Links

Here are some Japanese football links:

• Highlights of Japan's 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Iraq. Japan has 10 points and is in first place in their qualification group.
• Hiroshi Kiyotake's magnificent two assist and goal performance against Borussia Monchengladbach.
• An article I wrote for Bundesliga Fanatic about the Japanese players who joined Bundesliga teams this summer.

Japanese Players In Europe

Hiroshi Kiyotake celebrates scoring the winner against Borussia Monchengladbach

Japanese players had a great weekend in Europe, especially in Germany where three players scored their first Bundesliga goals.

FC Nurnberg’s 3-2 away win at Borussia Monchengladbach might end up being remembered by viewers as the game in which Hiroshi Kiyotake showed Germany exactly how good he is. Kiyotake put in a masterful performance against last year’s fourth place team, setting up two and scoring the winner (his first Bundesliga goal). In the 17^thminute, he delivered an excellent freekick from the left that was headed in by Timm Klose. Then in the 25^th minute, it was a corner kick that was headed in by Timmy Simons for a 2-0 lead. Monchengladbach fought back to equalize, led on by the impressive Patrick Herrmann. But Kiyotake ensured that Nurnberg got all three points and continued their excellent start to the season, scoring the winner in the 55^th after a determined run and an outstanding right-foot finish from outside the box. The goal came just two minutes after Granit Xhaka had equalized for Monchengladbach.

In addition to the assists and goal, Kiyotake was outstanding throughout, playing small passes and leading the counterattack as Monchengladbach controlled possession. He was constantly on the move, always providing an option for teammates to pass to. The Monchengladbach defenders found him hard to defend, as he kept the ball with his control and agility. Nurnberg fans are surely excited about their new number 13 and what the team can achieve this season. They are in 6^th place and undefeated through three rounds.

Eintracht Frankfurt are off to an even better start, perfect through their first three matches. They beat Hamburg 3-2 at home this weekend, and Takashi Inui opened the scoring in the 13^th minute with his first Bundesliga goal. After getting the ball from a defensive mix-up, Inui glided through two defenders with a quick feint and curled in past Rene Adler. The goal looked like one that Luka Modric would score, a player that Inui is similar in style to. Like Kiyotake, Inui played well throughout. He was substituted in the 79^th minute. Frankfurt are in second place on goal difference, behind Bayern. On the other hand, Hamburg look like they are in real trouble this season and could end up being relegated, something they narrowly avoided last season.

One place below Hamburg, in last on goal difference, is Hoffenheim. This weekend they lost 5-3 away at SC Freiburg in an entertaining match. Takashi Usami was given a starting place and scored a fantastic goal, his first in the Bundesliga. After taking the lead in the 2^nd minute, they were behind 2-1 by the 27^th. They equalized in the 57^thbut were pegged back again in the 68^th. Usami equalized in the 76^th minute with an unstoppable shot, but Freiburg scored twice in the final ten minutes to send Hoffenheim to their fourth straight loss in all competitions. Max Kruse was the standout player for Freiburg. In his first start of the season, Usami played well in addition to scoring his outstanding goal in what was a difficult match. It was an encouraging performance from Hoffenhim, though that won’t ease the pressure on manager Markus Babbel. They will try to get their first points at home against Hannover this weekend.

Keisuke Honda scored both goals in a 2-0 home win over FC Alaniya. For the first, he passed to Ahmed Musa who drew four defenders before passing back to Honda on the edge of the box. Wide open, Honda rifled into goal. For the second, Musa again found Honda, this time with a left side cross which Honda put in first time.

Mike Havenaar scored and set up another, leading Vitesse to a 3-0 win over Groningen. The goal was his first of the season. After struggling in the first half, Vitesse threw on Mike to energize the attack. The move paid huge dividends, with Mike opening the scoring in the 62^nd before setting up Tomas Kalas for the second. He headed in a Patrick van Aanholt cross for his goal and led a two on one break before passing to Kalas to set up the second. His presence gave the Vitesse forward line a focal point through which to attack. It was Vitesse’s fifth straight win in all competitions and they remain unbeaten in the Eredivisie. They are in second on 13^th points, behind Twente who remain perfect.

Stuttgart played out a goalless at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Shinji Okazaki came off the bench for Tamas Hajnal in the 86^th. Gotoku Sakai was not included in the squad.

Shinji Kagawa was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over Wigan. He was rested as he recovered from an injury that kept him out of Japan’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Iraq last week. Ryo Miyaichi was also an unused substitute, for Wigan.

Maya Yoshida was given a rough introduction to the Premier League in Southampton’s 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates. Yoshida was not in the starting lineup but was brought on in the 28^th after Jos Hooiveld, who had already scored an own-goal, was forced off through injury. He couldn’t prevent the second, a curling freekick from Lukas Podolski, but he was taken to the cleaners by Gervinho for the third. Yoshida was completely fooled by Gervinho’s stop and start run, but wasn’t helped by Daniel Fox who didn’t seem to be at all interested in covering the space behind. Gervinho went through on goal and beat Kelvin Davis at this near post.

Yuto Nagatomo started and played the full 90 minutes of Inter’s 2-0 away win at Torino.

Hiroshi Ibusuki scored for AS Eupen in a 2-2 home draw with CS Vise, a Belgian 2^nd Division match that I did not watch.

In other news, Japan beat Iraq 1-0 in World Cup qualifying last week. Ryoichi Maeda scored the only goal in the 25^thminute after great work by Okazaki. Japan dominated the game but couldn’t increase their lead. However, Iraq hardly had the ball and were didn’t really threaten. It was a comfortable win for Japan that confirmed the team’s need for a few more finishers.

The Summer So Far

Sorry for the extended absence–I just finished school and graduated. There was a lot to tie up at the end and things got quite busy, but graduation was one of the proudest days of my life. Congratulations to the Dartmouth Class of 2012!

While I’ve been away, there has been a lot going on in the world of Japanese football. For one, the next round of World Cup qualification began. Japan has got off to a flying start, and the match with Australia was one of the more electric qualifying matches for any tournament that I’ve seen. Shinji Kagawa has moved to Manchester United. As expected, the best Japanese player over the past two seasons has completed his dream move to England. Takashi Usami has moved to Hoffenheim. After a season of limited opportunities at Bayern, Usami moved to a different Bundesliga team where his playing time will most likely increase dramatically. Finally, the preliminary Japanese Olympic football team has been announced. I’ll examine all these things in the coming days as I get back to posting regularly.

Japan has gotten off to a great start in the fourth round of World Cup qualification. After three matches played in Group B, Japan is in first place with 7 points and a +9 goal difference. They started things off with a 3-0 home win over Oman, and then a 6-0 home win over Jordan. Honda scored a hat trick in the second game. In their third match, they earned a 1-1 draw away to Australia, in what was likely their most difficult fixture of the round. With two sendings off and an electric crowd of over 40,000, the match was a great spectacle. Next up for Japan is a home match with Iraq on 11 September.

Shinji Kagawa moves to Manchester United. Kagawa signed a four-year deal on Friday, 22 June. He had previously said that the Premier League was his dream destination, and after he rejected renewed terms from Dortmund, it was widely expected that his dream would be realized. When Alex Ferguson was on hand to watch Kagawa play an instrumental role in Dortmund’s 5-2 mauling of Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal Final, a move to United seemed a certainty. After he signed, there was speculation as to whether he would wear the famous No. 7 shirt, with previous holder Michael Owen having been released. However, Kagawa said that he could not yet wear the shirt as he had not yet accomplished anything with the club, and would instead chose a number with “personal meaning.” I will post on where Kagawa will likely play for United and the implication his success could have for the national team in the coming days. But for now, congratulations to a great player on a great move! Personally, I can’t think of a team where he would be better suited to succeed.

Takashi Usami moves to TSG Hoffenheim. Usami found first team opportunities few and far between at Bayern last season. With Ribery and Robben playing the same position as him, it was always going to be difficult for Usami to break into the first team. He was a standout for the reserve team, however, and was regularly rewarded for his good play with a place on the first team bench. The move to Hoffenheim is perfect, and he should get consistent first team playing time.He’s still only 20 years old, and a good debut season could be the first step in a successful career in Europe.

The preliminary squad for Japan’s Olympic men’s football team has been announced. The 35-man roster includes Ryo Miyaichi, Hiroki Sakai (recently signed with Hannover 96), Gotoku Sakai, Hiroshi Kiyotake, and Usami. The three overage players are Yuhei Tokunaga (def, FC Tokyo), Maya Yoshida, and Akihiro Hayashi (gk, Shimizu S-Pulse). Kagawa and Honda were both left out after long club seasons. The squad will be trimmed to 18 + 4 reserve players by 11 July.

Look forward to regular posting now that I have graduated.