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.
John
Guest
A few things Australian clubs can learn from the J-League are player recruitement, stadium atmosphere and player production.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Disagree, David. It's about learning lessons. It is good to analyse the Uzbek experience and see what we can learn from it in both its positive and negative aspects. The same goes for Japan. Nothing is cut and paste however there are commonalities that shouldn't be ignored.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
One thing about Sumo is that the Japanese would dearly love Asashoryu to fall off his perch however the firey Mongol just keeps on keeping on. There are some things that even dodgy refereeing can't stop.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Hard to believe Pohang knocked out Bunyodkor from the position they were in!
Ultra
Guest
Go victory
melbvictory87
Guest
j-league is amazing wish they televised it here
danny
Guest
i, too, know a gibbo from new zealand. but she only got her nickname on arrival in australia. an aussie nickname for a kiwi, then? still aussie in my books.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Maybe so, but an average 18,769 attendance is not that high for a country of 127 million people. Japan is the 10th most populated country in the world, but how well do the J League numbers stack up to say the NRL or AFL? The J League numbers are good, don't get me wrong. They're close to the all-time record for attendance. But football, and sport in general, is not part of the culture like it is in Australia. So even if you have a population disadvantage, the interest in sport relative to the population is significantly higher in Australia and somewhat easier to market to. If Australian football is having problems I'd say it has more to do with the strangehold that ARL and NRL have on domestic sport in Aussie.
Ryan Steele
Roar Pro
I think the statement tries to explain that, for example, 1, 4, or 8% of a Japanese population is much greater than 1, 4, or 8% of an Australian population, therefore it's harder to generate the interest required in a league, with a small population (one that doesn't even double that of Tokyo).
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Considering how rigged Sumo is, it wouldn't surprise me if the J League was full of corruption as well. Corruption is part and parcel of Japanese business and politics, so there's a cause for skepticism. I don't buy the 130 million people argument, though. The J League market is far, far smaller than that. It's bigger than the Australian sports market of course, but people shouldn't underestimate how difficult it is to get Japanese people to support and attend pro sports. For a country of 130 million people, to only have two significant pro sports leagues is not the mark of a huge sporting country.
David V.
Guest
You're comparing two very different social, economic and political settings. Japan and Uzbekistan cannot be remotely compared in any way.
AndyRoo
Guest
Interesting story Ben. Is it wrong that I get a guilty pleasure from the thought that should set them back a bit? They are competitors after all. I don’t want too see Japan or Korea face such a mess because their success helps us somewhat (they will provide 2/3 of our group opponents in the ACL) Good lesson for all those calling for the cap to be thrown out.
Ryan Steele
Roar Pro
My bad for the double-post. Computers don't like me. AndyRoo, I know a Gibbo that's from New Zealand. Guess it's a Southern Hemisphere thing!
Ryan Steele
Roar Pro
I've not put my two cents in, regarding "match tampering" in the J. League, and that's mostly because I haven't watched many non-Urawa games, lately, and the majority of my impressions have come from those on the other forum, opposed to my own individual thoughts. Kashima also had a stoop in form, let's not forget. Everyone has, at some point in the season. Everyone thinks Inukai is a Reds fan... wouldn't that mean if match tampering were in place, it would give Urawa at least a slight upper-hand? The A-League clubs are run as franchises, which means it could never be at a high standard, until the FFA releases their death grip on each club. And we know that won't happen until all the clubs are foolproof from financial trouble (or at least as far from it as possible). That's a long way away. I think the aim is to make the A-League as strong as the J. League, in terms of AFC ranking/pulling power. The closer we are to individuality for each club, the more power the league holds. The more money, the more power. Et cetera, et cetera. We know how it works. Refereeing isn't at the best standard, here, but it's getting better as time goes along. So long as the FFA and clubs work on referee and coaching education respectively, we should be on the steady rise to great heights. One hopes. By the way, looks like we were both pretty wrong, about the ACL. I won't have my Nagoya v Bunyodkor final, and Kawasaki didn't make it through... and Pohang? What a story that's become.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
It is also interesting to see where there are examples of how not to run a league. Bunyodkor is trying to build itself into Asia's first super club. They have the money, however the 3+1 ruling means that they are forced to rely upon local talent for a majority of the squad. As a result they have plunder the previous bully boys of the Uzbek League, Pakhtakor Tashkent, leaving themselves with no domestic competition. As a result Pakhtakor have gone from winning the last 6 titles to watching Bunyodkor demolish all, winning 23 out of the last 24 games (1 draw). What this does to the league and the national team in the medium to long term will be interesting. One feels it will be a tragic lesson in what not to do. One of the good things about the J-League is that even without a salary cap there less disparity in the wealth of clubs as opposed to the Uzbek example. Were we to get rid of the cap would we tend towards a J-League result or an Uzbek League? I'm sure Clive Palmer has an idea.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Has their ever been someone named Gibbo who wasn’t Australian? I can’t imagine being in down town Beijing and overhearing two locals greeting each other with “ni hao Gibbo” That would be a head turner :)
Gibbo
Guest
i was going to have to hurl at you a whole range of colloquialisms including, but not limited to, fair suck of the sav, stone the flamin' crows, and fair dinkum cobber, had you not taken that back! i reckon its a horses for courses situation... i love the finals in afl footy - that games should be all about the strength to rise to the challenge, and the ability to will your way to victory against whatever odds, triumphing over the enemy on that given day. This lends itself to a one off match which determines the team to be covered in glory. Football, however, is about poise, touch and skill and the emphasis should be on sustained excellence throughout a campaign, rather than an opportunity for a team to come from 6th to take it out. The team celebrated should be the one who demonstrated the most excellence over the season. Finals dont sit right with me in the a-league, and no matter how much i love the afl festivities on the last day in september it wont change that. now i gotta go point percy at the porcelain. Hooroo.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Sorry Gibbo, I should have said "a lot of aussies seem to love finals". I was never a fan and thought it hurts the regular season but the top 4 grew on me (top 6 is stretching it to far). At least with the ACL qualification the regular season means a lot more than in the other codes.
Gibbo
Guest
are you saying i'm not aussie?
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
One reason is Aussies love finals and the 2nd is it's 3 rounds so not a fair home and away draw.