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Kenta Hasegawa, (9), of Shimizu S-Pulse and Ryosuke Okuno of Kashima Antlers vie for the ball in the air during the Xerox Super Cup soccer tournament at Tokyo's National Stadium. AP Photo/Koji Sasahara
Plenty of well wishers have dropped me a line recently in light of a fairly startling turn of events. For the first time this season, Shimizu S-Pulse have moved to the top of the J. League standings.
That the provincial outfit should currently find themselves on top of the standings is of itself no great surprise.
Under former S-Pulse striker Kenta Hasegawa, Shimizu have transformed themselves from relegation candidates into one of the most respected sides in Japan.
What is surprising is the fact that the country’s best team – Kashima Antlers – had failed to put clear daylight between themselves and their challengers.
Mind you, many would argue that a ten-point gap is advantage enough!
But no sooner had Kashima managed to streak clear of main rivals Kawasaki Frontale when something transpired that has become a regular occurrence in the J. League.
Quite suddenly, Kashima started losing games they were expected to win, while their nearest challengers began clawing back the gap on the Ibaraki side.
All fairly innocuous stuff, you would think – were it not for the fact that J. League fans have seen it all before.
Ever wondered why so many of the past few J. League campaigns have been decided on the final day of the season?
I haven’t, because I’ve seen enough sympathetic J. League refereeing to know that a tight and tense title race is exactly what league officials crave.
You don’t have to take my word for it.
Matsu of The Rising Sun News has seen enough J. League tomfoolery to last a lifetime – and I’m not just saying that because he once forced me to wear a Ventforet Kofu poncho, and I’m scared he’ll make me do it again!
Late last year former Kyoto Sanga and Urawa Reds defender Ned Zelic joked to me – with a wink and a smile – that he wasn’t surprised to see Eddy Bosnar’s JEF United avoid relegation on the final day of the season.
Cue nervous laughter all round.
But while there’s no irrefutable evidence that J. League results are manufactured – and I want to make it clear that that I’m not suggesting games are fixed – what is certain is that referees in Japan are far more lenient on teams looking to peg back a runaway league leader.
So when I hear fans in Australia suggest that we should be “more like the J. League,” I certainly hope that doesn’t include a title race that is unduly influenced by referees.
I’ve also seen plenty of talk about J. League crowds bouncing back after experiencing a lull some five or six years into the competition.
That may be so, but what the assessment fails to take into account is the fierce fan reaction to the merger of Yokohama Flügels and Yokohama Marinos.
The creation of Yokohama F. Marinos led J. League fans everywhere to realise that should they fail to take ownership of their club – that is to say, vote with their feet and start turning out en masse – it could be all be yanked out from underneath them.
The arrival of Yokohama F. Marinos on the scene wasn’t the only catalyst for improved attendances, but it was certainly an important one.
That is to say nothing of the fact that Japan has a population of just under 130 million – more than a large enough pool for the J. League to draw upon, even allowing for Japan’s favourite pastime, baseball.
I’m delighted that Shimizu S-Pulse have moved to the top of the J. League table, even though I question whether the Shizuoka side have the mental fortitude to stay there.
But as much as I admire Japanese football, I for one don’t think that it holds all the answers to the A-League’s current woes.