Nabisco Cup Final - Jublio Iwata 5 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3 - November 3, 2010

This past Wednesday was Culture Day in Japan which meant it was time for the final of the Nabisco Cup, the J League's equivalent to the Carling Cup. I watched it last year so won't write about the tournament structure this time, interested readers can check out last year's post.

The Teams

Although the game is played in Tokyo, the teams are labeled as visitor and home so the fans buy the right tickets. The visitors were Sanfrecce Hiroshima. I actually watched their first game in the tournament back on September 1st, when they lost 1-0 to Gamba Osaka. But they managed to win the second leg 2-1 and then beat Shimizu S Pulse in the semi-finals to make it here. They have never won the Nabsico Cup, nor taken a full season title in the J League, so this was a great chance for them to gain some real silverware (they have one Super Cup but that is just a one-game trophy which they qualified for by losing the Emperor's Cup the previous year). In the J League this season they lie 9th with 11 wins and 9 draws out of 28 matches.

They were facing Jublio Iwata, a one-time dynasty based in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is just southwest of Tokyo. Between 1997 and 2002, the club won 3 league titles , a Nabisco Cup, an Emperor's Cup and an Asian title, but they've fallen into the mid-table the past few years. This season they sit two spots below Hiroshima with a 10-9-9 record. Their goalkeeper is Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who backstopped the Japanese in the 2002 World Cup, but who is nearing retirement.

I should mention that Hiroshima didn't participate in the round-robin portion of the tournament as they were playing in the AFC Champions League. So this was only their 5th Nabisco Cup game, while Iwata had played 11.

The Fans

Both teams had thousands of supporters at each end of the stadium. I expected Jublio (above) to have a few more fans simply because they are closer, and outside the stadium there were dozens of buses with Iwata banners. But the Hiroshima faithful (below) had made the journey in great numbers as well and both sides presented their colours and songs before the game. What I found interesting is that there were less Sanfrecce fans at the game I saw in Hiroshima; glad to see that they are embracing the idea of the road trip!

The Game

I'm going to refrain from detailed descriptions of all the goals in this game, because there were eight of them! That's right, 8 goals in a soccer game. What's even more amazing is that there were only three goals at the 88 minute mark. After that, things got pretty wild. Before proceeding, I suggest you check out a YouTube Video that shows them all.

With the video, it's difficult to understand how quickly those goals came though. The first 25 minutes of the match were rather dull, with neither team able to generate any offense. Iwata came closest when a free kick from Kota Ueda (directly below) missed the top corner (below that).

The first goal was scored in the 36th minute when Keisuke Funatani ran onto a perfect cross from Ryoichi Maeda, heading the ball through Shusaku Nishikawa's legs.

But Hiroshima were not fazed, and Croatian Mihael Mikic made a spectacular run down the right flank, shaking two defenders, running into the box, and crossing to Tadanari Lee, who mishit the ball moving backwards but caught Kawaguchi going the wrong way and the ball dribbled into the net.

If you watched the video above, you would have seen Sanfrecce holding a big team celebration, as all 11 players on the field, including the keeper, gathered near the Iwata net, went to one knee, and made a motion as if drawing a bow. I'm not sure of the meaning, but it was a bit over the top.

Jublio's Norihiro Nishi

Hiroshima's second goal came just 3 minutes into the second half when a long ball from Koji Morisaki eluded two Iwata defenders and found itself on the foot of Satoru Yamagishi who calmly slotted past Kawaguchi. Yamagishi then ran to the Sanfreece supporters and took quite a while getting back to the field, but the referee didn't warn him which I found surprising. Two goals and two excessive celebrations; would the soccer gods take offense?

The answer would be yes. In the 88th minute, Nishikawa couldn't handle a strong header off a corner kick and the ball went straight to Maeda (last year's J League scoring champ) who tapped home to tie the match and send it to overtime. The picture above shows Maeda's outstretched leg touching the ball, which is hidden by a lunging Nishikawa.

The extra time started slowly, although Sanfrecce hit the crossbar midway through. But it was another corner kick that led to the goal as Iwata's Minoru Suganuma volleyed home a headed pass 12 minutes in. That seemed to crush Hiroshima, who promptly made a defensive blunder that allowed Ryohei Yamazaki to score two minutes later. But no, Sanfrecce had a free kick that was expertly taken by Tomoaki Makino, beating a diving Kawaguchi to make it 4-3 at the extra time interval. That's 3 goals in 3 minutes, a rather unusual occurrence in soccer, and it looked like Hiroshima had hope.

But just four minutes into the second half of OT, Maeda added his second, chesting down a long free kick and racing into the box, where he chipped over Nishikawa to seal the game. Sanfrecce had a penalty at the final whistle, but Kawaguchi made a diving stop to send the Iwata fans into a frenzy.

Jublio wins the Nabisco Cup 5-3! What an amazing game! Not particularly well played by either side, particular the Hiroshima defense who were constantly giving up chances, but a lot of fun to watch. Neither goalkeeper will be writing home about this one either, but the fans certainly enjoyed it. Below is a list of the goals.

The Free Stuff

The other great thing about the Nabisco Cup is getting free junk food. This year was Oreo chocolate cream cookies and Chip Star, a rather bland Pringles imitation. There was also a double-sided trading card with Hisato Sato of Hiroshima on one side and Iwata's Maeda on the other. There is also the pamphlet with the history of the tournament and detailed descriptions of both teams.

Next Up

November 13th is the AFC Champions League final. Before that there is a baseball game between the Korean champion SK Wyverns and the NPB champion, which I may go to. After that I'm in Okinawa for a few days and then there's some Top League Rugby on the 27th. Then the roadtrip portion of the blog gets restarted as I'm off US and Canada for a month of hockey, football, and basketball. I'll post the final trip schedule next week as it has been decided and tickets have been booked.

Best,

Sean

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Nabisco Cup Final Set

Just a quick post, about a week late, to note that the Nabisco Cup final will pit Sanfrecce Hiroshima against Jublio Iwata. I saw Hiroshima's first game in the competition back on September 1st when they lost 1-0 to Gamba Osaka. But they rebounded to win the second leg and then beat Shimizu S Pulse in the semi-finals. Meanwhile in the other semi, Iwata knocked off the team I semi-support, Kawasaki Frontale to advance. Iwata has a much more storied history with several league championships and an Emperor's Cup to their name, mostly from the late 90s, while Hiroshima has very little to brag about, winning only the 2008 Super Cup.

The game is on November 3rd at 14:00 and I was smart this year and got tickets in advance. Both teams are in the middle of the table in J League, so it should be an interesting match. I'll be cheering for Hiroshima though so if you are a gambler, taking Iwata is the wise choice as teams I root for have a bad habit of losing regularly.

Best,

Sean

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Gamba Osaka 1 at Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0 - Nabisco Cup QF - September 1, 2010

The J League is taking a break from its regular season schedule for the first rounds of the Emperor's Cup as well as the quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup. The first leg of the latter competition was played yesterday and one of the matches featured Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

For both teams, it was their first match in the tournament as they had both qualified for the AFC Champions League and therefore received a bye to the quarter final. For me, it was a chance to see Hiroshima's Big Arch Stadium and get a start on a long sports weekend.

Hiroshima Big Arch

Located about 35 minutes from downtown Hiroshima, the Big Arch is a multi-purpose stadium that was opened in 1992. You can get there by taking the Astram Line train from downtown to the final station, Koiki-koen-mae or there are shuttle buses from Yokogawa station. The Astram line does have the advantage of having a 600 yen "Sanfrecce Supporters' Ticket" that allows unlimited rides from 4 hours before the game until the end of the day and is the cheapest way to get there and back. The stadium is a 5-minute walk from the station although there are free shuttle buses there that take you right up to the parking lot. These buses are not available after the game though.

From the parking lot, you walk up a tree-lined path to the main gate, shown below. However, the actual entrance is around the back of the stadium.

As it is used for other events, there is a track circling the field, which puts the seats far away from the action. It still seems smaller than the National Stadium though and I was happy with the view. As in most J.League stadiums, there are a few reserved seats (in pink in the picture below) on one half on the stadium, while the rest are unreserved benches. The Big Arch refers to a large canopy that covers the south side (shown below0 and it is here where the reserved seats are located. The north side is called the backstand and it is here where the supporters sit. It's 1,000 yen cheaper than the reserved seats and I recommend sitting on this side as you can choose exactly where you want to sit.

There are various food options like fried chicken or noodles, but you're better off eating before or after the game in one of Hiroshima's many great restaurants.

Overall, the stadium is in a nice location but doesn't offer anything special on the inside. Still, I found it comfortable and a good place to watch the game and would say that if you are in town at the same time as Sanfrecce, it is worth visiting.

The Game

The Nabisco Cup is not a big draw in Japan, as evidenced by the few Osaka fans in attendance.

Gamba were lying 6th in the J League table while Hiroshima was 9th - both teams had 9 wins out of 21 games but Gamba had drawn 7 to Hiroshima's 5. The big news before the game was Gamba's best player and Japanese national team member Yasuhito Endo being sidelined with a calf injury.

When the players were introduced, the supporters unfurled a huge banner that covers the fans in the middle of the backstand, which is where I was sitting. It's interesting as it moves up and down but claustrophobes might not appreciate it.

Sanfrecce kicked off and started quickly, getting a long through ball to an open forward whose shot was parried over by Osaka keeper Yosuke Fujigaya in the first 10 seconds. They continued to try this strategy, sending long balls deep but they couldn't generate any more chances. Gamba eventually adjusted and the match settled into a back-and-forth pattern with few memorable moments.

Late in the half, Hiroshima midfielder Yojiro Takahagi was found completely uncovered in the box but his header missed terribly to keep the game scoreless at halftime.

Osaka took control in the second stanza though, attacking directly and generating a number of good opportunities. Early on Hiroshima's keeper Shusaku Nishikawa mishandled a cross and the ball fell to Lucas (above) waiting on the left side, but he drove it wide. A few minutes later, Sanfrecce gave the ball away just outside the box and Nishikawa was forced to make a great save off Tomokazu Myojin.

Takahiro Futagawa with a free kick

But Osaka's pressure forced Sanfrecce into many more giveaways and it was just a matter of time before they scored. Sure enough, in the 66th minute, Lucas found himself at the top of the box. He did a little stutter step, turned and shot weakly. But Nishikawa was going the wrong way and couldn't recover as the ball slid just beyond his outstretched hand, brushing the inside of the post and giving Osaka the deserved lead.

Gamba continued to pressure, generating a couple of chances before Sanfrecce made their final substitution, bringing on Croatian Mihael Mikic who was an energetic addition to the midfield. He danced up and down the right flank but was unable to create good chances as the Osaka defenders were equal to the task. That's Mikic below sending a ball through.

As time wound down, Hiroshima tried to find the equalizer and although they came close, the ball stayed out of the net. The final whistle sounded and Osaka were happy with the 1-0 road win.

The teams play the second leg next Wednesday in Osaka. Hiroshima will need to take better care of the ball in that one if they are to have any hope of coming back.

9/8 Update: The second leg was held tonight and Hiroshima defeated Gamba 2-1 to advance on the away goals rule! They will play Shimizu S Pulse in one semi final while Kawasaki Frontale takes on Jublio Iwata in the other. The first leg is September 29 while the second is October 10. Here's hoping Sanfrecce and Frontale meet in the final on November 3rd.

Next Up

Three games this weekend with Hanshin visiting the Carp at Mazda Stadium. I'll have a summary of the series next week. I also saw an unbelievably long minor league game today and will have a post on that shortly.

Best,

Sean

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Nabisco Cup Final - F.C. Tokyo 2 Kawasaki Frontale 0 - November 3, 2009

Today was Culture Day in Japan and you're supposed to celebrate by doing something cultural or artistic. Well, the J League is certainly a cultural experience in Japan, so I headed off to National Stadium to see if I could find a ticket to the Nabisco Cup Final game between F.C. Tokyo and Kawasaki Frontale.

Outside the Stadium

The Nabisco Cup

Most soccer leagues have a cup competition to supplement the regular season games. In Japan, this is known as the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, after the main sponsor. Unlike most league cups, which are simple knockout competitions and often involve teams from lesser leagues (such as the Carling Cup in England, which features teams from the Premier League down to League Two), the Nabisco Cup only invites the 18 J1 teams and begins with a group stage, where teams play a round robin against each team in their group. This leads to many more games being played and subsequently more revenue for everyone involved. It also gives those teams who are out of the league chase a chance at some other silverware.

This season, the 4 teams who played in the AFC Champions League were excluded from the group stage. The remaining 14 teams were then divided into two groups of 7 and played a 6-game tournament with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarterfinals, where they were joined by the Champions League teams. These 8 then played home-and-away legs in a knockout format to reach the winner-take-all final at Tokyo's National Stadium.

National Stadium

Located in the Meiji Shrine's Outer Garden, the National Stadium is one of a number of sports facilities in the area, along with the two Jingu ballparks and the Chichibunomiya rugby stadium. This Google Maps satellite photo shows you all 4 venues.

The National Stadium was the main stadium for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and is now over 50 years old. It's held up quite well over the years and is surprisingly quite modern despite its age. I didn't spend much time walking around today due to the crowds, but will revisit there on Saturday for the AFC Champions League Final and have more info.

I can say that the stadium is a multi-purpose facility and therefore has the track surrounding the soccer pitch. This leaves you at a distance from the action and is the biggest drawback here. The stadium is not symmetrical when it comes to seating. On the main side, which is partially covered, there are only about 40 rows divided into two levels, while on the uncovered back side there are 65 rows in 3 levels. The total capacity is 48,000 seats.

I entered by the backstand gate and found the concourse to be very wide and not crowded despite the sell-out. This is quite different from older stadiums elsewhere, where fan comfort seemed to be an afterthought. My seat was conveniently located in that I didn't have to go up or down a level - from the entrance I just walked over to section 21 and just stepped two rows down from there to reach it. It was in the middle of the row, so I didn't move for the rest of the game, so I can't give any reports on food or other amenities.

The Ticket

The game was sold out just an hour after tickets went on sale back in September, no doubt a result of having two Tokyo-area teams facing off. I didn't have a ticket; in fact I wasn't even planning on going to the game once I found out it was sold out. But when I woke up and saw the weather was perfect, I decided it was worth the short trip to see if I could snag an extra ticket.

There was a decent crowd out front but it seemed everyone was waiting for a friend. I asked one guys who was standing around holding a ticket if he was selling, but he just shook his head.

It was still an hour till kickoff, so I wasn't particularly worried. Eventually I overheard one guy telling another to walk around shouting "I got a ticket". The guy was too shy to do that, but I knew that he was hoping to sell, so I casually approached him. He definitely wasn't a scalper, just a guy with a couple of extra ducats, so I offered him face value for one. He asked if I was a Tokyo supporter, which is a critical consideration when buying tickets to soccer games. Each ticket is either in a home team or away team cheering section. There are no general sections for fans who just like the sport. So although I suppose I'm a very weak Frontale fan, I wasn't going to let such a minor quibble ruin my chance at a ticket. I told him that I was not cheering for either team, just looking to watch the game and that was enough for him - I took his ticket, he took my money and in I went.

I didn't care where the seat was when I bought it, but it turned out to be a good location - facing the top of the penalty box midway up the back stand. I was in the middle of F.C. Tokyo supporters, but I wasn't wearing any Frontale colours, so it didn't matter. The sun was out and shining brightly, so I sat back and waited for the festivities to begin.

The Fans

Both supporter sections were completely full and already raucous. Although I was among Tokyo fans, they were not part of the "official" cheering section, which was in the end seats. In the picture below, you can see them with balloons, a great visual effect. I expected them to let them go as the fans do in baseball games here, but it didn't happen.

The fans here were very vocal, booing the Kawasaki introduction video and then cheering loudly when their players were introduced. Toilet paper seems to be the decoration of choice and was being throw wildly about in the minutes before the game, but it disappeared once the game started.

The Frontale fans were somewhat quieter I thought, although this might be because I was further away. The only interesting thing I noticed was a cool looking star formation before the game, shown below.

The Game

Kawasaki currently leads the J League while F.C. Tokyo lies 5th, only 6 points back. So both teams are strong, although Tokyo has had some injuries of late and were considered the underdogs.

Kawasaki had the better chances in the first half. In the 12th minute, a long-range kick was barely tipped over the bar by Tokyo keeper Shuichi Gonda. Then in the 20th minute, Juninho was gifted the ball with a gaping net, but managed to send it high.

Japanese national team member Kengo Nakamura with the ball

As is so often the case, the team on the defensive counterattacks quickly and finds a bit of luck. In this case, F.C. Tokyo moved the ball up slowly when 18-year-old Takuji Yonemoto ran to the left side. He passed ahead to striker Sota Hirayama who quickly passed back. Space opened up in front of him, so Yonemoto decided to try his luck from outside the box. He sent a curling, diving ball that Frontale keeper Eiji Kawashima dove for. Kawashima got his hands on the ball and deflected it - into the net! An unbelievable strike for Yonemoto and for the F.C. Tokyo fans, who were not expecting such a great goal. When they realized the ball was in, there was a half-second of stunned silence as they confirmed the ball was actually in the net before they erupted in cheers. It was 1-0 Tokyo with 22 minutes gone in the game.

Nakamura's kick is blocked

The rest of the half was fairly quiet, although both teams had more chances, neither keeper was tested seriously. At the start of the second half, Kawasaki continued their assault, and time and again they had decent opportunities but were left wanting for lack of finish. And again, Tokyo put a counterattack to good use. This time, the ball was being headed back and forth in the Tokyo end when Hirayama finally headed it out of danger. The ball was then quickly played ahead to Tatsuya Suzuki who ran down the left side. Hirayama meanwhile raced down the right side, catching up to Suzuki. As they entered the box, Suzuki crossed to Hirayama who headed it past a sprawling Kawashima. A beautiful play all-around and Tokyo had their insurance goal with 30 minutes to go. Here's a great video of the goal, watch Hirayama running from when he heads the ball at the 1:05 mark - great anticipation and pace.

Tokyo celebrate their second goal

Immediately, Tokyo took off forward Shingo Akamine and replaced him with defender Yuto Nagatomo. It was clear that their intention was to defend the lead and for the rest of the game, the play was almost entirely in the Tokyo end. This sucked for me as the sun was directly above the Tokyo net the whole time, forcing me to squint for the last 30 minutes. It also sucked for Frontale, who kept up a constant pressure, but the Tokyo defense did not break. Juninho hit a crossbar and Gonda made a fine save on another shot, and when the whistle sounded, it was a 2-0 victory for Tokyo.

A rare Tokyo attack

Kawasaki outshot Tokyo 17-10 and had 12 corner kicks, most coming in a frenzy in the last 20 minutes. But it was their inability to take advantage of their chances plus their poor defense against the counterattack that cost them the game. Full credit to F.C. Tokyo though, who played a great game and deserved the championship. Yonemoto was the MVP and looks to be someone worth watching in the future.

The Goodies

As the tournament is sponsored by Nabisco, all the fans received a small pack of goodies. Inside was a booklet describing the history of the Nabisco Cup as well as how each team reached the final. Even better, though, were 3 bags of Nabisco's new 100-calorie snack packs. They've taken old favourites and slimmed them down so that they're more appealing to health-conscious consumers. Ritz crackers, Oreo cookies, and Chips Ahoy are all featured; I think they chose those 3 packs as they match the colours of the teams playing today. F.C. Tokyo is a red and blue, while Kawasaki is a light blue and white. The picture below shows the snack packs, the booklet, and the ticket, which is pretty cool.

Thoughts

I've often thought that Japanese soccer is doomed by the players inability to finish. Time and again they create chances only to see a muffed kick or an extra pass go astray. This is certainly noticeable in international play and it was certainly Kawasaki's problem today as they failed again to win the Nabisco Cup (they lost in 2000 and 2007). I also found an interesting article on the topic, which summarizes the situation quite well.

Despite Kawasaki losing, I really enjoyed this game. Perfect weather, lots of chances, a sold out stadium with vocal supporters, and two excellent goals. Not a much better way to spend Culture Day!

Next Up

I'm back to National Stadium this Saturday evening for the ACL Champions League final between Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Pohang Steelers from South Korea. The next day I'll revisit Todoroki to see Kawasaki host JEF United Chiba in a regular J League match.

And that's probably it for a while. With baseball nearly over and just a month left in the soccer season; I'm afraid the next two months will be devoid of much sports watching. But stay tuned, there's a big trip in January planned and I'll be posting details here shortly.

Best,

Sean

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