Yoshiaki Takagi scores for FC Utrecht

Nineteen year-old Yoshiaki Takagi scored his first goal for FC Utrecht. The goal came in the 48th minute of Utrecht’s 3-1 win away at Roda JC. It was the final game of the Eredivisie season for both teams. Let’s see if Takagi’s good play for Utrecht will get him noticed and considered for a spot on the Olympic team. Highlight here.

Japanese Players in Europe

Borussia Dortmund clinched the Bundesliga title this weekend with a 2-0 home win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Shinji Kagawa scored the second goal, with a neat finish around Marc-Andre ter Stegen. His goal set off rapturous celebrations around the Westfalenstadion, with Jurgen Klopp running all the way from the technical area to be the first person to greet him. It was a fantastic scene, and it was good to see a great team finally break Bayern’s biennial tradition of being champions. Kagawa now has thirteen league goals, and should be a contender for Bundesliga Player of the Year. Highlights.

Stuttgart drew 1-1 away at Koln. Gotoku Sakai played the entire match, and Shinji Okazaki came on in the 69th minute for Martin Harnik. They remain in fifth place, six points off of Gladbach and Champions League qualification.

Vitesse drew 1-1 away at Heerenveen. Michihiro Yasuda played the entire match, and Mike Havenaar came on and scored a pretty equalizer. It was Mike’s fifth goal of the season since moving to the Eredivisie over the winter break. Vitesse remain in seventh and in a Europa League playoff spot. Video.

Inter could only muster a goalless draw away at Fiorentina on Sunday. Nagatomo came on in the second half for Javier Zanetti. Things got better on Wednesday, as they beat Udinese 3-1 away. Nagatomo played the entire match. The result brought Inter level on points with Udinese.

Takashi Usami played the entire match for Bayern Munich in a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen. It was nice to see Usami playing, but overall it’s been a shame to watch him on the bench. Maybe he’ll continue to get playing time in the Bundesliga and will earn a spot among the Champions League final substitutes.

Japanese Players in Europe

Borussia Dortmund look set to retain their Bundesliga title, after beating local rivals Schalke 2-1. Goals from Lukasz Pisczek and Sebastian Kehl were enough to overturn an early stunner from Jefferson Farfan. Shinji Kagawa played the entire match. Atsuto Uchida started and was substituted for Ciprian Marica in the 85th minute. The victory, coupled with Bayern’s 0-0 draw at home to Mainz, puts Dortmund eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with three matches to go. Highlights.

Ryo Miyaichi came off the bench for Chris Eagles in Bolton’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle. The defeat put Bolton in the relegation zone along with Wolves and Blackburn, though they have played two fewer than QPR who are a point above them. Wolves will surely go down, so the fight to avoid the other two places will be between Bolton, Blackburn, QPR, Wigan, and Aston Villa. Bolton face Villa away in two weeks time.

Gotoku Sakai played the entire match as Stuttgart beat Bremen 4-1. Christian Gentner, Martin Harnik, and Cacau scored as Stuttgart came back to win emphatically. The win solidifies their hold on fifth place and a place in next year’s Europa League. Sakai set up the fourth with a well-delivered freekick, which Cacau headed in. Shinji Okazaki came on for the final ten minutes, after missing over a month through injury. Highlights.

J. League Update

After the first two rounds of the J. League, four teams have a perfect record. Vegalta Sendai, Vissel Kobe, F.C. Tokyo, and Kawasaki Frontale have all started off with two wins. At the other end of the table, Kashima Antlers, Albirex Niigata, and Gamba Osaka have two losses. Here’s a roundup of some notable matches and the star performers.

Vegalta Sendai beat Kashima Antlers 1-0 on the first matchday. Defender Taikai Uemoto scored the only goal in the 62nd minute on his Vegalta debut. Keeper Takuto Hayashi made a fantastic reaction save onto the post to deny Juninho a headed equalizer. The match was on the one year anniversary of the Tohoku disaster, and it was great to continue to see some football in Sendai after such destruction. Hopefully Vegalta will be able to maintain their great start and continue to play well throughout the season. It would be great for the region. Highlights.

Championship favorites Nagoya Grampus got off to a good start to their season, beating Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 in the first round. As expected, they were good in defense despite Shimizu playing good short passes. Whenever a chance was created, reigning J. League Goalkeeper of the Year and former national team number one Seigo Narazaki was there to stop anything. Reigning top scorer Joshua Kennedy cooly slotted a penalty for the only goal of the game. Nagoya lost their next match 3-2 away to FC Tokyo. Based on how they played in this match, Shimizu are a team to watch this season. They won their second match 2-1 to Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Highlights.

Reigning champions Kashiwa Reysol have not enjoyed a great start to the season. After drawing their first match 3-3 to Yokohama F. Marinos, they lost their second match 1-0 away to Urawa Red Diamonds. Ranko Despotovic scored the only goal of the match, capitalizing on woeful defending by Jorge Wagner. In the second half, Leandro Domigues’s freekick came off the crossbar as Kashiwa tried to find an equalizer. Goalkeeper Nobuhiro Kato and midfielder Yosuke Kashiwagi were great for the Reds, who are coming off a terrible 2011 in which they barely avoided relegation. Highlights.

Cerezo Osaka won the first Osaka derby of the season by defeating Gamba Osaka 2-1. Branquinho’s 20th minute opener was canceled out by a great freekick from Paulinho. Both teams pushed for a winner, but in the end Kempes nodded home a high cross from Noriyuki Sakemoto to get his side a decisive second goal. Cerezo drew their first match, while Gamba has struggled and lost four straight in all competitions to start their season. Highlights.

Japanese Players in Europe

Shinji Kagawa scored the only goal of the match as Borussia Dortmund defeated Werder Bremen 1-0. The win maintains Dortmund’s 5 point lead over Bayern Munich and extends their Bundesliga record unbeaten run to 20 matches. The goal was another great team move with Ilkay Gundogan selflessly laying it on a plate for Kagawa to score his ninth league goal of the season. Not a bad way to celebrate his 23rd birthday. Highlights.

Shinji Okazaki sat out Stuttgart’s 2-1 win over Hoffenheim through injury. He will be out for around three weeks after suffering ligament tears in his knee. Gotoku Sakai played the entire match as Stuttgart moved closer to European qualification. Vedad Ibisevic scored twice against his former team.

Takashi Inui scored but couldn’t prevent Bochum from losing 2-1 to MSV Duisberg. It was his seventh goal of the season. He has recently been the subject of interest from Galatasary and could move to Istanbul this summer.

Ryo Miyaichi started for Bolton in their F.A. Cup tie against Tottenham. However, the match was abandoned as Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch from cardiac arrest. He was treated for ten minutes before being rushed to the London Chest Hospital. Updates report that while Muamba remains in critical condition, his heart no longer needs medication to keep working. Hopefully his condition continues to improve. Get well soon, Fabrice.

J. League updates in the coming days.