Japanese Players In Europe

Shinji Kagawa struggled against an excellent Southampton midfield.

Shinji Kagawa started in the No.10 position for Manchester United in their 3-2 win at Southampton. In the opening minutes, United kept possession and pinned Southampton inside their own box with quick passes. However, after weathering this initial storm, Southampton came into the game and outplayed United for the majority of the first half. Ricky Lambert headed them into the lead, rising easily over Rafael and leaving Anders Lindegaard with no chance. If not for an untimely slip from fullback Nathaniel Clyne, allowing Robin van Persie to equalize, Southampton could’ve gone into the break with the lead. Southampton continued to play well in the second half and looked to have collected all three points going into the last five minutes with a 2-1 lead. However, van Persie scored twice to snatch the win for United and steal a first league win for Southampton.

Kagawa struggled in this game and was substituted for Nani in the 61st minute. In the Fulham match, Kagawa was brushed aside and lost possession several times against the massive Moussa Dembele. The physical side of the Premier League is something that he will, like all newcomers, take time to adapt to. While it’s not every week that he will face a midfield power/dynamo combo like Dembele, every team throws around its weight in the middle of the park, as Southampton showed. Morgan Schneiderlin and young James Ward-Prowse were outstanding and powered through a relatively delicate United midfield. It is no wonder that all of United’s goals were set up on the wing. There will be games like this for Kagawa as he gets used to the burly side to Premier League football. Tadanari Lee was an unused substitute, while Maya Yoshida was unavailable.

Stuttgart is stuck on 0 points in the Bundesliga after they were obliterated 6-1 by Bayern, a match that both Shinji Okazaki and Gotoku Sakai started. Okazaki was caught in possession by Luis Gustavo Dias for Bayern’s second goal. Gustavo played the ball to Toni Kroos who lashed in an unstoppable shot past Sven Ulreich.

Sakai was also caught in possession, for Bayern’s fourth goal. To his credit, after he was dispossessed by Kroos, Sakai raced across the pitch to heroically block Thomas Muller’s shot. However, he could only watch in despair as the ball rolled to Mario Mandzukic who tapped in.

Okazaki was subbed off in the 69th while Sakai played the entire 90 minutes. Not a great day for either of them, but it was Bayern and it is still early in the season.

Hiroshi Kiyotake started and played the entire match as FC Nurnberg drew 1-1 at home to Dortmund. Kiyotake set up Tomas Peckhart for Nurnberg’s goal with a corner. Nurnberg weren’t without their chances and did not hesitate to attack against the reigning champions.

Schalke beat Augsburg 3-1 at home, and Atsuto Uchida started and played the entire match at rightback.

Eintracht Frankfurt dealt Hoffenheim a heavy 4-0 home defeat. Takashi Inui started for Eintracht and was credited an assist for the first goal. He set up Alex Meier and the shot found its way into net, though only after a massive deflection off of Marvin Compper. Takashi Usami came on to play the second half for Hoffenheim.

Vitesse beat Feyenoord 1-0 at home to continue their excellent start to the Eredivise season. Mike Havenaar came on in the 81st minute and set up Wilfried Bony’s stoppage time winner with a shot/cross that Bony elegantly flicked into goal. Vitesse are now in second place with 1o points going into the international break.

Wigan Athletic drew 2-2 at home to Stoke. Ryo Miyaichi came on for Franco Di Santo for the last 10 minutes.

Keisuke Honda played the entire match as CSKA beat Krasnodar 1-0 away.

Yuto Nagatomo started and played the entire match as Inter were overrun by the attacking waves of Zdenek Zeman’s Roma, 3-1 at home.

Yuki Otsu has joined VVV Venlo on-loan from Monchengladbach. He will link up with Robert Cullen who was an unused substitute in their 1-0 loss at Twente.

Japanese Players In Europe

Shinji Kagawa celebrates his first goal for Manchester United with his teammates.

As the European leagues got underway this weekend, more and more Japanese players took to pitches for teams across the continent. Several players made debuts for their new teams, and notably, we had the third Japanese player to score in the English Premier League.

A week after impressing on his competitive debut for Manchester United, Shinji Kagawa became the third Japanese player to score in the English Premier League. In the 35th minute, Kagawa gave United a 2-1 lead in an eventual 3-2 win over Fulham. Playing as the No 10 behind Robin van Persie, Kagawa was again electric, at the heart of a mesmerizing 20 minute display in the first half from United that had Fulham on the ropes. His short passes and quick movement inspired the rest of the United attacking six to play at a dazzling pace that Fulham could hardly defend. There was a Dortmund-esque verve to their play. After a poor showing against Everton, Wayne Rooney was dropped, allowing Kagawa to play in his favored central position. He came on for Kagawa in the 68th but then suffered a terrible thigh gash and had to be carried off. He will be out for at least a month, which means Kagawa will likely continue playing as the No 10.

The goal itself was a tap-in, and that it wasn’t called off for offsides surprised everyone, including Kagawa. He follows Junichi Inamoto and Hidetoshi Nakata as Japanese goalscorers in the Premier League. Hopefully several others will follow him this season.

Hiroshi Kiyotake made his debut for FC Nurnberg, playing the entire 90 minutes in a 1-0 win over Hamburg.

Takashi Inui also made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, starting in a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. He was involved in Frankfurt’s equalizer, as his shot was only parried by Bernd Leno into the path of Stefan Aigner who finished well. Hajime Hosogai was an unused substitute for Leverkusen.

Takashi Usami came off the bench to make his debut for Hoffenheim in a 2-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach. He will look to break into the staring XI as the season progresses. Yuki Otsu was not included for Gladbach–more on a potential move away later.

Yuto Nagatomo played the entire 90 minutes as Inter beat newly-promoted Pescara 3-0. He also played the entire 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Romanian side FC Vaslui, which was enough for Inter to advance on. Similarly in Russia, Keisuke Honda played the entire 90 minutes in CSKA Moscow’s 3-0 win over Kryliya Sovetov. However, CSKA suffered major disappointment during the week, getting knocked out of the Europa League by Swedish side AIK.

In Holland, Maya Yoshida played the entire 90 minutes in a 4-2 loss to Ado Den Haag. More on him later. Robert Cullen came on in the 67th minute. For Vitesse, Michihiro Yasuda played the entire 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over Willem II. Mike Havenaar came on in the 54th minute.

In Europa League action, VFB Suttgart knocked out Dinamo Moscow 3-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Moscow. Gotoku Sakai and Shinji Okazaki both played the entire 90 minutes. Hannover 96 completed a 10-4 aggregate thumping of Slask Wroclaw with a 5-1 home win. Hiroki Sakai came on off the bench and set up the final goal with a delightful cross to Szabolcs Huszti.

Last but not least, English League Cup action. Tadanari Lee scored and played the entire 90 minutes in Southampton’s 4-1 win over Stevenage. It was a great way for him to mark his return from injury. Ryo Miyaichi came on for the last 10 minutes of Wigan’s 4-1 win over Nottingham Forest, which feature a couple great goals. Miyaichi got an assist for Wigan’s fourth, though Callum McManaman still had to beat a couple of players to score. An interesting stat from WhoScored.com: Miyaichi created a chance on average once every 32 minutes last season, 11th best in the Premier League.

Some transfer news: Maya Yoshida has completed a move to Southampton. He leaves one Japanese teammate (Robert Cullen) to join another (Tadanari Lee). The transfer fee was £2 million. Yoshida says that to play in the Premier League has been “one of my biggest dreams since I was a child.” Congrats to him on the move; that makes four Japanese players in the Premier League–let’s hope for more goals scored. Meanwhile, Yuki Otsu has been linked with a loan move to Celtic. It would be a good more for him; he’d play regularly and in the Champions League. Hiroshi Ibusuki has joined Belgian second division side KAS Eupen on loan from Sevilla.

Olympic Review

The Japanese men's Olympic football team performed well at London 2012.

The Japanese men finished in fourth place at the Olympics. This was a great finish, but one feels they underachieved at the end. After finishing first in their group and beating a dangerous Egypt side 3-0 in the quarterfinals, they seemed to flame out in the semifinals and the bronze medal match.

Japan 3-0 Egypt. Kensuke Nagai got things started in the 14th minute, using his increasingly impressive pace to get on the end of a great ball from Hiroshi Kiyotake. As the Egyptian keeper collided with his defender, Nagai slotted into an empty net. However, Nagai ran into defender Ahmed Hegazy on the play and was unable to continue after his goal. He was replaced by Manabu Saito, who dropped into the midfield. Otsu played a slightly forward role for the rest of the match. Japan’s cause was further aided in the 41st minute when defender Saad Samir was shown a straight red card for a last ditch foul of Saito. Egypt were excellent on the ball and were able to keep possession throughout, but with a man less opportunities to get on the ball were fewer. Japan made it 2-0 in the 78th minute, when Maya Yoshida headed in a free kick from Kiyotake. It was 3-0 in the 83rd when Otsu headed in a cross from Takahiro Ohgihara. Japan definitely benefited from the man advantage (two men towards the end when Egypt lost a man to injury and were out of substitutions) but played extremely well against a talented and dangerous team. Kiyotake was superb and controlled the match. Maya Yoshida was excellent as usual.

Mexico 3-1 Japan. Mexico played well and deservedly went through, but it was nonetheless disappointing to see, especially since Japan beat this same team five days before the Olympics. Otsu got things started and had me on my feet with a wonderful 20-yard volley in the 12th minute. Japan were playing well and looked to be in control. However, Mexico got back into the game and looked increasingly threatening. Gio Dos Santos in particular missed a golden chance to level the match. The pressure told in the 31st minute when Dos Santos’ corner was flicked on by Jorge Enriquez and nodded in by Marco Fabian. It was the first goal that Japan had conceded all tournament, and Gonda had no chance.  Mexico continued to play well into the second half, and Japan struggled to produce anything in midfield. Oribe Peralta made it 2-1 in the 65th minute with a well-placed shot that again left Gonda helpless. Ohgihara was dallying on the ball outside of the box and Peralta dispossessed him before launching his shot. Japan tried to press and find an equalizer but found it difficult to play out of the midfield against a Mexico side that liked to keep the ball wide. Fabian in particular caused Japan lots of problems. As Japan searched for an equalizer, Mexico scored a third on the counter. Javier Cortes took advantage of some poor defending and scored on a shot that Gonda should have definitely saved. Japan’s midfield picked the wrong day to have its worst match of the tournament, with Kiyotake and Higashi well below par.

South Korea 2-0 Japan. Outplayed and outmuscled in the consolation match against their Asian rivals. Korea were fired up for the match and pressured Japan from the start. Japan were able to start passing the ball well but were unsettled by some tough challenges from Korea. Park Chu-Young gave Korea the lead in the 38th minute after dancing his way around some terrible defending. The shot was a weak one and Gonda probably should have kept it out. It was 2-0 in the 57th minute when the excellent Koo Ja-Cheol was put through by Ji Dong-Won and shot under Gonda. Japan searched for a way back into the match, and thought they had one when Maya Yoshida put a superb header into goal. However it was correctly ruled out for a block on keeper Jung Sung-Ryong. Again, the midfield was below par and was unable to consistently threaten the Korean defense.

Watching the tournament, one thing that became clear to me was the huge gap between youth sides and the senior side. On pretty much every team in the tournament, the overage players stood out. Thiago Silva, Maynor Figueroa, Craig Bellamy, Nordin Amrabat all performed noticeably better than some of their younger teammates. This was the same with Maya Yoshida, who was comfortably the best player for Japan in the tournament. It shows how important experience at the highest level is for international football.

In addition to Yoshida, Kiyotake was superb throughout the tournament. Up until the semifinal, he controlled matches with his darting movement and varied passing. He set the tempo with short passes, but showed he was equally adept at longer ones, serving up assists with two such passes against Egypt. Hiroki Sakai was superb at rightback. He was excellent in defense and provided width and speed on attack. When he played, Gotoku Sakai was equally as good. I thought he probably should’ve started on the left. Yuki Otsu has the potential to be a great player, and should play more for Monchengladbach this season. He played well throughout the tournament and provided good movement in support of Nagai, who was also excellent bar some poor finishing against Spain. Ohgihara looked comfortable on the ball and provided excellent set piece delivery. Gonda has the potential to be a future No. 1.

It was a great tournament and I am really looking forward to watching these guys play in the future.

Congratulations to the women’s team who finished with a silver medal, losing 2-1 in the final to the US. The women outplayed the physically strong US team and could have gotten a better result had it not been for great saves by Hope Solo and some questionable calls by the referees. The result further cements Nadeshiko Japan as overall one of the best women’s teams, and surely the best in terms of playing beautiful football.

Japan 1-0 Morocco

Kensuke Nagai scored the winner in the 84th minute.

The Japanese men defeated Morocco 1-0 to book a place in the quarterfinals. Kensuke Nagai scored the only goal in the 84th minute of an entertaining match. The victory leaves Japan needing only a draw against Honduras to secure top spot in the group and likely avoid Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Morocco started the match very well, keeping the ball and moving it across midfield comfortably. Japan didn’t seem to be pressing with the same urgency as they had against Spain, and as a result Morocco was able to keep possession without much trouble. Former PSV man Nordin Amrabat had a great chance to open the scoring in the 18th minute but his shot was blocked by Gotoku Sakai. Japan got better as the half wore on and Moroccan keeper Mohamed Amsif had to produce a wonderful goal-line save to prevent Sakai from heading home the opening goal. Maya Yoshida had a free header just before half-time but couldn’t put his effort on target.

Morocco started the second half strong and were able to keep possession in much the same way they did early in the first half. However, again Japan improved as the half wore on. In the 62nd, Amsif had to produce another glorious save to prevent Japan from scoring. Hiroshi Kiyotake unleashed a great shot that Amsif managed to tap onto the crossbar. The ball then bounced off Amsif’s back straight into the air for an easy take. In the 70th, Amsif prevented Japan from scoring once again, this time pushing Yuki Otsu’s shot just left of the post. Japan had another chance in the 78th when Kensuke Nagai played in Hotaru Yamaguchi with a beautiful flick, but Yamaguchi blazed his first time shot over the bar.

The breakthrough finally came in the 84th when Kiyotake played a perfect ball over the defense that Nagai lobbed over the charging Amsif with his first touch. Amsif had rushed out thinking he would reach the ball first, but the speedy Nagai beat him to it and lobbed with the outside of his right. It was the type of magnificent finishing that Japan had lacked against Spain.

Morocco had their best chance of the match in stoppage time as the dangerous Zakaria Labyad was played through on goal. His effort was stopped by Gonda, and a rebound shot from Omar El Kaddouri was blocked by captain Yoshida.

Morocco were excellent and had no trouble keeping possession. All their players were comfortable on the ball and able to pass it with ease. Morocco’s passing was helped by Japan’s lack of pressing at times, but even when they were pressed they combined well, especially down the left where Labyad was lively throughout.

Unlike Spain, Morocco also had a great forward presence in the excellent Nordin Amrabat. He held the ball up expertly and linked well with the wide players. However, like Spain, Morocco did struggle to get behind the Japanese defense and create clear chances.Their two biggest opportunities came from a set piece and a long ball over the top. Labyad also had a couple shots from long range.

Japan was unable to keep the ball in midfield as well as they did against Spain. Otsu, Kiyotake, and Keigo Higashi did have great moments of combination, but most of the midfield threat came when they ran at the Moroccan defense. Otsu and Kiyotake were particularly good in this regard. No time yet for Takashi Usami who might have helped with the passing in the second half.

Nagai wasn’t pressing the defense as much as he did against Spain, but he still held up play very well and was able to reach passes with his speed. His finish was a thing of beauty.

Once again the defense was very good, with Yoshida excellent in the center. Gotoku Sakai was great on the right, but didn’t provide as much attacking verve as Hiroshi Sakai did against Spain. Gonda was excellent in goal as well. After two games, Japan and Mexico are the only teams that have not conceded a goal.

Another great win for Japan and one more point to clinch first place in the group.

Spain 0-1 Japan

Yuki Otsu scored the winner against Spain.

Unless you’ve been ignoring the Olympics completely, you’ve heard about Japan’s magnificent win over gold medal favorites Spain. Yuki Otsu scored the game’s only goal in the 34th minute off a corner. A few minutes later, Inigo Martinez was sent off for fouling Kensuke Nagai on a breakaway, but Spain was still able to keep much of possession despite being a man down. Japan had a number of chances to extend their lead in the second half and put the game to bed, but their poor finishing didn’t come back to haunt them as Spain never really threatened.

Despite poor finishing in the second half, this was a great win for Japan. Going into the match, Spain was a favorite for the gold. They had World Cup and Euro winners Juan Mata and Javi Martinez. They had Jordi Alba, one of this Euro’s best players. They had the electric Bilbao midfielders Ander Herrera and Iker Muniain. They had one of the world’s best shot-stoppers in David De Gea. On paper, this team could challenge for senior international titles. And Japan beat them, pretty comfortably. Besides an early long range shot from Juan Mata, I don’t remember Shuichi Gonda really being troubled. Only twice (Adrian and Alba) did Spain get behind the Japanese defensive line. On the other hand, I can remember Japan having four great opportunities to extend their lead. This wasn’t a smash-and-grab against one of the most talented and accomplished teams in the tournament. It was a deserved victory that could’ve been more.

The sending off benefited Japan, but it wasn’t decisive. In the second half, they were able to keep the ball longer and expose Spain’s lack of defensive cover. Spain also had one less player to press with and allowed Japan to keep the ball for longer, but they were able to keep the ball as well as they had been with eleven men. Aside from some of the chances that Japan created and missed anyway, the man advantage wasn’t that influential in the game.

Spain’s biggest problem was lack of an attacking outlet. They needed someone to remain central to finish off crosses and passes, but all of their attacking players were more interested in staying wide. The senior side suffered from a similar problem at the Euros, but they were able to get behind defenses much more frequently than the Olympic side today. Considering that largely the same team had no problems scoring at last year’s European Under-21 Championships, Spain’s lack of attacking options was surprising.

While Spain were able to keep much of the possession, Japan won the midfield battle. Otsu, Hiroshi Kiyotake, and Keigo Higashi were able to keep the ball and combine brilliantly with lone striker Nagai. Otsu in particular caused havoc on the right side of the Spanish defense throughout the first half.

Captain Maya Yoshida was immense in the center of defense, breaking up attacks before Spain could camp players outside the box. Yoshida also elegantly carried the ball into midfield on a number of occasions. Hiroki Sakai was also terrific on the right, keeping Jordi Alba quiet and providing speed on the counter. After he was forced off because of injury, Gotoku Sakai was equally impressive as his replacement.

Despite missing some chances, Kensuke Nagai was excellent as the lone striker. He held up play, opened up space with his speed, and, most importantly, pressed the Spanish defenders and caused several giveaways.

On the Spanish side, De Gea was excellent. He saved Nagai’s shot on a breakaway, and displayed his world class shot-stopping skills early in the second half against Higashi.

This was a hugely important win, not only because it was against Spain, but also because the group runners-up face Brazil, a matchup you want to save for later.

A great win and a great start to the London Olympics.

Olympics So Far: Japan Qualifies For The Quarterfinals

Kensuke Nagai scored the winner against Morocco.

Here’s a quick update on the Japanese Men’s Football team at the London Olympics. After 1-0 victories over Spain and Morocco, Japan has qualified for the knockout stages. I will post full reports on both matches later today.

The victory over Spain was stunning, and Japan probably should’ve won by more. Spain controlled possession but were unable to create any clear chances. Yuki Otsu’s first-half goal was enough for the three points.

Morocco was a tough opponent and were comfortable in possession. They started both halves strongly and had a good chance through the excellent Nordin Amrabat. But as time passed, Japan became better and started to dictate play. Kensuke Nagai grabbed a late winner to send Japan into the knockout rounds. Surprisingly, Spain lost again 1-0 to Honduras and were eliminated.

Japan will need at least a point against Honduras to clinch first place. They will be especially eager to do so as second place secures a likely quarterfinal match with Brazil.

On the women’s side, Japan are second in their group after a win over Canada and a goalless draw with Sweden. After an opening 2-1 win over Canada, Japan were unable to score against a Sweden side they defeated in the semifinal of last year’s Women’s World Cup. Japan will play South Africa tomorrow in their final group match.

Japanese Players in Europe

Shinji Okazaki scored for the third league match in a row, as Stuttgart beat Freiburg 4-1. Okazaki got on the end of an excellent cross from Martin Harnik in the 21st minute to make give Die Schwaben a 2-0 lead. It was his 7th goal of the season. Gotoku Sakai, on loan from Albirex Niigata, retained his place as the starting rightback, playing the full 90 minutes. The win lifted Stuttgart into 8th place as they aim for the European places. Highlights.

Robert Cullen scored his second goal of the season, as Venlo beat Heracles 3-1. Cullen came on in the 75th minute and scored in the 90th to secure the points for Venlo. Maya Yoshida played the entire match. The win brings Venlo to within 2 points of safety. The goal.

Shinji Kagawa returned earlier than expected for Dortmund, as the reigning Bundesliga champions beat Hannover 3-1 to extend their lead at the top of the table to 3 points over Bayern. He started the match and was subbed off in the 87th minute for Ivan Perisic, who promptly scored.

Speaking of Monchengladbach, Yuki Otsu made just his 3rd league appearance for the Foals, who drew 1-1 to Hamburg and dropped to third place. Otsu came on for Igor De Camargo in the 79th minute.

Ryo Miyaichi played the full 90 minutes as Bolton were smacked 3-0 away at Chelsea. The Wanderers were torn apart by a second-half onslaught from the unpredictable Blues.

Finally, Yuto Nagatomo played the full 90 minutes for Inter as they lost to Napoli. It was the 5th straight match in all competitions that the Nerazzurri have failed to score. Since the return of Wesley Sneijder, they have been in terrible form.

(Note: The picture at the top is not from the Freiburg match, but it’s just such a great picture of Sakai and Okazaki together that I had to use it.)

Look forward to the Uzbekistan match tomorrow, or later today depending on where you are!