant ready before the loss to Shonan and although it’s Gamba-centric, this situation surely affects other teams in the league as well, heck we’ve seen players getting subbed off with heat-stroke in recent weeks (Tsunoda at Marinos springs to mind). The ‘it wouldn’t happen like that in Europe’ crowd and I rarely see eye-to-eye, but we could perhaps agree on the need for managers to perhaps speak out on this issue, especially from a player welfare angle.

While I’m in the midst of ranting and raving in the aftermath of a stinging defeat and poor performance, why do referees (Yoshiro Imamura – who messed up royally in the Morioka vs Kofu game recently, but got away with it on a technicality – in this case) arbitrarily decide whether or not to follow the originally announced amount of additional time? I’ve seen games when the board says 3 minutes, but they end up playing 4 and a half despite nothing happening to warrant adding any extra time (other than one team being on the attack), whereas on Wednesday 8 minutes were awarded, there was a substitution and a yellow card for time wasting, yet only about 98 minutes and 3 seconds were played before Mr. Imamura decided it was time to hit his local Izakaya (and before anyone says anything, I know Gamba could probably have kept playing until midnight and still not have scored).

Finally to transfers….still nothing concrete about further inbound moves since Musashi Suzuki signed last Thursday (minutes after I published my Gamba vs Urawa preview). The most likely names to join him are Ryotaro Meshino, Ryoga Sato (10 goals for Tokyo Verdy in J2 this year, tied with Tiago Alves, yikes! Apparently Kashima are in the running for him too), midfielder and badly-needed dead-ball specialist Hokuto Shimoda as well as left-sided centre-back / left-back / left wing-back and brother of Kashima’s Kento, Yuto Misao. Both Shimoda and Misao played under Katanosaka last year with Oita, so while not being the most glamorous of captures they should be able to get up to speed quickly. If all of those 4 arrive in addition to Suzuki then we could call it a successful summer window in Suita, even more so if high-earners such as Leandro Pereira, Wellington Silva and Ju Se-jong can be shipped out as it’s clear they’re not good fits for Katano-soccer.

On Thursday Morning (July 7), the club confirmed that young centre-back Yota Sato would head to J2 promotion chasers Vegalta Sendai on a training-type loan until the end of the season. This seems like exactly the kind of move Sato needed and hopefully he gets a chance to show what he’s capable of, helps Sendai regain their top-flight status and returns to Suita more experienced and more confident. Good luck Yota!

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

DF Kwon Kyung-won – Out of the squad for the loss at Shonan after going down with cramp at the end of the match with Urawa, I think this was just precautionary and he should hopefully be good to go on Saturday

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Jiro Nakamura – Has been absent from the squad for the past 3 games, I initially thought it was just non-selection, but high-schooler Harumi Minamino’s appearance on the bench vs Shonan suggests he might have an injury

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, don’t expect him back anytime soon

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the season

Predicted Lineups and Stats

**With so many games in such a short space of time, rotation is inevitable for Gamba, but I’ve done my best to make the lineup below as accurate as possible.**






Kawasaki Frontale

When you win 4 league titles in your first 5 seasons as a coach and rack up 112 victories in 193 outings then even a slight slip in standards is likely to set tongues wagging, and this is the situation Kawasaki kantoku Toru Oniki currently finds himself in. It seems like the Frontale support are generally divided on his future with many willing to cut him a great deal of slack due to his outstanding past performance while others point out his tactical rigidity and poor record in cup competitions, especially the ACL, as blots on his record. If I throw in my tuppence worth, the Azzurro Nero are still genuine title contenders, but if I had to put money on it I’d say Marinos are more likely to lift the J1 crown come November. I think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of him being fired and Oniki walking away before the end of the season is only marginally less unlikely in my book. Would a potential post-World Cup opening for the position of Japan national team kantoku tempt him? Quite possibly yes, but he’s still a young coach so there’s no certainty it would. I’m a neutral in the Oniki debate so I can see both sides of the argument, he’s earned the right to stay as long as he wants vs he’s taken us as far as we can go, it may be best for all concerned if we move on. Whatever does end up happening, it’s going to make for fascinating viewing over the coming months. Oniki is still working with a 4-3-3 system and at the moment it has one holding midfielder with two players operating in slightly more advanced roles after a brief flirtation with the triangle set up the other way round. Kento Tachibanada, normally a defensive midfielder in the N’Golo Kante mold, has recently been starting at left-back with Ryota Oshima operating as a deep-lying playmaker and Chanathip slotting in just ahead of him to the left which appears to be a better use of his abilities rather than being on the left hand side of the front 3. The summer transfer window opens next week and there will be a lot of eyes on Kawasaki to see what they do. Of course, they have dominant centre-back Jesiel to return at some point in the hopefully not too distant future, and I can’t help but feel that another Brazilian in midfield or up-front wouldn’t go amiss if they do decide to spend a bit of cash. Being a club that loves to promote youth and recruit from universities, it should come as no surprise that they already have 4 confirmed new arrivals for 2023. Defenders Kota Takai (already standing 192cm) and Yuto Matsunagane, plus midfielder Yuto Ozeki will all step up from Kawasaki U-18, while Toin Yokohama University (they gave Sapporo an almighty run for their money in the Emperor’s Cup last month) forward Shin Yamada will join fellow alumni of that particular institute, Miki Yamane Kento Tachibanada and Yuki Hayasaka (plus Zain Issaka if he returns from his loan spell with Yokohama FC) in making the Todoroki Stadium his home. The future’s bright at Frontale, but what is the short and medium term forecast, and what role does Toru Oniki have to play in it?

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

DF Jesiel – Suffered a serious knee injury at the end of last season, went home to Brazil for treatment and has subsequently returned to Japan, it’s still unknown when he’ll be back playing again

DF Kyohei Noborizato – Injured thigh muscle in game vs Urawa on 2 March, expected back in the not too distant future, but doesn’t appear to have re-started training yet

FW Kei Chinen – Injured his leg in the game vs Sapporo on 18 June and hasn’t played since, no further information known at this stage

Predicted Lineups and Stats



Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Shonan Bellmare vs Gamba Osaka 6 July 2022 Match Preview

Shonan Bellmare vs Gamba Osaka
2022 J1 Season Round 20
Wednesday 6 July 2022
Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

Japan is currently experiencing one of it’s worst heatwaves on record, but there’s no rest for the wicked as Gamba Osaka and Shonan Bellmare lace up their boots to do battle this Wednesday. With Gamba sitting a mere point above their hosts, who in turn are precariously perched just outside the drop-zone, it goes without saying that the outcome of this match is of vital importance to both sides. The Ao to Kuro looked bright for the first hour or so of their 1-1 draw with Urawa on Saturday, but ultimately ran out of steam owing to their taxing midweek fixture against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Mitsuki Saito’s wonderful strike at the end of a 4 man, 14 second counter attack lit up Panasonic Stadium more brightly than the pre-match fireworks, however, Alexander Scholz’s cool spot kick in second-half additional time, after Genta Miura had clumsily felled Yusuke Matsuo, earned Ricardo Rodríguez’s troops a share of the spoils. Shonan had slightly the better of their 0-0 draw at home to Nagoya Grampus and have now kept 3 consecutive clean-sheets. However, as usual, their issues lie at the other end of the field with only Fukuoka and Nagoya scoring less in J1 this season and, at present, hot prospect Shuto Machino accounts for half of their total. Shonan have lost only once in their most recent 6 J1 outings, but their main source of goals is facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines, while Gamba have just a solitary win to show for their efforts over that time period, but appear to have unearthed a new gem in, man-of-the-moment (boy-of-the-moment?) Isa Sakamoto, and their performances are headed in the right direction. Now, it’s time to feel the heat, which team will emerge victorious at a potentially sodden Lemon Gas Stadium?

Tale of the Tape



It’s easy to say that Gamba would have beaten Urawa had they not played the previous midweek, but then again you could argue that they’d have lost to Hiroshima had the game been held on it’s originally scheduled date and, in fairness, there was a good deal of fortune behind the Nerazzurri’s win in Saitama earlier in the year, so let’s agree to call it evens. Anyway, all I’ve really learned from this ramble is that we’ll probably all be travelling around in flying cars before either Gamba or Urawa manage another home win in the National Derby. The Ao to Kuro gassed-out after what certain sections of the Japanese media labelled their ‘best half of the year.’ Gamba outshot Reds 11 to 5 in the opening period with 9 of those efforts coming during a 20 minute barrage at the beginning of the game (it was almost a complete reversal of the encounter in Saitama). After the interval, the visitors took charge of the shot count 11-3, though even with that in mind I’m still struggling to work out how Sporteria credited them with an xG total of 2.45 (1.71 excluding the PK), it feels like someone keyed in 2 instead of 1, but this is ‘Gamba Blog in English’ so I might be a touch biased. Statistical positives for Gamba came in possession, pass completion and sprinting numbers (scant consolation I know), but the work-rate and energy was certainly there with Mitsuki Saito in particular impressing, constantly harrying and harassing Reds defenders in their own defensive third which allowed the Nerazzurri to generate numerous possession turnovers, indeed his 9 possession recoveries was a matchday high across the league. In the wake of Saturday’s game both teams were probably left ruing their wastefulness from set-plays and for Gamba this has been an issue all year. The blue and blacks are yet to score directly from a corner or free kick, of course some goals such as Patric’s vs Nagoya or Dawhan’s against Kashiwa have come indirectly from such a situation, though with a series of deflections and half clearances in the middle. Considering Gamba have had 67 corners in their 19 games to date and are yet to register a single header, flick or touch that’s gone into the back of the net from one of them, this is a facet of play that Katanosaka must seek to address urgently in training, and it is something that can be improved on the training ground more easily than other issues, so I, for one, will be looking for tangible improvements in the second half of the year. Speaking of improvements, Saturday was Kohei Okuno’s 50th J1 game and probably his best in a Gamba shirt. The Reds clash marked the first time Okuno and Saito had started together in a double-volante system in J1 though you wouldn’t have known it as they got torn in about their opposite numbers Ken Iwao and Kai Shibato right from the opening whistle. There have been rumours that Gamba will move for a new central midfielder to fill the void created by Yuki Yamamoto’s injury and Ju Se-jong’s imminent departure, however, Okuno, who will surely get another chance against Shonan, this time alongside Dawhan as Saito can’t play against his parent club, certainly staked a claim for more regular starts, completing 33 of 36 attempted passes was his statistical highlight on Saturday. Last, and certainly not least, is Isa Sakamoto, who, fresh from taking Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s backline to task last Wednesday set about giving Alexander Scholz, undoubtedly one of the best centre-backs in J1, a hard night’s work on Saturday. Comparisons with former-Gamba legend Masashi Oguro are growing by the day and the way Sakamoto held off the challenge of Scholz before ‘assisting the assist’ in the Nerazzurri’s breathtaking coast-to-coast opener, showed poise beyond his years. In his 79 minutes on the field he had 3 shots, all on target and 4 last passes, I love Patric to bits, but the standard of Sakamoto’s play was a cut above what the Brazilian has produced this season. The arrival of Musashi Suzuki will surely curtail Sakamoto’s minutes to a degree, but he’s been a ray of sunshine in quite a dark period for Gamba supporters, of that there is no doubt. A quick apology to Hideki Ishige, who had his most effective game in a Gamba jersey on Saturday night, any more performances like that and he’ll definitely be featured in here.



If you don’t mind me whipping out a cliché right at the start of this mini section, Shonan are a hardworking team. While they don’t have the cash or titles to compete with their big city rivals, Satoshi Yamaguchi’s charges do try to make up for it with sheer determination and grit, and to that end they average 117.3 km run per game (1.4 km more than Gamba) and also 192.3 sprints every 90 minutes (leading the Nerazzurri by 24, though as we saw above their numbers are gradually improving). Overall they sit in 15th in J1, just one place above the promotion / relegation playoff spot, but that ranking slips a place if we only consider home fixtures. In 10 games at the wonderfully named Lemon Gas Stadium, Shonan have been outscored 15-7 by their opposition. Worryingly for Yamaguchi is the fact that they’ve outshot opponents 145-115 (essentially 3 shots per game), but accrued a smaller xG figure, 11.6 versus 12.56, suggesting that while they’re creating a sizeable number of chances in front of their own supporters, they are not of a particularly high standard. For comparison, when we look at their stats for games both home and away, in 19 outings they’ve outshot their rivals 234 to 213, but only generated 18.87xG for while giving up 22.01xG against. They are keeping the ball better than last year, averaging 300.4 completed passes a game in 2022 as opposed to 280.3 12 months ago, but they are going to need to find better ways to use that possession if they are to survive yet again in the dog-eat-dog world of the J1 relegation scrap. As alluded to previously, former Yokohama F. Marinos and Giravanz Kitakyushu forward Shuto Machino has contributed 8 of Shonan’s 16 league goals to date and he remains on course to beat Yoshiro Abe’s record of 9 strikes in the 2010 season, the most a Bellmare player has managed in a modern-era 18 team / 34 game J1 season and considering last year after 38 games Wellington was top-scorer with just 6 goals, this would be quite an achievement (Wagner Lopes netted 18 back in 1998 however this was when the club went under the Bellmare Hiratsuka moniker and the league was split into 2 stages so I’m not sure a comparison between 1998 and 2022 really stands up to much scrutiny.)



First Match Recap

Gamba slumped to a disappointing home loss to Shonan in mid-April meaning that Ryotaro Meshino’s injury-time winner all the way back in 2019 is the last time they’ve breached the Bellmare defence at Panasonic Stadium in J1. Speaking of late winners, this year it was the turn of the Seasiders’ converted centre-back Shuto Yamamoto to be the hero. The former Kashima full-back bravely beat Genta Miura to the ball to power a header past Jun Ichimori in the final minute of normal time. He was stretchered off as a precaution due to concerns over a head injury, but was soon out celebrating in front of the travelling contingent at the final whistle. The Nerazzurri largely had themselves to blame for the outcome as lots of possession and territory led nowhere and long-range Yamami and Dawhan shots from Patric knock-downs plus the burly Brazilian narrowly failing to connect with Yuya Fukuda’s tempting cross was as close as they came. On a hot day, the Ao to Kuro ran out of energy after the interval and in all honesty, Yamamoto’s late clincher was just reward for a fighting display from the visitors (who came into this match 18th and last) in the final half-hour.



Gamba Osaka

Gamba confirmed the signing of Japanese international forward Musashi Suzuki last Thursday (30 June) and the player, who will wear #45, has already started training with his new team-mates though he won’t be eligible until the Osaka Derby on July 16th, what a debut that could potentially be. Ryotaro Meshino is still expected to put pen to paper in the coming days, however, Yuya Yamagishi rejected a move to Suita, and subsequently put out a nice statement where he successfully navigated the tightrope of appeasing all concerned parties. It does appear that both Suzuki and Yamagishi were blessed with the Katanosaka seal of approval whereas I’m not sure the same applies to Meshino, only time will tell if that affects the success of the deals. In terms of departures, it’s been reported that up to 14 South Korean clubs have expressed interest in re-patriating Ju Se-jong, while Wellington Silva and Leandro Pereira remain well out of the picture and will be shipped out if buyers can be found, Júbilo Iwata, Omiya Ardija and Ventforet Kofu have all been linked with Pereira and I haven’t heard anything about Silva. If I now dive into pure speculation, Tatsuki Seko of Kawasaki is potentially headed for fresh pastures this summer and Gamba may be tempted to move for him, even if it’s just on loan, and speaking of loan deals, it’s worth remembering that both Dawhan and Mitsuki Saito are only on temporary contracts with the Nerazzurri, it’ll be very interesting to see what develops in regards to that duo in the coming months. Finally, Gen Shoji has seen his place taken by Shota Fukuoka for the past 2 games, though if the former Tokushima stopper keeps dawdling on the ball like he did in the 2nd half of the Reds clash then that might not be the case for much longer. Shoji, along with Leandro Pereira, Wellington Silva and Ju Se-jong is one of the high-salary, lower than expected performance, Miyamoto-era signings that I think Katanosaka would like out of the club sharpish. I’m not saying it’ll happen this summer, but I don’t really expect him to be a Gamba player in 2023.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

**Once again expect the unexpected as rotation will be a key factor in Gamba (and any team for that matter) successfully navigating their gruelling schedule this week.**

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Mitsuki Saito – Can’t play as per the terms of his loan agreement

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, don’t expect him back anytime soon

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the season

FW Hiroto Yamami – Was pictured with ice on his lower left leg after being subbed off against Hiroshima last midweek, was an unused sub in the match with Urawa on Saturday, likely just as a precaution

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Shonan Bellmare

After a rocky start to the year with the 1-0 at Panasonic Stadium back in April being Shonan’s only triumph in their opening 13 fixtures, Satoshi Yamaguchi now has the Seasiders on the crest of a wave with 4 wins and a draw from their last 6 matches and hot-shot forward Shuto Machino going at a clip of a goal a game through that run. Yamaguchi has continued with the back 3 / wing-back system of his predecessors and generally operates a 3-5-2 formation though it can shift to a 3-4-2-1 on occasions. Surrounded by vultures in the shape of their better minted Kanto rivals it’s perhaps no surprise that Shonan kantokus, no matter who they are, have to make do with a combination of up-and-coming youngsters and fallen heroes. It was fascinating listening to Albert Puig’s English language interview with the FC Tokyo Kai-Guys where he talked about the importance of having players in the 25-30 years-old age-bracket. Well, look at my predicted starting 11 below and you’ll find injury-prone forward Yusuke Segawa is the only outfielder in that range. I’ve mentioned attacking issues above and that’s an area Shonan will really have to strengthen this summer, particularly if Machino is going to be out injured for any period of time, as losing his goals could prove fatal to Bellmare’s hopes of extending their present run of 5 consecutive years in the top flight (the only time they’ve managed more than 2 back-to-back since the millennium). Of course, bringing in genuine goalscorers is easier said than done when you have Shonan’s budget and I haven’t heard any potential targets mentioned as of yet. Looking more long-term, pictures posted on Twitter appear to indicate that former Gamba Youth defender / holding midfielder Naoya Takahashi (now of Kansai University) has been training with the club, Yamaguchi will know him from their time together in Suita when Takahashi performed admirably for Gamba U-23 in J3 back in 2019 and I had held out hopes he would return to the Ao to Kuro once he completed his studies in early 2024, we’ll have to wait and see how that situation develops over the coming months. For now, however, Shonan need some quick fixes, keeping hold of bright young things, Satoshi Tanaka and Taiga Hata will help, but where will that attacking spark to ease the goalscoring burden from Machino’s shoulders appear from?

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Kosei Tani – Can’t play as per the terms of his loan agreement

DF Takuya Okamoto – Knee injury, last played 19 March

DF Shuto Yamamoto – Subbed off in first half of 4-0 win at Kawasaki on 25 May, hasn’t played since

FW Shuto Machino – Stretchered off after picking up an ankle injury at the end of the match with Nagoya, must be a major doubt for this game

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Gamba Osaka vs Urawa Red Diamonds 2 July Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Urawa Red Diamonds
2022 J1 Season Round 19
Saturday 2 July 2022
Panasonic Stadium
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

There’s a full slate of J1 games scheduled for this Saturday night in Japan and while this national derby, which pits 12th placed Gamba against Urawa in 10th, might not immediately stand out as pick-of-the-round, there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding it nonetheless. The home side avoided suffering 5 defeats in-a-row for the first time in 24 years with an unexpectedly comfortable 2-0 victory over much-vaunted Sanfrecce Hiroshima in their rescheduled bout on Wednesday. It was the Nerazzurri’s 3rd win on home soil this year and it came courtesy of a golden 4 minute spell in the first-half when Mitsuki Saito’s low shot off Keisuke Osako’s upright was sandwiched by close range efforts from Keisuke Kurokawa and surprise starter Isa Sakamoto (his first ever J1 goal). Urawa should also be in good spirits after having 6 days off to prepare for this clash following their 1-0 victory at Vissel Kobe last Sunday. Substitute David Moberg Karlsson was the hero as his 90th minute free-kick settled the match and made it 3 games unbeaten for the Saitama side. The last home win for either team in this fixture came way back in 2016 which certainly suggests a Reds triumph is the most likely outcome here, but with both Gamba and Urawa in among a train of teams from 9th to 17th covered by just 6 points, every result is vital, so expect plenty of passion, determination and no shortage of quality on the pitch come game night.

Tale of the Tape



If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my appearances on the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk Extra Time it’s that whenever you see a fixture that looks certain to go one way, think very carefully before proudly declaring that Team A will comfortably see off Team B. Gamba against Sanfrecce on Wednesday night very much had the air of a relatively easy away win pre-match. However, it ended up fitting in well with several other games on the round 15 card that it was originally a part of, such as Kashiwa’s 6-1 thrashing of 10-man Sapporo, the epic 4-4 draw between Kashima and Tosu, and of course 16 goals in 18 games Shonan finding the back of the net 4 times in the space of 11 second-half minutes away to defending champions Kawasaki, but I digress. One swallow doesn’t make a summer as they say, but, there was a lot to like about Gamba’s display on Wednesday. They had their backs against the wall, however, a much changed lineup came out swinging and got their rewards. This was the Nerazzurri’s first xG victory since 8 May when they saw off Vissel Kobe at Panasonic Stadium, it was also only Hiroshima’s 2nd xG loss since kantoku Michael Skibbe entered the country, and after racing into a 2-0 lead after 39 minutes, the remaining 51 minutes of the contest now make up almost 70% of the time Gamba have been ahead by at least 2 goals this season. The Ao to Kuro outran their rather disappointing visitors by 8.7 km and 23 sprints respectively on an extremely hot and sticky evening in Suita, so I guess the worry is, with Saturday’s duel against Urawa being quickly followed by Shonan (away – July 6), Kawasaki (away – July 9), Kashima (Emperor’s Cup away – July 13) and the Osaka Derby at home to Cerezo (July 16), how much will be left in the tanks of some of these players when they get to the end of that gruelling schedule? Restricting Hiroshima to just 12 shots on goal helped with Gamba’s currently dreadful season statistics, but they are still averaging 4 shots fewer per game than their opponents, that needs to change, it’s a wrong that can’t be corrected immediately, but Wednesday was certainly a start. Home ties at Panasonic Stadium have been generating an xG of 2.82 per game so far in 2022, while Urawa away fixtures currently sit at 2.19, maybe Saturday brings with it another opportunity to get the defensive numbers trending in the right direction? Lastly, a couple of comments on players who impressed against Hiroshima. Keisuke Kurokawa marked his return to the side with a goal and a strong first-half display where he dominated Tomoya Fujii, someone I’d picked out as a dangerman in my match preview, he also stated post-match that a leg injury, not a potential move to Celtic, had kept him out of the previous 2 games. Volante Dawhan, who seems to have caught the eye of a number of opposition supporters for his good play, was quietly efficient again, keeping things ticking over and completing 47 of 55 attempted passes, which compares with his more ropey display of 29 out of 35 away to Sapporo last weekend. Finally, and this time I do mean finally, but I need to keep my run of using the phrase ‘guardian deity’ going so let’s mention Masaaki Higashiguchi once more. The veteran had by far and away his quietest game between the sticks since his recent return. He only had to make 1 save and catch 2 crosses throughout the 90 minutes on Wednesday, which is night and day when set against the combined total of 11 saves, 7 of which were from shots taken inside the box, he pulled off against Yokohama F. Marinos and Sapporo.



In my preview for Gamba’s trip to Urawa back in February I stated that I was looking forward to catching up with the Saitama giants’ progress when the teams met again in July. Honestly, what I’m about to describe certainly isn’t quite what I expected to be writing, but it has been a fascinating ride nonetheless. To put it simply it’s been a tale of attack versus defence for Urawa with the backline, shorn of a number of first choice players for large parts, but superbly marshalled by centre-back Alexander Scholz and veteran ‘keeper Shusaku Nishikawa, performing to a high standard while the forwards, equally decimated by injuries, have misfired badly on numerous occasions. Throw in a few red cards, failure to get any breaks from VAR, plus some rank bad luck (see Yuya Fukuda’s deflected winner at Saitama Stadium for evidence) and you get a kind of feel for the year Reds have had to date. Coming into 2022 on the back of a strong finish to the previous campaign much was expected of Ricardo Rodríguez’s squad, however, things started badly with a 1-0 loss at newly-promoted Kyoto and, in truth, didn’t really improve until after the June international break. The men from Saitama currently boast the joint meanest defence in the league along with Fukuoka, giving up just 16 goals in 18 outings, and have a healthy +0.48xG difference in the bag too, but in attack, despite creating decent enough chances, they’ve failed to convert them time and time again. This has been especially prevalent on the road where they’ve netted just 3 goals in 9 games from an xG For total of 12.33 and remarkably they’re still waiting for their first strike from open play outside the confines of Saitama Stadium this year (1 penalty, 1 direct free kick and 1 header from an indirect free-kick). Things have only been a shade better when we look at their campaign as a whole, they’ve won just 4 times in J1 and a sizeable chunk of the reason why is because they’ve failed to kill teams off when presented with the opportunity to do so. Goals have come, but generally they’ve been in bursts, such as against Júbilo (4-1), Marinos (3-3) and Nagoya (3-0). They’ve only found the back of opponents’ nets from open play in 5 of their 18 fixtures so far and that is something that kantoku Ricardo Rodríguez simply must amend if they’re going to improve upon their current ranking of 10th. Things are beginning to tick in the right direction with 7 points garnered from their 3 most recent league games with 3 clean sheets in the bag to boot, and as I’ll discuss in the ‘Urawa Red Diamonds’ section below, it’s likely to be an interesting transfer window for Reds as they seek to spruce themselves up for the J1 run in and beyond.



First Match Recap

Gamba extended their unbeaten run at Saitama Stadium to 6 J1 matches with a 1-0 triumph in round 2 back in February. Substitute Yuya Fukuda’s deflected effort minutes after Urawa’s Ken Iwao had been shown a second yellow was enough to bring the points back to Suita. Reds had dominated possession, territory and the shot count in the opening half-hour, but were later stifled by some tactical alterations from Nerazzurri kantoku Tomohiro Katanosaka and the game developed into something of an arm-wrestle prior to Fukuda’s late clincher (his 2nd strike in 4 years away to Reds).



Gamba Osaka

Irresistible Isa – it defeated ‘Insatiable Isa’ and ‘Isa the Iceman’ for the title of this section, and yes, I could have fitted this into ‘tale of the tape’, but I thought it was more appropriate to give the 18 year-old from Kumamoto a bit more praise for netting his first ever J1 goal. After the lineups were announced on Wednesday there were murmurs among the Gamba support that Sakamoto’s selection was Katanosaka’s way of making sure the front office sign a striker or two in the summer transfer window. However, the youngster more than justified his inclusion, in his 75 minutes on the field he shot twice including his goal and completed 19 of 22 passes, of which 1 was a last pass. His touch and movement are good and I enjoyed his link up play with Yamami, in particular, though naturally as a first year pro out of the youth team, he needs to build up his physique a bit more and also become more ruthless in front of goal, hopefully that’ll come over time. On Wednesday there were 2 or 3 occasions when he had a good chance to shoot, however, he instead opted to try and play in a team-mate. Commendable as that is, he was operating as the sole striker so being more selfish is to be encouraged, but in fairness I am nit-picking a tad, well done Isa and here’s to many more J1 goals.

Transfer Gossip – In terms of summer additions, probably the most realistic names I’ve heard doing the rounds are Oita duo Hokuto Shimoda and Yuto Misao from Katanosaka’s former nest (another Japanese to English translation I enjoy) Oita. Central midfielder Shimoda spent 2018-2020 with Kawasaki, so has a decent pedigree and would also boost the Nerazzurri’s set-piece delivery options a fair bit. Misao, like Shimoda, would be able to fit seamlessly into Katanosaka’s system, though he did reportedly knock back Gamba in the winter, so if this story is true, why the change of heart now? J2 top scorer Koki Ogawa has also been mentioned in the same breath as Gamba recently, but with Belgian cracks St. Truidense now credited with an interest, any sort of deal looks quite a way off. An even more left-field name I saw linked was Tosu’s wing-back / shadow forward Yuto Iwasaki, however, being on loan from Sapporo to Sagan would surely complicate any hypothetical deal too much. Looking into the future, Kwansei Gakuin schemer Ken Masui, a former Nagoya Grampus U-18 player, is tipped to be the latest in a long line of talents to make their way from that particular university to Gamba. If a deal is reached, he wouldn’t be available until after graduation in 2024, so he’s definitely a long-term project.

**Update** – Sponichi Annex reported today (30 June) that Gamba will conclude deals for ex-Japan international forward Musashi Suzuki (28) and former-Gamba Youth prodigy Ryotaro Meshino (24) with the duo being available to play in the Osaka Derby on July 16, if selected. Both should be worthy additions to the squad and relieve some of the heavy burden from Yamami, Patric and co. Look out for official press releases in the coming days.

Team News

This section is pleasingly short for once!! However, as I outlined above, Gamba’s schedule over the next 2 weeks is jam-packed and the weather in Japan is currently roasting, so expect plenty of rotation.

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, don’t expect him back anytime soon

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the season

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Urawa Red Diamonds

It’s been quite a whirlwind for kantoku Ricardo Rodríguez since he took over the Reds hot-seat prior to the commencement of the 2021 J1 season and indeed out of Urawa’s current first-team squad of 29 players, only 10 were on the books for the Spaniard’s first game in charge at home to FC Tokyo last February. After proving himself during his maiden campaign in Japan’s top-flight he was able to freshen up the dressing room by moving on veterans such as Yuki Abe, Yosuke Kashiwagi, Tomoya Ugajin and Tomoaki Makino at various points in the past 18 months and in that time he certainly hasn’t been shy about putting his own stamp on proceedings. In came 5 news faces in the summer of 2021 and with them came a strong finish to the league campaign as well as an Emperor’s Cup triumph against Katanosaka’s Oita Trinita. After that I’m not sure whether to give them the benefit of the doubt or to be quite critical over the decision to add 13 new faces over the winter, 2 from Europe, 4 from other J1 clubs, 4 from J2, 2 university rookies and 1 high school graduate, it seemed a little bit like overkill in my book and can probably be added together with the reasons I laid out in ‘tale of the tape’ above to explain their sluggish start to the year. Their main attacking weapon Kasper Junker can’t seem to stay fit, it’s unclear who the first choice front 4 are, and a lot of Reds’ hopes for the remainder of 2022 seem to rest on the shoulders of impressive recent capture from Feyenoord, Bryan Linssen. The transfer window isn’t open yet so he’s ineligible to face Gamba, but after bagging 13 goals and 8 assists in 34 Eredivisie games in 2021/2022, he certainly has the pedigree to put an end to Urawa’s goalscoring issues. Reds have been too easy to stifle by deep lying defences too often this year, ending up going side-to-side with their neat passing culminating in little penetration and this was in evidence during their Emperor’s Cup loss to Gunma last week after which there were protests from Ultras groups. However, David Moberg Karlsson’s late free-kick away to Kobe on Sunday evening helped ease the pressure on Rodríguez just a touch, 3 points again here with Linssen still waiting in the wings will be manna from heaven for the Spaniard.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

DF Tomoya Inukai – Picked up a serious knee injury at the beginning of April, expected back in October at the earliest

MF Atsuki Ito – Missed the 1-0 win over Vissel Kobe, no reason given yet

MF Yoshio Koizumi – Last played in the 0-0 draw away to Fukuoka on 28 May

FW Kasper Junker – Limped off early in the win at Kobe, can’t seem to catch a break injury wise, must be considered a huge doubt for this game

FW Alex Schalk – Missed the 1-0 win over Vissel Kobe, no reason given yet

Predicted Lineups and Stats


Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima 29 June 2022 Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima
2022 J1 Season Round 15
Wednesday 29 June 2022
Panasonic Stadium Suita
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

**Quick Note – As this is a re-scheduled fixture after the original game slated for 25 May was postponed due to Covid, I’d like to point you in the direction of my previous match preview here which covers a lot of ground still relevant to Wednesday’s clash. This preview, and probably the ones for Urawa (2 July) and Kawasaki (9 July), will be shorter than usual as the J.League definitely don’t consult me when scheduling Wednesday / Saturday fixtures.**

There’s plenty on the line for both Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima in this Wednesday night’s bout at Panasonic Stadium. Hosts Gamba are on a run of 4 consecutive defeats which has seen them slip into the relegation playoff spot, however, victory here, in their game in hand, would lift them them up to the relative safety of 12th. That’s going to be no easy task though as their visitors, Sanfrecce, are chasing a domestic treble and know that securing 3 points from this tie will move them to within touching distance of the league’s summit. Hiroshima have won 5 of their last 6 and earned 16 points in the process, kantoku Michael Skibbe will be seeking a statement performance against Gamba, while Nerazzurri boss Tomohiro Katanosaka, a former Sanfrecce player and assistant coach no less, needs a victory in this game maybe more than he’s ever needed one before. This is the J. League, neither side has a midweek off until after the round of fixtures on July 16, it will be hot and sticky, there will be personnel changes, the hosts have lost their last four, the visitors have won four-in-a-row, to partially quote F1 commentating legend Murray Walker “anything can happen in [the J.League] and it usually does.”

Tale of the Tape



Sapporo round up – There was clear evidence of Katanosaka’s promised high-press against Consadole, however, it should definitely be considered a work in progress at this stage. Gaps were left in-behind which Sapporo were able to exploit on numerous occasions, additionally a lack of time to develop fluid combinations as a result of the seemingly never ending slew of injuries and tactical tinkering was clear for all to witness, particularly in Gamba’s disjointed build up play. A further worry was the Nerazzurri registering just 0.35xG, their second lowest tally of the year, with only Hiroto Yamami really threatening to provide any sort of spark going forward. At the other end, Consadole racked up 20 shots on Higashiguchi’s goal with the veteran stopper having to be at his very best to keep the hosts at bay. Sunday’s outcome means that the Ao to Kuro have now given up at least 20 shots to opponents 5 times in their last 7 games, which is frankly appalling, this compares with only Kashima (33) topping the 20 mark in the opening 10 rounds of fixtures and they had a player advantage for 52 minutes of that encounter. These numbers outlined above bear all the hallmarks of a side destined for the drop (-0.52xG difference per game says it all) and it’s set to be a big summer transfer window ahead for the Gamba front office.

Odds and ends – Despite that rant above I did manage to find a couple of bright spots amid the gloom on Sunday afternoon. Firstly, the ‘guardian deity’ himself Masaaki Higashiguchi, who was actually Gamba’s 2nd highest individual passer during the opening 45 minutes at the Sapporo Dome which I think kind of tells it’s own story. He produced excellent stops to deny Gabriel Xavier, Ryota Aoki and Takuro Kaneko and was powerless to prevent Yoshiaki Komai’s winning header finding the back of his net following poor defensive play from both of Gamba’s central midfielders. His busy day at the office ended with 6 saves, 4 of which were from inside the area, 2 caught crosses and 33 completed passes at a 78.6% accuracy rate. In attack, once again the burden of chance creation and goal scoring fell on the shoulders of young Hiroto Yamami who, despite being starved of possession for long periods, and rather embarrassingly pirouetting the ball out of play under little-to-no pressure in the first half still found himself at the heart of everything dangerous the Nerazzurri did. His 1 shot looked to be goal-bound before being headed away by Ryota Aoki while his 2 last passes included a beauty to set Hideki Ishige through for easily the blue and blacks’ best chance of the opening stanza and also one which took out multiple Consadole defenders midway through the second half, however, unfortunately Patric, receiving on the 18 yard line failed to bring it under control and the chance went begging. Yamami has stated he loves the club and isn’t going anywhere which must come as music to the supporters ears at this tough time.



The Skibbe effect – Experienced German coach Michael Skibbe was appointed Hiroshima kantoku without too much fanfare pre-season, however, due to Japan’s extremely tight Covid-era entry restrictions, he didn’t make his way onto the bench until round 6 when Sanfrecce, then winless, defeated fellow strugglers Shonan at the Lemon Gas Stadium. Since then they’ve suffered just a solitary loss in J1, a 2-1 reversal at home to Kashima in which Kaito Mori scored two absolute peaches, though crucially the Viola did look to have punched themselves out too early in that game and were ripe for the picking come the final 10 minutes. In terms of a potential title challenge, unthinkable before the campaign began, it’s worth considering that Hiroshima have picked up 21 points from their most recent 10 fixtures, compared with table-topping Marinos (22), Kawasaki (18) and Kashima (16). In a similar vein to Hanshin Tigers in the NPB, Sanfrecce must be wishing they could go back and erase the opening few rounds of the year.

The stars of the show – First of all, man of the moment, winter recruit from Ryutsu Keizai University Makoto Mitsuta whose 3 goals and 2 assists have proven invaluable in Sanfrecce’s recent run of 5 wins and 1 draw in their last 6 J1 outings. The Hiroshima youth product tops both the club’s goals scored and assists charts as well as registering the most shots of anyone in the squad (37, 2.6 per 90 minutes), ranking 2nd for crosses delivered (45) and 4th in terms of chances created. Defensively he’s not been too shabby either, his 29 blocks is second highest at Sanfre (21st in J1), while he’s successfully recovered possession 49 times which is only 4th best among his team-mates, but still sees him listed 18th in J1. On the right-wing is Tomoya Fujii, a stat collectors dream, and like Mitsuta a serious candidate for national team honours in the upcoming EAFF Cup. Second year pro out of Ritsumeikan University Fujii leads the league in sprints (617), dribbles (86) and crosses (109). His 162 km covered in 17 games is the best among Viola players while he rates second in his team for through balls (30), chances created (21) and possession recoveries (he’s 10th in J1 for this metric) plus, despite being a wing-back, he’s had the 3rd most shots out of all Hiroshima players (19). Last, but not least is Tsukasa Morishima, another individual for whom higher honours and potentially a move to Europe await. The classy schemer’s 57 through balls is the 3rd best figure in the division while 33 chances created in 15 outings is also a top ten league-wide performance.



Head to Head

**The text below is simply a copy and paste from the original match preview.**

3 April 2021 marked Gamba’s return to the field of play following a 5 week break due to a Covid cluster in the squad, and their opponents that day were Sanfrecce Hiroshima. A largely forgettable 0-0 ensued at the Edion Stadium with chances at a premium and Sanfrecce kantoku Hiroshi Jofuku’s decision to play Junior Santos, normally a centre-forward, on the left-wing turned out to be the game’s main talking point which I think kind of tells you how uneventful things were. The return fixture took place a mere 39 days later as it was a tie originally scheduled for round 20 that had been brought forward owing to the Nerazzurri’s participation in the ACL. It will forever be remembered as Tsuneyasu Miyamoto’s final game in charge of the Ao to Kuro as Hiroshima’s 2-1 triumph left Gamba with just 7 points from their opening 10 games and the powers that be at the Panasonic Stadium flicked the panic switch. Sho Sasaki put the visitors in front before a scrappy Kazunari Ichimi effort, which would probably have been put down as a Keisuke Osako own goal in most other leagues, levelled things up at the interval. Hayao Kawabe then displayed the kind of form that made Grasshoppers, and later Wolves, make moves for him with a fine finish to secure the 3 points midway through the second-half.



Gamba Osaka

Transfer round-up – My followers on Twitter (I’m trying to move away from there and more onto WordPress) will be aware that I posted on Friday regarding reserve left-back Shin Won-ho’s move to Suwon Samsung Bluewings in his home country, it was originally expected to just be a loan, but it turns out it’s a permanent deal, so good luck to him in his future endeavours. His departure does free up Ryotaro Meshino’s old #40 jersey should he opt to return home this summer. There have been no further updates regarding deals for either he, or Musashi Suzuki, since last week. Another former Gamba Youth product to unsuccessfully try his luck in Europe at an early age, Shuhei Kawasaki, looks to be on his way out at Portimonense, though I think a return to Panasonic Stadium is unlikely at this stage. Brazilian forward Leandro Pereira wasn’t in the matchday squad for the trip to Hokkaido on Sunday, this has led some to speculate his unhappy time at Gamba is nearing it’s end, could a reunion with former coach Hiroshi Jofuku at Tokyo Verdy with Emperor’s Cup hero Ryoga Sato heading in the opposite direction be on the cards? Left-back / wing-back Keisuke Kurokawa’s recent absence has also led to rumours that several European clubs are after his signature and Celtic are leading the race. It’d be a slightly surprising move for me as I feel he needs more time to develop before heading overseas, but he would be in a similar boat to Meshino, Kawasaki and Keito Nakamura in that respect. Should Kurokawa follow Shin Won-ho out the door then it’d be likely the Nerazzurri would be in the market for a new left-back, and having not signed anyone from Renofa Yamaguchi for a while, why not go for the Jon Steele approved Kento Hashimoto (and no, not the Vissel Kobe midfielder, same name though)? Finally, and I know this will never happen, but I was thinking that although I’ve no issue with stating Gen Shoji and Genta Miura are objectively far better defenders than say Yuto Misao, who opted to remain with Oita rather than move to Suita with Katanosaka last winter, I kind of get the impression that if the Nerazzurri had 2 lower profile new defenders who fitted the current kantoku’s style they could do a better job in this team than Shoji and Miura for a much lower salary. One name that popped into my head was Tokyo Verdy’s Japan Under-23 centre-back Seiya Baba. The ball-playing stopper has recently been linked with Shimizu and following his displays in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan he’s likely to be on a few European teams’ radars, but heck why not give Verdy a call, Baba and Sato for Pereira, sounds like a good deal to me, we can even throw in Yota Sato on loan too, how does that sound Verdy?

And finally…with the slew of negative news stories seemingly never-ending (apologies if I’ve contributed more in this preview), I thought I’d report on something a bit more heart-warming. Last Friday (24 June), Mitsuki Saito, Shota Fukuoka and Yota Sato were involved in a “Stadium Pitch Experience Event” in conjunction with Suita City council. It allows nursery and kindergarten kids playing time on the field at Panasonic Stadium (wouldn’t do any worse than the current first-team I hear you shout…chortle…chortle) supervised by the players themselves and I thought it was a pretty good initiative that deserves praise. At a time where media focus seems to be largely centred around looking for stories that paint footballers in a negative light, see the hounding of Jack Grealish on holiday in Las Vegas for evidence of this, we should also take the time to reflect on the good community work done by clubs and players away from the glare of the spotlight.

Team News

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right hand, expected back in August at the earliest

DF Keisuke Kurokawa – Has missed the last 2 league games and has been linked with a move to Europe (specifically Celtic), though I’m unsure how reliable the source of the information is

DF Kwon Kyung-won – Available again after one match ban for sending off against Yokohama F. Marinos

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in May, expected back in August at the earliest

MF Kosuke Onose – Not in the matchday squad versus Sapporo on Sunday, no reason yet given for his absence

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury, don’t expect him back anytime soon

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, likely out for the season


Predicted Lineups and Stats





Sanfrecce Hiroshima

A team expected by many to get bogged down in mid-table instead finds itself in with a genuine shot at a first J1 crown since 2015, can Skibbe’s Gegenpressing system keep them on course over the hot summer months, that’s the million dollar question. I’d have to say at the moment, their smallish squad suggests to me that top 3 rather than champions is the most realistic outcome, though I did have them 13th in my pre-season league table, so maybe take what I have to say with a pinch of salt. In recent years they’ve had to make do with new arrivals drawn largely from their youth team and also varsity football, and to that end, excellent Toin Yokohama University (Yuki Nogami, Miki Yamane, Kento Tachibanada are all alumni) defender Shuto Nakano as well as Taichi Yamasaki from Juntendo University (Reo Hatate’s alma mater, they knocked FC Tokyo out of the Emperor’s Cup in 2021) are confirmed arrivals for next season. The acquisition of clubless Swiss international Nassim Ben Khalifa in April suggests that Skibbe has a contact or two around the globe and that may pay dividends again this summer in the shape of another left-field signing. The German kantoku originally had the Viola set up in a 3-4-2-1 system before tweaking it into a 3-5-2 with Notsuta at the base of the midfield and Morishima and Mitsuta further forward. He reverted back to 3-4-2-1 for the 3-1 win at Fukuoka last weekend with Taishi Matsumoto starting as a volante next to Notsuda, but owing to the latter’s suspension for this clash I reckon we’ll see the return of Junior Santos alongside Ben Khalifa while Matsumoto sits behind the deadly duo of Morishima and Mitsuta forming one heck of a homegrown midfield trio.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Takuto Hayashi – Backup ‘keeper, last involvement was as an unused sub on 7 May

MF Ezequiel – Suffered ankle injury, returned to Brazil for treatment, but now back in training, last played 2 March

MF Gakuto Notsuda – Serving a one-match suspension as a result of picking up 4 yellow cards, has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games, will be missed

FW Shun Ayukawa – Promising young forward who broke his foot earlier in the year, expected back in August

Predicted Lineups and Stats



Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

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sport

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo vs Gamba Osaka 26 June 2022 Match Preview

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo vs Gamba Osaka
2022 J1 Season Round 18
Sunday 26 June 2022
Sapporo Dome
Kick Off: 14:00 (JST)

It’s crunch time at the Sapporo Dome this Sunday afternoon as Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Gamba Osaka look to snap 3 match losing runs and put an end to their respective slides down the J1 standings. Gamba slumped to a 4th home defeat of the year against table-toppers Yokohama F. Marinos last Saturday, and while the outcome itself was perhaps unsurprising, worryingly for Tomohiro Katanosaka and the Nerazzurri support it was the 2nd time in the space of 3 matches where opponents have come from behind to defeat the Ao to Kuro, something that happened just once across the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. Gamba currently sit in 15th and Sunday’s hosts are 4 places and a mere 3 points ahead of them following a wretched run of results. Most recently they were thrashed 5-2 by Kawasaki Frontale at the Todoroki Stadium and they’ve now conceded 15 goals in their last 3 J1 outings. Long-serving kantoku Mischa Petrović’s position is coming under increasing pressure and he will be desperate to secure the 3 points here. These two sides combined for an xG of 4.73, but somehow drew 0-0 in Suita during Golden Week, and with this clash, unlike the 2020 and 2021 encounters, being played at the Sapporo Dome rather than the wind-swept, bumpy Atsubetsu Stadium, we should be in for an open game of football and hopefully plenty of goals.

Tale of the Tape


Before I start out this section I’d like to give a shout out to @R_by_Ryo for his excellent 2022 Mid-Season Review which includes a mind-blowing array of stats and information on all 18 J1 clubs, please check it out if you haven’t already.

For Gamba supporters, a one goal home defeat to Yokohama F. Marinos certainly has an air of familiarity about it as it’s now occurred on 5 of the 7 occasions the Kanagawa giants have visited the possibly cursed Panasonic Stadium on league business since it was opened in 2016 (has anyone checked it’s not built on an ancient burial site or anything?) Anyway, as usual when you play Marinos their open style gives you the chance to dazzle on occasions, but also to be completely overwhelmed on others. Quite impressively the Nerazzurri outran their guests from Kanto, completing 2.3 km more as a team and performing 26 more sprints. Both distance covered (120.3 km) and sprinting (204) numbers were season bests for the Ao to Kuro by 1.4 km and 4 respectively. However, on a hot early summer evening they ran out of steam and were unable to go the distance largely due to the efforts they put in during the first 45 minutes (Katanosaka said in his post-match comments that this first-half will serve as the blueprint for the way he wants Gamba to play from now on). Having been outshot a mere 8-7 (xG 1.1-0.5 in Marinos favour) in the opening stanza, after the break Marinos recorded 14 efforts on goal to Gamba’s 5 and outranked them in xG 1.3-0.64. It’s not so much that Marinos created loads of high quality chances for themselves, but as we saw in last week’s stats review, they have an above average attack and if they manage to get the ball in and around an opponent’s box for significant periods of time then they are going to score, no question about it.

Individually 3 players in blue and black stood out positively for me on Saturday. Firstly, goal-scorer Dawhan, who was the Nerazzurri’s leading shot taker on the night with 4 and is now joint top of the club’s scoring charts (tied with Onose on 3). Hiroto Yamami also shone brightly, especially in the first half, his evening’s work included 2 shots, 3 last passes, 3 crosses and 4 possession recoveries and he seems to be starting to find his feet at this level. Additionally, my choice for player of the first half of the season, Kosuke Onose, had a quietly effective evening in attack and defence, chalking up 2 shots, 2 last passes, 5 blocks and 4 possession recoveries.

The final point I wanted to make here is an extension of something I’ve been saying for multiple seasons now, constant tinkering with a team’s shape, especially at the back, leads you nowhere. Now, thanks to the first table you see below, I have the numbers to back up my comments. In 16 league matches so far, Gamba have started with a back 3 on 6 occasions compared to 10 back 4s, and that’s not to mention the numerous times things have been switched up on the fly mid-game or in cup competitions. There have also been 8 changes of formation between consecutive league matches, which in my book is just way, way too many, and it’s something that’s going to need to be addressed if the Ao to Kuro are to dig themselves out of the hole they’re presently in.



Honestly, Sapporo’s results and performances across the first half of the season have defied reason and logic to such an extent that I’m just going to opt for a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach for the majority of this ‘analysis.’ After drawing their opening 6 games, they were then spanked 5-0 away at Tosu, who prior to that had scored just 3 times in 6 J1 matches (please never change J League), before embarking on a run of 5 consecutive clean sheets which included their trip to Panasonic Stadium in Golden Week. However, starting from the 4-1 drubbing at Kashima on 14 May, Mischa Petrović’s charges have let in a staggering 20 goals in 5 games, conceding 4 or more in 4 of those bouts, and currently boast the league’s most porous backline, 5 clear of nearest challengers Júbilo Iwata. Shots for and against numbers are pretty even, however, Consadole’s xG against is significantly higher than xG for suggesting that opponents are creating far better chances than they are, most likely through counter-attacking opportunities, especially when Sapporo are chasing a game and Petrović alters the strategy from all-out attack to ultra all-out attack. To make matters worse for the Rossoneri, not only has the defence leaked badly, but their injury-plagued attack has misfired too. The likes of Chanathip and Jay haven’t been adequately replaced, while Koroki and Ogashiwa’s fitness issues certainly haven’t helped either as this has led to a square pegs in round holes situation with the likes of Gabriel Xavier, Arano and Kaneko forced to become auxiliary centre-forwards. I’m a long-term admirer of Takuro Kaneko, but unfortunately the leading dribbler and crosser in J1 2021 has been shunted about between wing-back, shadow forward and central attacker which has greatly affected his output. He’s now down to 3rd in the dribbling rankings, level with his mercurial team-mate Lucas Fernandes, and doesn’t even rank 1st at Consadole in the crossing metric with Fernandes registering 14 more during the first half of the year (Kaneko’s currently listed as 20th in the league). With that said, Kaneko remains a threat with the most through balls played out of everyone in the Rossoneri squad while also creating the second highest number of chances. He’s definitely still someone that Tomohiro Katanosaka and the Gamba defence will have to keep a close eye on come Sunday.



First Match Recap

We’re less than 2 months on from the first meeting of the year between these two sides so I’ll be mercifully brief in here. The 0-0 scoreline at Panasonic Stadium doesn’t really tell the whole story of that game as Sapporo hit the post and had Yoshiaki Komai tread on the ball and somehow fail to score from the Gamba goal-line all within the first minute of the contest. Things got even more frustrating for Consadole at the end of the opening period when Gabriel Xavier’s penalty was brilliantly saved by Jun Ichimori after Kwon Kyung-won had been slightly harshly adjudged to have brought down Hiroki Miyazawa. The Rossoneri spent the majority of the second period on the front foot, but were wasteful in the attacking third and almost paid the ultimate price for their sloppiness in the final quarter when the Nerazzurri’s Brazilian duo Patric and Wellington Silva spurned presentable openings. However, a hot and sunny Golden Week encounter somehow finished up 0-0.



Gamba Osaka

Yokohama F. Marinos game wrap – I know I delved into this a touch in ‘tale of the tape’ above, but there were a couple of extra points I wanted to make. Firstly, was the feeling of inevitability that swept the stadium in the wake of Marinos going 2-1 in front, the apparent lack of belief among the Gamba players radiated out to all those of a blue and black persuasion and that was a real concern for me. With that said, Marinos’ keeper Yohei Takaoka did have to be at his best to earn his side the 3 points, just as he did in the corresponding fixture last season, with a couple of excellent stops, 1 in each half, so, while Gamba were thoroughly outplayed in the second period, it wasn’t quite all doom and gloom. Finally, some words of praise for the referee, Akihiro Ikeuchi for sticking with his on-field decision of no-penalty against Mitsuki Saito even when summoned to the VAR booth for a look. This is the first time, excluding when VAR cocked-up by forgetting to check a clear offside in the Gamba vs Sendai game last season, where I can remember a referee refusing to overturn a decision, for or against Gamba, after being called over to the TV monitor.

The ‘R’ Word – In the wake of Ange Postecoglou leading Celtic to the title in his first campaign in charge, I heard the season before his arrival being referred to as ‘a disaster’ and not by Celtic sources, this was the mainstream media I’m talking about. For anyone unfamiliar with the situation, they finished 2nd in 2020/21. Similarly, Gary Neville described the current Manchester United team as ‘the worst since the 1970s’ after finishing 6th in 2021/22 (I’m sure they ended up 7th the year after Fergie left), however, in Japan’s top flight, a season which can be described as ‘a disaster’ or ‘the worst ever’ leads you to J2. So, with that meandering ramble off my chest, now to my question, is Gamba’s annus horribilis of 2012 destined to repeat itself in 2022 and will this World Cup year culminate in relegation for the blue and blacks? Reasons pointing towards ‘yes’ would be, the Nerazzurri’s current form and league position trajectory, the lack of a clear shape or identity, front office recruitment issues, poor defending and constant injuries (I’m sorry this has been going on for so long that it has to be concluded that Gamba are doing something worse than the rest of the league / the rest of the league are doing something better than Gamba – word it as you please). Signs in favour of ‘no’ might be the upcoming summer transfer window, their game in hand and closeness to mid-table, experience in digging themselves out of a hole 12 months ago, and there being enough (though maybe only just enough) weaker teams in the league to finish below them. Which route will the Nerazzurri’s season take from here on? It’s impossible to say at this stage.

Transfer News and Gossip – With the J. League transfer window opening on 15 July and Gamba in dire need of re-enforcements I thought it would be a good time to run through some rumours. Football Tribe reported that Gamba and Fukuoka have dropped out of the race for highly rated Brazilian attacker Ademir (Atlético Mineiro) due to his hefty price-tag (he’s valued at €4.5 million on Transfermarkt). The article also suggested that S-Pulse could still be in the hunt as new kantoku Ze Ricardo seeks to re-shape his squad. He seems set to offload some of his current foreign talents, and the Nerazzurri could be tempted to make a move for someone like Carlinhos Junior or even the recently arrived Oh Se-hun (but that’s purely my speculation). There does seem to be something behind rumours linking Ryotaro Meshino with a return to Panasonic Stadium after 3 indifferent years in Europe and Gamba are also one of a number of clubs credited with an interest in Japan international forward Musashi Suzuki, who is crucially on record as saying he wants to go somewhere that he’ll play regularly, which may put the Ao to Kuro ahead of Kobe and Urawa in the pecking order for his services (then again this could just be wishful thinking on my part). In terms of departures, it’s being reported in South Korea that back-up left-back Shin Won-ho will join Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a 6-month loan while there are strong rumours that out-of-favour volante Ju Se-jong will also return to his homeland, though his future destination is unclear at the moment.

Emperor’s Cup Wrap – Gamba overcame a sluggish first-half performance (no efforts on goal) to see off Tomohiro Katanosaka’s former side Oita Trinita 3-1 at the Showa Denko Dome on Wednesday night. A beautiful dribble and dink from Hiroto Yamami following Shu Kurata’s defence splitting pass drew the Nerazzurri level after ex-Gamba forward (and fellow Kwansei Gakuin alumni) Hiroto Goya had given the hosts the lead with an early spot kick (the second time this season Yota Sato has given away a penalty at the same venue – the other being in the Levain Cup). Speaking of the Levain Cup, the Ao to Kuro will now face another of their group stage rivals, Kashima, away in the next round of this competition thanks to a late brace from Patric. The Brazilian’s first coming via a back post header, where he leapt to meet Shota Fukuoka’s cross superbly, and the second being dispatched from the penalty spot in the 89th minute. With the likes of Kawasaki, Marinos, Urawa, FC Tokyo and Sapporo all bowing out to J2 opposition on the same night, I think it’s safe to say this tie was a bullet dodged and it’s mission accomplished for Katanosaka and co.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Jun Ichimori – 2 dislocated fingers in right-hand, expected back September at the earliest

DF Keisuke Kurokawa – Missed last Saturday’s loss to Marinos and the Emperor’s Cup victory over Oita in midweek, no reason given for his absence which remains a mystery at the moment

DF Kwon Kyung-won – 1 match suspension for red card picked up against Yokohama F. Marinos

MF Yuya Fukuda – Underwent shoulder surgery in late May, expected back mid-August at the earliest

MF Yuki Yamamoto – Injured knee cartilage in late May, expected back in Autumn at the earliest

FW Takashi Usami – Ruptured achilles tendon, most likely out for the season

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Interestingly, in the wake of Sapporo’s 5-2 defeat at the hands of defending champions Kawasaki last weekend, former player, from 2017-2021, Jay Bothroyd took to Twitter to criticise the current stagnation at the club and cited the 4th place finish achieved in Mischa Petrović’s first year in charge back in 2018 as the target for all future campaigns. Those comments got me wondering, does that 2018 season hang over the current Sapporo squad like the Sword of Damocles? As an outside observer, I would point out that since entering the J.League back in 1998, Consadole have spent 13 seasons in J2 compared with 11 in the top flight and their current run of 6 consecutive campaigns in J1 is by far and away the best in their history. They’ve never finished lower than 12th during that time and despite recent poor results they’re still 11th this term. With no real investment to bring in big-name talents in their prime, is it realistic to expect a team, that largely has to make do with shaping and molding talents from their youth system and varsity football into a cohesive footballing unit, to perform any better than they’ve been doing of late? I’d argue no, but as sporting fandom is as much a part of the heart, as it is the brain, I’m sure there will be others who disagree. Looking into the near future, it’s clear that Consadole need more attacking weapons to allow them to move up the standings. Having failed to adequately replace Chanathip when he departed for Kawasaki last winter they have now announced that his compatriot Supachok Sarachat will arrive on loan from Buriram United next month. If he can enjoy even half the success of his countryman then that would serve as a real fillip for Sapporo. Veteran forward Shinzo Koroki is now finally fit again, he could be the answer to their goal-scoring problems, though rapidly approaching his 36th birthday, it’s probably best if they don’t rely on him too greatly and instead look to bring in a new attacker this summer. There is increasing pressure on Petrović’s position, but with Consadole still ensconced in mid-table, 4 points above the drop-zone, getting rid of him and radically altering their playing style is probably a risk too great to contemplate at this very moment, though it is definitely a situation to keep your eye on, particularly if they continue to cede goals by the bucket load.

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Takanori Sugeno – Calf injury, last played 14 May, has partially resumed training

MF Lucas Fernandes – Missed last week’s loss to Kawasaki and the midweek cup tie with Kofu, reason unknown

MF Tomoki Takamine – Hamstring injury, last played 14 May, return date unknown

FW Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa – Hamstring injury, last played 29 April which was a failed attempt at a comeback, currently unclear when he’ll be back

FW Gabriel Xavier – Was subbed off in the first half of the home loss to Ventforet Kofu in the Emperor’s Cup on Wednesday night, his participation here has to be in some doubt.

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Gamba Osaka vs Yokohama F. Marinos 18 June 2022 Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Yokohama F. Marinos
2022 J1 Season Round 17
Saturday 18 June 2022
Panasonic Stadium Suita
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

J1 makes a welcome return this Saturday after a 3-week hiatus due to the June internationals and table-topping Yokohama F. Marinos are slated to make their way to Panasonic Stadium to square off against a Gamba Osaka side languishing in lower mid-table. Approaching the mid-way point of the season, 2019 champions Marinos currently lead the standings by a mere point with Kashima and Kawasaki hot on their heels and they’ll be keen to continue their recent run of good results in Suita. Meanwhile Gamba, and their supporters, must be hoping the short break has allowed a number of key squad members to return to fitness ahead of a busy run of fixtures which sees the Nerazzurri play 8 games in 30 days in the lead up to their glamour friendly with Paris Saint-Germain on July 25th. In truth, each side’s respective treatment room has had plenty of visitors this term and it will be equally important for both teams to hit the ground running here before a hectic month of non-stop action.

Tale of the Tape



Gamba currently lie 13th in the overall J1 standings, but that ranking falls to 16th for home matches only, albeit they have a game in hand owing to the bout with Hiroshima being postponed last month. It really goes without saying that correcting that pressing issue, which has plagued the club since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, is right near the very top of kantoku Tomohiro Katanosaka’s to-do list. I could continue with my usual statistical drivel about stopping the opposition from having so many shots, plus how the constant tinkering with the team’s shape is the root cause of that, before then wandering on to poor transfer dealings, injuries etc, etc, but let’s instead opt for a change of pace in the form of some individual player stats I’ve dug up during the international window. First to a favourite of mine, Hiroto Yamami, who has very much taken over the Usami role of creator-in-chief and main goal threat, for what it’s worth I definitely think those duties need to be divided up. Yamami’s 27 shots (1.9 per 90 minutes) is the leading figure among everyone in the Ao to Kuro squad while his 20 chances created is also a club best. With Ayase Ueda seemingly on his way to Portugal and Yuma Suzuki potentially picking up an injury against Fukuoka at the weekend, it appears like Shoma Doi will be staying put, Nagoya’s Manabu Saito scored a lovely goal in the Levain Cup on Saturday, but he seems destined for Suwon FC in South Korea, so I’m left wondering who the Nerazzurri will turn to in order to take some of the heavy burden off young Yamami’s shoulders…Hiroyuki Abe? Musashi Suzuki? Ryotaro Meshino? At the back, Kwon Kyung-won has arrived and put in some mixed performances so far, but there is no doubting his work rate which I’ve tried to put into perspective by comparing some defensive stats with fellow centre backs Genta Miura and Gen Shoji. Kwon (524 minutes played) is making 4.5 clearances per 90 minutes compared with Miura’s (1142 minutes – most for a Gamba player) 5.3 and Shoji’s (1080 minutes – 4th in the squad) 3.1, however, he comes into his own with both, blocks, 3.3 to Miura’s 2.4 and Shoji’s 2.2 plus possession recoveries 3.6 versus Miura’s 2.4 and Shoji’s 1.5 (all numbers are per 90 minutes). After a busy international break it’ll be interesting to see what kind of shape the South Korean stopper returns in. Speaking of returns, it seems like the guardian deity and club legend himself Masaaki Higashiguchi is ready to don the gloves in a competitive match for the first time in 2022. So, I thought this would be a good time to have a look at how the different back up ‘keepers have performed in his absence. I’ve previously highlighted Jun Ichimori’s excellent ability with the ball at his feet (I wonder if Ju Se-jong dispossesses him in training as easily as he did Manuel Neuer in the 2018 World Cup), but now I have the stats at my disposal to back up my comments. Ichimori’s 79.9% pass completion rate dwarfs that of both Kei Ishikawa (59.6%) and Taichi Kato (66.7% – granted he’s only played once in J1 so far). Ichimori has also completed on average 21.2 successful passes per 90 minutes to Ishikawa’s 11.5 and conceded the same number of goals as Ishikawa despite playing an extra 360 minutes, though it should be pointed out he only made 15 more saves during those additional 4 games, so perhaps better team defending as a whole had something to do with that? With 19 league fixtures remaining and Higashiguchi set to play the majority of them, I look forward to having another look at these numbers come the season’s end. (In creating this mini-section, I’d like to give a brief shout out to the J.League’s official English site which has really, and I mean REALLY upped it’s game stats wise this season and is well worth a visit.)




Marinos are the division’s current pace-setters and they lead the league in xG For, shots for, shots for on target, completed passes and possession. Indeed they were first in all those categories last term in addition to sprints, though they’ve since been overtaken in that metric by both Sagan Tosu and Kyoto Sanga. Perhaps if you’re looking for a slight chink in the armour of Kevin Muscat’s side it’s that, out of my key performance indicators, only xG against and distance covered have improved this term, though it should be pointed out that a lot of their numbers were ridiculously good last season, so slipping back a touch from outstanding to comfortably above average is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Interestingly, despite xG against moving in the right direction, 17 goals conceded in 16 outings this year has seen their defensive ranking shift from joint 3rd in 2021 to 9th equal this time round. That might be a symptom of a more even league as last term Marinos finished 2nd on 79 points, 13 behind runway champions Kawasaki, however, in 2022 no team are averaging 2 points or more per game and it could be a case of somewhere in the region of 66-68 points being good enough to bag you the title. Marinos, Antlers, Frontale and if we’re being honest even Hiroshima, Kashiwa and Cerezo (maybe FC Tokyo too?) will currently consider themselves to be genuinely in the hunt for the J1 crown and where Yokohama may have the edge is in attack. They are currently the division’s top scorers with 30 goals, and outside of the presently suspended Anderson Lopes (7), the other strikes have been shared out between 10 different players, with none netting more than 4. I spoke about defence earlier, and while never a strong point of a Postecoglou-inspired system, the Tricolore have managed to keep 6 clean sheets this season to date including in their 2 most recent outings. With both ends of the pitch considered, to my eye it appears that Muscat has levelled the 2022 Marinos out a touch, the 5-0 and 8-0 wins of previous years are gone, but so are the 5-3 losses and ‘keepers being chipped from the half way line. Only 3 defeats all year, 5 victories in their last 7 league games, this is a proper good team and it’s a side that stands as strong a chance as any of lifting the J1 trophy when November rolls around.




(Just about) Mid Season Data Roundup

I’m not going to go into these stats in too much detail, I’d rather just leave the tables here for you to peruse and draw your own conclusions. However, there are a few small points I’d like to make.

* The Frontale fallaway – The Todoroki side boasted an xG difference of +0.75 during their title winning 2021 campaign, that’s dropped a whopping 0.81 per match to -0.06 this term.
* According to my xG data we could have expected Yokohama F. Marinos to score 2.9 more goals than Urawa across the first 16 fixtures. In reality, Marinos have hit the back of the net on 15 more occasions than their Saitama-based rivals, with Kevin Muscat’s troops bagging double the number of goals of Ricardo Rodriguez’s side (30 vs 15).
* Avispa Fukuoka have J1’s weakest attack and meanest defence in terms of goals scored and conceded, however the data indicates that might be about to change. The northern Kyushu side rank 11th in the xG For rankings and joint 5th in terms of xG against. Additionally, when we compare actual goals scored vs xG, the Wasps total of -6.9 is the 3rd poorest result in the division, while at the other end the figure of -6.62 actual goals conceded vs xG against is the biggest overperformance in the league.
* Kyoto Sanga may currently sit 9th, 7 points above the drop zone, but their stats suggest they are in something of a false position at the moment with only distance covered and sprints ranking above 15th. Summer has arrived in Japan, can they keep up their work-rate in the heat and humidity and can 38 year-old Peter Utaka keep up his remarkable scoring record?
* And finally to Gamba, 13th in J1 last season and 13th again this year. Unfortunately there isn’t much to say this is a particularly inaccurate position based on on-field performances so far. No metric scored higher than 9th (distance covered) while they have also posted league worst shots against numbers. Keeping players fit and maintaining a consistent shape are essential if this is to be remedied in the second half of the year.




Head to Head

Both clashes between these two in 2021 saw the home side dominate everywhere but where it mattered most, the scoreboard. Firstly, Gamba hosted Marinos in a re-arranged round 6 tie on August 6 and it was the visitors who ran out 3-2 winners in sweltering conditions. Élber gave Marinos the lead with a fine shot from the edge of the area, slightly against the run of play, before fellow Brazilian Marcos Junior doubled their advantage 3 minutes into the second half. The Nerazzurri pulled one back shortly after with Leandro Pereira dusting himself off after being brought down by Thiago Martins (who was lucky not to receive a second yellow) to convert a spot-kick. At that stage of the game, the Ao to Kuro seemed to be in the ascendancy with Yohei Takaoka having to be at his very best to divert Patric’s close-range effort onto the post minutes later, and that proved to be a crucial block as Marinos then went on to wrap the game up through super sub Kota Mizanuma with just 16 minutes remaining. There was still time for Gamba to grab a consolation in additional time with Patric heading home Usami’s exquisite cross, but it was too little too late and Kevin Muscat was able to celebrate 3 points in his first game in charge. Things didn’t go quite so swimmingly for the Australian and his charges in the return fixture in early November. Knowing that only a win would keep them in the hunt for the J1 title they came up against a stubborn and well-organised Gamba defence that limited them to shots from distance and tight angles. The sting in the tail arrived in the 55th minute when Nerazzurri number 10 Shu Kurata bagged the game’s only goal, stabbing home from Yuki Yamamoto’s dinked cross following a rare spell of attacking intensity from the visitors. Naturally, they subsequently returned to their defensive shell and a back four of Yanagisawa, Sato, Suganuma and Fujiharu, superbly marshalled by Takashi Kiyama on the sidelines, were able to see things through to the end, 1-0 the final score.



Gamba Osaka

* Pretty close to the halfway point of the campaign and fresh from an appearance on the J-Talk Podcast where I helped choose the J1 team of the half season (sadly not a Gamba player in sight), I thought it’d be a good idea to highlight some standouts from a tough opening 15 league matches for the Nerazzurri. Goalkeeper Jun Ichimori (as described in ‘tale of the tape’ above) was generally excellent before dislocating two fingers, left-back / wing-back Keisuke Kurokawa has stepped up a level this year, Dawhan’s range of passing in addition to his boundless energy has been a real boost in midfield combined with Mitsuki Saito’s tenacity. Hiroto Yamami’s stunning strike away to Shimizu last season perhaps burdened him with too much pressure, but he’s definitely improved steadily as the year has progressed and two goals in his last two league outings are hopefully a harbinger for a better run of form ahead. With all that said, let’s get it out of the way, my choice for Gamba’s player of the half-season is…drumroll…Kosuke Onose who leads the side in sprints (271), distance covered (138.2 km), crosses (51), through balls (37), possession recoveries (55) and most importantly goals scored (3), let’s hope the the international break has given him the time to fully get back up to speed after his brief Covid-enforced absence and he can then potentially go on to match the 7 strikes he bagged in 2019.

* In the Summertime – Gamba vs Marinos marks the start of the Nerazzurri’s summer of festivities with a sports / music collaboration event titled ‘Gamba Sonic’ featuring Def Tech and DJ Kazu playing live sets in the stadium prior to kick off (Black Eyed Peas and Usher blasting out at the National Stadium just before the FC Tokyo vs Gamba clash last month took me back to my clubbing days and also reminded me why it’s a good thing they’re well in the past, so maybe it’s for the best I’m not going to this game – for the record I’ve no idea who either Def Tech or DJ Kazu are). An extra ¥500 on top of your matchday ticket gets you a quite fetching black and gold Gamba t-shirt too while there’s a range of new merchandise on sale now with the snapback caps looking particularly fetching in my opinion. The popular Summer Expo game will be held against Shimizu on August 14th with a pretty dazzling uniform being worn as usual (I’ve gone for #32 Sakamoto on mine) as well as free supporters t-shirts being given out to all paying spectators.

* Above I set out the good, now for the bad and the ugly. Despite unfounded social media goading to the contrary (honestly, I’m extremely tired of Twitter at the moment), in response to supporter unrest at the Osaka Derby, the club have announced stringent new rules inside Panasonic Stadium starting from this game. Flashpoint ties at home to Urawa and Cerezo await in July so this encounter with Marinos is surely being seen as an opportunity to test the water. Away supporters will be confined to the upper tier of the south stand and won’t be able walk around the concourse as is usually the case. Additionally, away uniforms and goods cannot be displayed outside the designated away support area. For reference, when Gamba hosted Vissel Kobe last month, a good number of Vissel supporters were drinking happily near the Gamba end of the stadium, there were Kobe fans sitting right behind me in the Back Stand and I saw a group of 4 young guys a few rows in front, 3 were in Gamba blue and black and one wore a maroon Vissel towel scarf. For me, these kind of interactions are what the J.League is all about and it’s a real shame that the mindless antics of the minority have caused the majority to suffer. As someone born and raised in the west coast of Scotland I like to think I know a bit about that kind of thing and I really hope those involved in the recent trouble reflect on their misdeeds and other more well-intentioned Gamba supporters can lead the club to a brighter and better future. (I am fully aware this last part sounds a bit too flowery, but I couldn’t think of a better way to word it!)

* Back to some positive news now about a couple of the club’s youngsters, Jiro Nakamura and Isa Sakamoto who were on target for Japan U-19 in the recent Maurice Revello Tournament in France. Congratulations to both and hopefully they learned a lot from their experiences and can once again become important cogs in the Gamba machine during the second half of the year.

* And finally, I was able to get myself a ticket for the match with Paris Saint-Germain next month, though it appears a number of regular Gamba match-goers were not. There is a fan club lottery coming up which hopefully goes some way to redressing the balance, but I feel the event organisers are in a bit of a pickle as on one hand this is a Gamba home game and on the other they’re essentially trying to market this almost as a cultural event for the whole of West Japan. I know the concept of a League XI vs X Big European Club tends to get pooh-poohed, but in this kind of scenario, I wonder if it’s not the worst idea in the world?

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

GK Masaaki Higashiguchi – has been in full training for the past few weeks, should be fit for a first start of the season here
GK Jun Ichimori – Dislocated two fingers in his right hand during training on 28 May, unlikely to be back before September
DF Kwon Kyung-won – Played 270 minutes for South Korea during the international break so could be rested here with so many games coming up in the next month
DF Ryu Takao – Returned to full training on 5 June, should be fit enough to at least make the bench here
MF Yuya Fukuda – Had shoulder surgery on 23 May, put out a post on Instagram suggesting he’ll miss the friendly with Paris Saint-Germain on 25 July, expect him back in late August / September at the earliest
MF Shu Kurata – Calf injury, I’d hoped he’d be ready for this match, but he hasn’t re-started full training yet which suggests a return in mid July at the very earliest
MF Mitsuki Saito – Was absent from open training sessions the club held on 5 and 12 June, no reason has yet been given
MF Yuki Yamamoto – Knee cartilage injury sustained in training on May 22, no details given on the severity, at best I’d say 2-3 months, at worst his season is over
FW Takashi Usami – Achilles tendon rupture, was sighted lightly kicking a ball in training on 5 June, but he’s still a long, long way off a full return

Predicted Lineups and Stats





Yokohama F. Marinos

I wrote the following about Marinos kantoku Kevin Muscat and his troops in my J1 2022 Predicted Lineups post back in January, “I’m open minded as to what he [Muscat] can achieve given the time and space to put his own mark on the team. I’d argue that this squad is slightly weaker than 12 months ago, however, there is still plenty of talent onboard and top 4 should be a minimum expectation.” If you read that article back again you can find many dubious calls (Yuma Suzuki maybe not being a regular starter at Kashima – what was I thinking?) so I’m happy to milk a relatively accurate one. I’d now like to go on to point out a couple of areas in which I think Marinos, as an organisation, perform at a higher level than most of their rivals. Firstly, at the moment I’m taking part in the Transfermarkt.jp summer update for J1 and J2 and what really stands out to me is how few grizzled veterans (players who lose their value really quickly on that site) are in their squad, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, it’s just right. This allows for good squad balance and an effective rotation system where quality players such as Kota Mizanuma, Joel Chima Fujita, Kota Watanabe and Ken Matsubara accept not being regular starters while still receiving plenty of playing minutes. Several other J1 outfits (Gamba being chief among them) tend to have backlogs of players in certain positions who are well within their rights to consider themselves J1 level starters while other areas of the field are much more sparsely covered. With that said, one of the best balanced squads in the division does seem to be slightly overloaded with right-wingers, though in fairness that is by far and away the most overstocked outfield position in Japanese football. Secondly, and this is another facet in which they blow Gamba out of the water, their recruitment of foreign stars who fit into the team tactically and culturally has been second to none since around mid-2018. Whether this has been down to the CFG connection or Ange Postecoglou’s lengthy book of contacts remains to be seen, and while it’s still too early to decide how to definitively rate the off-season capture of Eduardo, at present I feel confident in saying Marinos haven’t really whiffed on a foreign signing since Ange’s first transfer window (Yun Il-lok and Olivier Boumal, possibly Dusan later that year too, though I may be judging that trio a tad harshly?) Finally, a couple of players I wanted to point out as ones to watch, young centre-back Ryotaro Tsunoda (Kaoru Mitoma’s former team-mate at the University of Tsukuba), is still raw, but has stepped up well to help assuage the loss of Thiago Martins and the early bedding-in struggles of Eduardo while Takuma Nishimura (Vegalta Sendai) was an unheralded arrival who has really hit the ground running. He, of course, netted the winner for Sendai in their 3-2 triumph at Panasonic Stadium last year and is definitely a player to keep an eye on this Saturday night (On Tuesday I had flashbacks to that goal as Issam Jebali raced forward for Tunisia prior to his 93rd minute wonder-strike at the same end of the ground).

Team News

The following players are doubts for this fixture and / or have an important status announcement regarding their availability.

DF Ryuta Koike – Missed the last J1 game and was also out of a heavily rotated squad for the Emperor’s Cup win over Suzuka. I could have sworn I saw something about it being injury related, but now I can’t find anything.
MF Joel Chima Fujita – Won’t play due to his participation in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan where he’s been excellent on the couple of occasions I’ve seen him
MF Takuya Kida – Groin strain, expected back in about a month’s time
MF Ryo Miyaichi – Injured left hamstring against Suzuka on 1 June, reportedly out for a month
FW Élber – Subbed at half-time in the win over Nagoya Grampus on 7 May with a groin injury and not seen since, has apparently returned to training though
FW Anderson Lopes – Currently in the midst of a 6 game ban for spitting at an opponent in the recent defeat to Avispa Fukuoka

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Sagan Tosu vs Gamba Osaka 29 May 2022 Match Preview

Sagan Tosu vs Gamba Osaka
2022 J1 Season Round 16
Sunday 29 May 2022
Ekimae Real Estate Stadium
Kick Off: 17:00 (JST)

Sunday brings us the final round of J1 action before a 3 week hiatus owing to the June international fixtures and following the epic bunch of matches witnessed on Wednesday night I’m sure there will be many mourning this break just as the league gets into top gear with battles raging at either end of the table. If I’m honest, after cranking out 16 of these match previews in just over 3 months, I’m looking forward to the rest and indeed Gamba themselves were afforded an unexpected midweek off following a Covid cluster in the Hiroshima camp which precipitated their bout being postponed at the last minute. Upcoming opponents Sagan Tosu, meanwhile, grabbed the headlines due to their epic 4-4 draw at title-chasing Kashima Antlers where a ding-dong battle culminated in 3 goals being scored in second-half additional time. Tosu raced out to a shock 3-0 lead inside the opening 50 minutes before finding themselves behind in the wake of Itsuki Someno’s 94th minute header. Perhaps as a sign of their unity and fighting spirit, they subsequently flew upfield and equalised through centre-back Masaya Tashiro’s low header with essentially the last play of the game. Sagan possessed J1’s meanest defence until they conceded 8 goals in their last 3 outings, can a relatively fresh Nerazzurri deliver a more dynamic display of attacking football than they did in the Osaka Derby to put the Kyushu side’s backline to the sword once more? All will be revealed from 5pm on Sunday, Japanese Time.

Tale of the Tape


The late cancellation of Gamba’s previous fixture at home to in-form Hiroshima leaves me without a whole lot to write about in here, so with the mini-break almost upon us I thought I might attempt a short review of what’s gone right and wrong for the Nerazzurri and new kantoku Tomohiro Katanosaka thus far. If we look at mitigating factors in his favour, we can say Covid outbreaks, injuries to key attacking stalwarts such as Usami and Kurata, plus the mess he took over due to the club being in a rudderless state having been under caretaker management for much of 2021. There is a solid base for him to work from with Higashiguchi or Ichimori in goal, an internationally decorated back 3 of Genta Miura, Gen Shoji and Kwon Kyung-won plus two midfield dynamos in the shape of Dawhan and Mitsuki Saito. Further forward, despite scoring at a far better clip than last season, xG has actually decreased, though only at a rate that indicates we’d expect to see the Ao to Kuro net 3-4 fewer goals across a whole season. For a Katanosaka system, experienced attackers Patric and Leandro Pereira will always be square pegs in round holes (I think that’s the first time I’ve whipped out one of my favourite clichés this year!) so viewed from that context it’s going to be interesting to see what Gamba do in the summer transfer window. Readers of my Osaka Derby preview will have gotten a reminder of my rather scathing opinion of the blue and black’s transfer work in recent years, so it goes without saying that I’ll be keeping a keen eye on who they bring in (Shuto Machino? Toshiki Takahashi?), and how well they fit into Katanosaka’s system. With no Levain Cup fixtures to play, the Nerazzurri’s schedule is pretty light going forward, game time for the likes of Yamami, Nakamura, Sakamoto and Minamino in attack early on this year has been a positive and hopefully that continues, but the big-name, high-earners haven’t done enough and their incompatibility with the present coach’s style of play is emblematic of the problems which have plagued the club in recent years as it has meandered from one mid-table finish to another. Stats-wise, from June onwards I want to see Katano-soccer take shape in the form of better ball retention, especially in opposition territory, scoring more frequently inside the opening 45 minutes and playing a brand of football that sees chances created on a regular basis without that necessarily leading to wide open spaces for the opposition to exploit at the other end. I know, I know, that’s quite a lengthy shopping list for 20 games, but as I said pre-season, this year is a free hit for Katanosaka in many ways and progress towards those lofty goals is all I’m looking for.




Following the disappointment of last weekend’s Osaka Derby defeat at Cerezo I consoled myself with the fact that the Nerazzurri’s 2 upcoming fixtures with Hiroshima and Tosu gave me the chance to take a deep dive on a pair of the league’s success stories. Following a strong 7th place showing in 2021, which led to first-team regulars Daichi Hayashi and Daiki Matsuoka (summer) plus, Eduardo, Yuta Higuchi, Tomoya Koyamatsu, Ayumu Ohata, Noriyoshi Sakai, Keiya Sento and Keita Yamashita (winter) all being poached by other clubs, not to mention long-seving kantoku Kim Myung-hwi being dismissed in the wake of a power-harassment scandal, little was expected of Tosu this year. New coach Kenta Kawai comes from a rather unheralded background having taken charge of Ehime FC from 2018-2020 and most recently served as Peter Cklamovski’s assistant at Montedio Yamagata, but he has made the many naysayers eat their words with his current charges sitting in 8th (just 3 points off 4th) as we approach the mid-way point of the campaign. It’s clear from the rather lengthy list of departures above that Sagan can’t compete financially with the big market clubs in J1, let alone those in Europe, but what they can do is out-work them, and this has been the bedrock of their success in recent years. Tosu have been a staple in J1 since earning promotion in 2011, however, after a bright start to life in the top flight, the seasons between 2018-2020 saw them circling the drop-zone looking like it was just a matter of time before they returned to the second tier. Under Kim last term they ranked 1st in distance covered with their 123.4 km per game being a full 3.1 km more than nearest challengers Yokohama F. Marinos (and 9.7 km more than Gamba). As we can see in the second table below, Kawai has remarkably been able to cajole an extra 400 m extra out of his troops every match while adding a whopping 54.8 extra sprints every time the team take to the field. Things may have waned a touch in other metrics, which is understandable due to the huge playing staff losses sustained across the last 12 months, but it is clear that Gamba, fresh from a midweek off, will have to match and deal with the intensity shown by Tosu this Sunday if they are to stand any chance of extending their recent winning record at the Ekimae Stadium.


Head to Head

Sagan Tosu were one of only two teams Gamba did the double over in 2021, the other being Katanosaka’s Oita Trinita. The first meeting between the sides at the Ekimae Stadium saw the Nerazzurri bag their first win and first goal of the campaign at the fifth time of asking. Takashi Usami’s angled shot from the edge of the area beat Park Il-gyu to spark wild celebrations among players and fans alike. Usami was again the difference maker in the return clash in late October, finishing off a swift counter which started from a poor Tosu corner and culminated in Yuki Yamamoto playing a lovely dinked cross-field ball into the path of Gamba’s #39 who swept across Park for what turned out to be the winner. The Nerazzurri would back up that 1-0 success with away victories at Yokohama F. Marinos and Oita Trinita in their next two fixtures to secure their status as a top flight club for the 2022 season.



Gamba Osaka

Crowd trouble – Hopefully this is the last time I have to write about this, but Gamba announced on Tuesday (24 May) that two individuals identified as having thrown items in the direction of the players in the wake of last Saturday’s Osaka Derby defeat as well as the supporters group they belong to have been indefinitely banned from attending games. I fully support this swift and strong action as the behaviour of the minority has recently served to tarnish the reputation of the club as a whole. I know that a lot of my readership hail from outside Japan and it’s worth remembering that crowd trouble in Japan and crowd trouble in Europe or elsewhere are often 2 very different kettles of fish, which is absolutely not meant to serve as some sort of justification for the rowdy misdemeanours of certain misguided Gamba supporters groups. With the Shoji and Pereira on-field bust-up and the crowd unrest, Gamba served as an easy and deserving target for those with an axe to grind last weekend. If you want to have a go at dressing room disunity, lacklustre performances and poor supporter conduct, I agree with you fully, but criticising how long it took the club to take action (announcements of bans were made within 72 hours of the incident taking place) and suggesting Gamba won’t increase security at home games (which they stated they will do) with no evidence to back this up (as a point of note, on my recent visit to the National Stadium to watch FC Tokyo vs Gamba, no-one checked my bag upon entry, a practice that is always carried out at Panasonic Stadium) are the types of comments that should be generally ignored (although that could probably be said about lots of comments on Twitter lol). Anyway, I’m boring myself going on about this topic, so let’s move on to talk about 2 lesser known members of the Gamba squad.

Player Profile 1: Yota Sato – A highly-rated centre back who joined the club from Meiji University ahead of the 2021 season. It was always going to be hard for him to achieve much game time during his rookie campaign with Genta Miura, Gen Shoji and Kim Young-gwon locked in as starters and it’s fair to say he endured a rough ride on the occasions when he did play, facing off against Kaoru Mitoma while filling in out-of-position at right-back and receiving a straight red-card in the loss at bottom club Yokohama FC. Under Katanosaka he’s only really featured in the Levain Cup and has shown signs of improvement, he looks competent on the ball and his positioning, which still requires work, is steadily moving towards where it needs to be. A summer loan move to a decent J2 outfit such as Nagasaki or Kofu is just what the doctor ordered, I reckon.

Player Profile 2: Shin Won-ho – Signed straight out of Boin High School in South Korea, Shin is another player who’s endured a bit of a rocky ride since coming to the club in 2020. Injuries have severely curtailed his playing time, as has the abundance of decent left-backs / left wing-backs in the Gamba squad. Most recently he started on the left-side of the front 3 in the dead rubber Levain Cup tie with Kashima Antlers which may offer him a pathway into the starting lineup in the future. Despite the trickery and Cristiano Ronaldo stepovers, I feel regular J1 football is still some way off, so a loan switch to a J3 side for the second half of 2022 is the most logical step for his development.

* And finally…it was confirmed today (26 May) that Gamba will face off against Paris Saint-Germain as part of the French club’s 3 match tour of Japan which also includes games against Kawasaki and Urawa. The glamour fixture will be held on Monday 25 July at 19:00 (JST) and while tickets certainly don’t look cheap, I’m going to enter the lottery for one, so wish me luck!

Team News

The following players’ participation on Sunday is in some doubt.

GK Masaaki Higashiguchi – Back in training, expected to return in June
DF Shota Fukuoka – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic should be able to play
DF Ryu Takao – Out of the squad since April 17, presumed injured
MF Yuya Fukuda – Had shoulder surgery on May 23, expected back mid-summer
MF Ju Se-jong – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic should be able to play (likely to head back to South Korea this summer so may have played his last game for the club)
MF – Shu Kurata – Calf injury – expected back in June
MF – Jiro Nakamura – Japan U-19 commitments
MF – Kosuke Onose – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic should be able to play
MF Mitsuki Saito – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic should be able to play
MF Yuki Yamamoto – Injured leg April 17, no official confirmation from the club
FW Patric – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic should be able to play

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Sagan Tosu

Shimizu rather comically made the mistake of announcing they’d signed Ulsan Hyudai instead of Oh Se-hun from Ulsan Hyundai earlier in the season which put the thought into my head, I wish Gamba could just sign the whole of Sagan Tosu as an entity. They did make efforts to bring in both Eduardo and Yuta Higuchi last winter, but were rebuffed on both occasions in favour of moves to Yokohama F. Marinos and Kashima Antlers respectively. And, the mention of that duo, a pair of the biggest names in Japanese football, leads me to my question, how do Sagan Tosu, a team that it many ways fit the profile of say, a Shonan Bellmare, manage to consistently duel it out in the upper echelons of the top flight? I don’t really have a definitive answer, but I will fall back on my comments on the J-Talk Podcast a couple of months ago when I compared them to pre-title winning Leicester City in England, who brought in then unknown, high-potential talents that bigger clubs wouldn’t touch such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante. Granted, Tosu don’t have anyone in the same category as that trio quality-wise, but Akito Fukuta (Niigata) and Yuki Horigome (Yamagata, on loan from JEF United Chiba) are examples of players who were going nowhere in J2 until Tosu picked them up and gave them a new lease of life. Not all their new signings have bedded in quite as smoothly however, and despite a goal against Kashima on Wednesday, Taisei Miyashiro hasn’t featured as much as he’d like, neither has fellow loanee Yuki Kakita. University recruitment is high on Sagan’s agenda with 6 players making the leap from varsity football last winter, forwards Taichi Kikuchi (Ryutsu Keizai University) and Shunta Araki (Komazawa University) have appeared the most thus far, though I think it’s best to judge them more in a year or so’s time once they’ve gained more experience at this level. Kawai has tweaked the 3-5-2 system operated by predecessor Kim into a 3-4-2-1 for most games this season, though significantly he went for more of a 3-5-1-1 against Antlers on Wednesday, potentially to combat the insane threat the Stags possess in attack and it’ll be interesting to see which formation he adopts at home to Gamba. With such intensity demanded each game, it’s highly possible significant changes will be made. One thing that will remain constant, however, is the importance of wing-backs to their system. On the right, Nanasei Iino has been a revelation since moving west from Gunma last year and he looks like he could go further in the game. Down the left flank is a real feel-good story in the shape of 23 year-old Yuto Iwasaki, a once highly-touted forward who has found scoring in the pros much more challenging than at age-group level. In 2022 he has been outstanding as a wing-back and sometime shadow forward for Kawai’s troops. It’s acquisitions like Iwasaki, Fukuta and Horigome that make Tosu perhaps the J.League team best placed to be compared to Billy Beane’s ‘Moneyball’ Oakland A’s in my humble opinion.

Team News

The following players’ participation on Sunday is in some doubt.

DF Shinya Nakano – Japan U-19 commitments
MF Taichi Fukui – Japan U-19 commitments
MF Fuchi Honda – Out of squad since 14 May, no reason given

* FW Yuki Kakita is available again after missing the match versus parent club Kashima on Wednesday as per the terms of his loan agreement
**DF Masaya Tashiro and MF Kei Koizumi are one yellow card away from an automatic suspension

Predicted Lineups and Stats



Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.

Categories
sport

Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima 25 May 2022 Match Preview

Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima
2022 J1 Season Round 15
Wednesday 25 May 2022
Panasonic Stadium Suita
Kick Off: 19:00 (JST)

The penultimate round of J1 action before the June international break sees Gamba Osaka hosting in-form Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Panasonic Stadium. Both sides come into this bout having been on opposite ends of 3-1 scorelines at the weekend. The Nerazzurri endured a tortuous trip to prefectural neighbours Cerezo, meekly surrendering a half-time lead with a timid and tame display after the break where despite doing precious little in the way of attacking they somehow managed to concede 3 times from counter attacks. A late on-field bust-up between Gen Shoji and Leandro Pereira, in addition to trouble between players and supporters after the final whistle, proceeded to cast a cloud over the club as a whole. However, moving away from faux social media outrage and hyperbole, publicly kantoku Tomohiro Katanosaka and the players have said the right things to calm the situation and it’s worth remembering there are still 7-8 first-teamers due to return in the coming weeks so it’s not all doom and gloom. Things are far brighter down Hiroshima way with early coach-of-the-season contender Michael Skibbe’s side currently on a run of just 1 defeat in their last 9 league outings which has seen them shoot up to 4th in the standings. Most recently they brushed past Kyoto Sanga at the Edion Stadium courtesy of strikes from Makoto Mitsuta (more on him later), Junior Santos and new-signing Nassim Ben Khalifa. For some amongst the Ao to Kuro support, the red-hot Three Arrows flying into town might be the last thing they wanted to see coming over the horizon, but perhaps it’s best for all those of a blue and black persuasion to see this as an opportunity to quickly put the horrors of last Saturday behind them and rally behind the seemingly forgotten 2021 battle cry, ‘Together as One.’

Tale of the Tape


I said in my Osaka Derby preview that I felt the Gods of fate had been smiling warmly on Gamba during their recent run of 3 games unbeaten with 3 clean sheets. Well, last Saturday at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium, those Gods turned their backs with wretched consequences for the Nerazzurri. The numbers in the first table below tell you everything you need to know as, with the exception of sprints, all of the key performance metrics rank amongst the poorest 3 or 4 of the year and the xG for figure of 0.23 is the lowest in my records (which I started keeping at the beginning of 2021, so currently includes 52 matches), beating the 0.29 from the 1-0 win away at Sagan Tosu last April. Of course a derby is worth 3 points just like any other league match, but a defeat in it obviously stings that bit more, add in the fact that the Nerazzurri lost after taking the lead for the first time since last July, had only a single effort on goal following Hiroto Yamami’s opener and have now tasted victory just once in their last 10 clashes with Cerezo in all competitions and you can get a gist of why the visiting players and supporters were feeling so frustrated at full-time (which absolutely does not excuse the aggressive actions of a few). However, with all that said, the Osaka Derby essentially came down to the last play where a poor free-kick from Gamba led to an excellent Cerezo counter brilliantly finished by the irrepressible Hiroaki Okuno. With my blue and black sunglasses firmly fixed, may I suggest that the match was just a quality Gamba delivery away from finishing 2-2? Of course, 3-1 Cerezo is a far more accurate representation of how things actually went, but the Nerazzurri, tired and bruised and missing the likes of, Higashiguchi, Takao, Saito, Onose, Yamamoto, Fukuda, Patric and Kurata, who are all due back soon, managed to keep themselves in the tie until almost the final kick of the ball. That’s the positive I’ll be clinging to, though as we’ll see in the next paragraph, Sanfrecce Hiroshima are not likely to be willing participants in a Gamba revival on Wednesday night.




Before joining Hiroshima, Michael Skibbe was a coach I’d heard of, but I definitely couldn’t tell you much about what he’d been up to in recent years. Additionally, Germans I follow on Twitter were almost universally sceptical about his appointment, which had me and many others predicting a mid to lower mid-table finish for the Violets in 2022. However, since arriving in Japan after entry restrictions on foreigners were lifted in March, Skibbe has overseen something of a revolution in his mere 2 months of face-to-face communication with his squad. Three points and only 3 goals scored in the first 5 league fixtures gave way to the aforementioned run of just a solitary setback in their most recent 9 J1 outings. Skibbe’s form of gegenpressing is evident in the second stats table below with all metrics, excluding distance covered, bettering 2021’s numbers. Particularly impressive, for me anyway, is the 37.2 increase in sprints per game (non-stop running from right wing-back Tomoya Fujii has been a key factor in that), plus the 0.22 xG for improvement while also achieving a 0.18 drop in xG against. I’ll get a bit more in-depth about the club and players themselves in the ‘Sanfrecce Hiroshima’ section below, but for now I think it’s safe to say that a team long-known for effective, if unexciting football are now back among the league’s headline grabbers. Sitting just 4 points behind inconsistent Yokohama F. Marinos in 3rd, a genuine push for an ACL spot, unthinkable before the season began, is beginning to look more and more like a realistic prospect.


Head to Head

3 April 2021 marked Gamba’s return to the field of play following a 5 week break due to a Covid cluster in the squad, and their opponents that day were Sanfrecce Hiroshima. A largely forgettable 0-0 ensued at the Edion Stadium with chances at a premium and Sanfrecce kantoku Hiroshi Jofuku’s decision to play Junior Santos, normally a centre-forward, on the left-wing turned out to be the game’s main talking point which I think kind of tells you how uneventful things were. The return fixture took place a mere 39 days later as it was a tie originally scheduled for round 20 that had been brought forward owing to the Nerazzurri’s participation in the ACL. It will forever be remembered as Tsuneyasu Miyamoto’s final game in charge of the Ao to Kuro as Hiroshima’s 2-1 triumph left Gamba with just 7 points from their opening 10 games and the powers that be at the Panasonic Stadium flicked the panic switch. Sho Sasaki put the visitors in front before a scrappy Kazunari Ichimi effort, which would probably have been put down as a Keisuke Osako own goal in most other leagues, levelled things up at the interval. Hayao Kawabe then displayed the kind of form that made Grasshoppers, and later Wolves, make moves for him with a fine finish to secure the 3 points midway through the second-half.



Gamba Osaka

Panic on the streets of Osaka – Not really something I wanted to write about, but it would be the elephant in the room if I didn’t address it, so here we go. And, don’t worry I’m not about to go all Daily Record on you and get a former player out to lecture people on how team-mates falling out on the pitch is actually a good thing, but with that said, in the cold light of day it probably isn’t the worst thing in the world either. I’ve seen Gamba lose by scorelines such as 4 or 5-0 and not a single player has picked up a caution, at least the actions of Shoji and Pereira, heat of the moment and unruly as they may have been, showed that the players were embarrassed by what was going on and this hopefully means they’ll strive to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Also I’d like to give a quick shout out to Cerezo full-back Riku Matsuda who helped diffuse the situation along with the likes of Genta Miura. As for the stuff between the players and fans after the game, I’m not really sure exactly what happened so I’m not going to go on about it too much. What I will say is, the club have handed out suspensions and bans to supporters already this season for actions such as shouting abuse at the Cerezo team bus and verbally intimidating opposition supporters on the Panasonic Stadium concourse, so once the facts have been collated, you can expect swift and heavy handed action from Gamba, and potentially the J.League too.

Hiroto Yamami – Perhaps lost in the gloom of the post-match apocalypse, it’s easy to forget that Gamba went into the sheds a goal to the good last Saturday thanks to Hiroto Yamami’s header which just crept across Kim Jin-hyeon’s line despite his best efforts to convince everyone otherwise. It was a much needed first J1 goal of the year for Yamami, hot on the heels of his 3rd assist of the Levain Cup group stages against Kashima. You could see how much it meant to him and from a Gamba perspective, hopefully this is the first of many this season.

Minamino vs Sakamoto – Interesting to note was the absence of Isa Sakamoto from the matchday squad for the Osaka Derby having been a late replacement for Harumi Minamino in the 3-1 loss to Kashima in midweek. Sakamoto clearly wasn’t one of the recent Covid cases yet high schoolers Minamino and Kuwahara were still on the bench ahead of him at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium. Katanosaka has spoken of his admiration for the physical development of Minamino and Kuwahara, saying words to the effect of “they are ready to play against adults,” so the feeling is that Sakamoto may have been sent to the gym for some extra physical training.

* And finally…congratulations to Jiro Nakamura for his selection in the Japan U-19 squad for the Maurice Revello Tournament in France from May 29 to June 12 and also to Kwon Kyung-won who was once again chosen in the South Korea squad for their upcoming internationals.

Team News

I’ll keep the same format here as last time and I’ll also add that several of the players who had asymptomatic Covid have been training since last Friday though it’s unknown who they are. With so much uncertainty I’ve gone conservative with my team-selection, it’s equally possible that there will be a lot more changes

GK Masaaki Higashiguchi – In full training, expected back in June
DF Shota Fukuoka – Had a small injury, was training again, potential Covid case
DF Ryu Takao – Out of the squad since 17 April, suspected to have a minor injury
MF Yuya Fukuda – Dislocated left shoulder vs Kobe on 8 May, underwent surgery on 23 May
MF Ju Se-jong – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic he should be ready to play (rumoured to be heading back to South Korea in the summer so we may have seen the last of him in a blue and black uniform)
MF Shu Kurata – Calf problem, expected back in June
MF Kosuke Onose – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic he should be ready to play
MF Mitsuki Saito – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic he should be ready to play
MF Yuki Yamamoto – Injured leg on 17 April, no confirmation of injury by the club
FW Patric – Potential Covid case, if asymptomatic he should be ready to play
FW Takashi Usami – Achilles tendon rupture on 6 March, likely out for the season

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Anyone hoping for a change of pace from the Michael Skibbe love-in witnessed in the ‘Tale of the Tape’ section above is about to be disappointed as I continue to use my positivity over Sanfre’s start to the season to distract me from the issues at Gamba. A quick glance through the Three Arrows history indicates that they’ve been J1 champions on 3 occasions (2012, 2013 and 2015) as well as finishing as runner-up twice (1994 and 2018), so taken from that perspective their current ranking of 4th might not seem particularly impressive. However, since that aforementioned 2nd place in 2018 they’ve been on a steady slide which culminated in 11th spot last year and long serving coach Hiroshi Jofuku receiving his marching orders before the season was done. Step forward Michael Skibbe who, with essentially the same group of players, save for a couple of university recruits, youth team graduates recalled from loan spells in J2 and a club-less former Swiss international, has utterly transformed the team’s fortunes. A Gamba vs Sanfrecce preview wouldn’t be complete without me gushing over former Gamba Junior Youth centre-back Hayato Araki, a colossus in defence and way too handsome to be playing in that position. Midfield deserves a mention also, with Skibbe recently moving from a 3-4-2-1 to a 3-5-2 with a central triangle containing, the rejuvenated Gakuto Notsuda at the base and the two kingpins, potential J1 rookie of the year Makoto Mitsuta (4 goals, 3 assists), and possible bolter in Hajime Moriyasu’s World Cup squad Tsukasa Morishima (4 goals, 1 assist) further forward. A final mention too for flier Tomoya Fujii down the right flank, a real live-wire who looks like he has what it takes to earn international honours one day. Hiroshima play with such intensity that a 3 game match-week presents a real challenge for them in terms of keeping everyone in their relatively small squad fresh, it would be a major boost for Gamba if any of the likes of Fujii, Mitsuta or Morishima were to start this tussle riding on the pine.

Team News

GK Takuto Hayashi – reserve goalkeeper, absent for last 2 J1 games plus most recent Levain Cup tie
MF Ezequiel – long term ankle injury, last played 2 March
MF Takumu Kawamura – knee problem, expected back soon
FW Yuya Asano – not in squad last weekend, hasn’t featured much recently, unclear if his absence was down to injury or non-selection
FW Shun Ayukawa – broken foot, expected back in August

MF Gakuto Notsuda and FW Junior Santos are both 1 yellow card away from an automatic 1 match suspension.

Predicted Lineups and Stats




Thanks for reading and enjoy the game whoever you are supporting.