The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

The Emperor's Cup Round 4 (Round of 32) will be held on this weekend! Which means there will be inter-division games! 16 J1 clubs are joining from this round, while all 12 J2 clubs plus 4 JFL clubs advanced from the last round. Here're are the matchups!

Saturday, November 13
Montedio YAMAGATA (J2) vs. YOKOHAMA F Marinos (J1)
KYOTO Purple Sanga (J2) vs. TOKYO Verdy 1969 (J1)
MITO HollyHock (J2) vs. KASHIMA Antlers (J1)
Sagan TOSTU (J2) vs. Gamba OSAKA (J1)
Albriex NIGATA (J1) vs. SHONAN Bellmare (J2)*
SHIMIZU S-Pulse (J1) vs. OMIYA Ardija (J2)
Vegalta SENDAI (J2) vs. F.C.TOKYO (J1)
KASHIWA Raysol (J1) vs. GUNMA F.C. Horikoshi (JFL)
Sagawa Takkyu TOKYO S.C. (JFL) vs. Jubilo IWATA (J1)

Sunday, November 14
Cerezo OSAKA (J1) vs. Thespa KUSATSU (JFL)
NAGOYA Grampus Eight (J1) vs. Honda F.C. (JFL)
KAWASAKI Frontale (J2) vs. Vissel KOBE (J1)
YOKOHAMA F.C. (J2) vs. Sanfrencce HIROSHIMA (J1)
Avispa FUKUOKA (J2) vs. URAWA Reds (J1)
Consadole SAPPORO (J2) vs. JEF United ICHIHARA (J1)
Ventforet KOFU (J2) vs. OITA Trinita (J1)

*As always, home clubs are listed first; however, due to the earthquakes in the Nigata area, the Shonan club will be hosting the match

Re: This Weekend's (6/12, 13) Matches
 

hey cool -- what games will you be watching, shuvy? it would be fun to see a few J2 and JFL teams make it to the last rounds... are there any teams that are doing really well from these two groups?

Re: This Weekend's (6/12, 13) Matches
 

um....none, because I live in the US and they don't show J.League games here. But I can point out few key matches tomorrow.

1. SHIMIZU S-Pulse (J1) vs. OMIYA Ardija (J2)
Omiya is riding on 10 games winning steak and only needs 2pt on remaining 3 games to secure the 2nd promotion berth. Mean while, Shimizu is currently in 14th in the league table (out of 16) and 7pt seperates them from the relegation spot. There is only three games left in the division 1 as well, so it's very unlikely that they will fall to the 16th place at the endo the season, but they are also riding on 7 games losing steak so you never know. This is basically one of those game where a lower division club has a shot on beating a club from the top flight. But then again Shimizu might have a better chance because they will be the home team.

2. MITO HollyHock (J2) vs. KASHIMA Antlers (J1)
These clubs are both from Ibaraki Prefecture (I think they are sister clubs as well) and plus November 13th (tomorrow) is the indepence day's of Ibaraki Prefecture. In other words, this will be an Ibaraki derdy on Ibaraki's Independance Day. However, this game will be an complete joke, as I predict the three-time league champion, Kashima, kills Mito tomorrow.

3. Albriex NIGATA (J1) vs. SHONAN Bellmare (J2)*
Nigata was just promoted from J2 last year. If you consider that fact, they are doing really good as they are currently sit in 10th place with three games remaning. Before the earthquakes they were the one of the hottest club winning four games in a row, but after the disaster they can't find the spark as they lost three games in a row. This could Nigata's come back game.

4. Sagawa Takkyu TOKYO S.C. (JFL) vs. Jubilo IWATA (J1)
This is not an big game but Iwata is the defending cup champion. The Tokyo team currently plays in JFL which is the semi-pro league but many people considered as the third division. Iwata will win this game.

Re: This Weekend's (6/12, 13) Matches
 

hey, thanks. it's cool to have inter-league events like this so teams/fans get a chance to see other teams; it gets a little boring seeing the same teams play each other all the time.

2. Antlers -- with 4 of the main players also shuttling back and forth between the NT training leading to the Singapore match, and recent problems within the team/fan/club, I wonder if there might not be an upset here? but I don't know Mito at all, so you're probably right.

3. Nigata -- definitely sad to see that the earthquake ruined the nice groove they had.

4. Jubilo -- new coach yamamoto should be the most interesting part of this game. They also have several players in the NT -- hope they don't get too tired out.

so this all leads up to New Year's final game (that's what i heard, but I can't be sure if I remember correctly)?

Too bad you can't watch the games, as you seem to be following the games/teams closely...:( hopefully you have people in Japan who can tape important matches for you!

Re: This Weekend's (6/12, 13) Matches
 

The Emperor's Cup Round 4 (Round of 32) Results
Saturday, November 13
Montedio YAMAGATA (J2) 1 - 2 YOKOHAMA F Marinos (J1)
KYOTO Purple Sanga (J2) 1 - 2 TOKYO Verdy 1969 (J1)
MITO HollyHock (J2) 0 - 1 KASHIMA Antlers (J1)
Sagan TOSTU (J2) 0 - 3 Gamba OSAKA (J1)
Albriex NIGATA (J1) 2 - 3 SHONAN Bellmare (J2)*
SHIMIZU S-Pulse (J1) 0 - 1 OMIYA Ardija (J2)
Vegalta SENDAI (J2) 0 - 1 F.C.TOKYO (J1)
KASHIWA Raysol (J1) 0 - 1 GUNMA F.C. Horikoshi (JFL)
Sagawa Takkyu TOKYO S.C. (JFL) 2 - 3 Jubilo IWATA (J1)

Sunday, November 14
Cerezo OSAKA (J1) 1 - 2 Thespa KUSATSU (JFL)
NAGOYA Grampus Eight (J1) 3 - 0 Honda F.C. (JFL)
KAWASAKI Frontale (J2) 3 - 2 Vissel KOBE (J1)
YOKOHAMA F.C. (J2) 1 - 0 Sanfrencce HIROSHIMA (J1)
Avispa FUKUOKA (J2) 1 - 3 URAWA Reds (J1)
Consadole SAPPORO (J2) 2 - 1 JEF United ICHIHARA (J1)
Ventforet KOFU (J2) 1 - 2 OITA Trinita (J1)

*As always, home clubs are listed first; however, due to the earthquakes in the Nigata area, the Shonan club will be hosting the match

Re: J-League thread [R]
 

Before this round we had all 16 J.LEAGUE Division 1 (J1) Clubs, all 12 J.LEAGUE Division 2 (J2) Clubs, and four Japanese Football League (JFL) clubs. In this round total of 16 clubs advanced and nine of them were J1, five were J2, and two were JFL clubs.

Which indicates that 7 J1 clubs have been eliminted, the worst in the Emperor's Cup history since J.League formed.

Re: J-League thread [R]
 

i didn't know this was the worst record; do you think the re-scheduling had something to do with it? Usually the EC is played later on in the year, I heard... I'm not sure though.

It must be a little embarrassing for the Jclubs.. :( I heard the JEF coach was pretty devastated by the loss.

Re: J-League thread [R]
 

Yeah, I thought J1 teams didn't join until after the end of the J-League season.

And I'm disappointed that no high school team survived long enough to face a J1 club this year.

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

It's all have to do with the re-scheduling. Is was best interest for J Club to play them during the season, becasue once a J.Leauge season ends clubs has to deal with player contracts. I think that was the reason for rescheduling. But this really effected the amature teams lower than JFL.

I hope they bring back the old schedule.

Re: J-League thread [R]
 

Good on the JFL clubs, especially the Gunma team.

That said, though ... S-Pulse going out to the Fighting Chipmunks. Pathetic. :mad:

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Emperor's Cup Round 5 Matchup:

Sunday, December 12, 2005
OMIYA Ardija (J2) vs. F.C.TOKYO (J1)
TOKYO Verdy 1969 (J1) vs. NAGOYA Grampus Eight (J1)
KASHIMA Antlers (J1) vs. KAWASAKI Frontale (J2)
YOKOHAMA F.C. (J2) vs. Gamba OSAKA (J1)
Consadole SAPPORO (J2) vs. OITA Trinita (J1)
GUNMA F.C. Horikoshi (JFL) vs. Jubilo IWATA (J1)

Wednesday, December 15, 2005
URAWA Reds (J1) vs. SHONAN Bellmare (J2)
YOKOHAMA F Marinos (J1) vs. Thespa KUSATSU (JFL)

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

In the Round 5 matchup, out of 8 game only one game involves in J1 vs J1, which is Tokyo V. vs Nagoya. Both of these clubs are Nabisco Cup semi-finalist, so I think they will try their best to win this tourney. Other 7 games are J1 sides vs. J2 and JFL sides. Out of these matches, the only club that may advance to next round is kawasaki.

It is a very rare possiblity, but Yokohama and Urawa may knocked out either in this round, due to the fatigue factor. They will be both playing with their max energy on tomorrow's CS game; therefore on Wedneday, they might not even field most of their regular members.

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Jubilo and Marinos get matched up with the two JFL clubs, eh?

Hmmm....

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Sunday, December 12, 2005
OMIYA Ardija (J2) 3-6 F.C.TOKYO (J1)
TOKYO Verdy 1969 (J1) 2-1 NAGOYA Grampus Eight (J1)
KASHIMA Antlers (J1) 3-2(a.e.t.) KAWASAKI Frontale (J2)
YOKOHAMA F.C. (J2) 0-5 Gamba OSAKA (J1)
Consadole SAPPORO (J2) 1-0 OITA Trinita (J1)
GUNMA F.C. Horikoshi (JFL) 1-2 Jubilo IWATA (J1)

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Wednesday, December 15, 2005
URAWA Reds (J1) 3-0 SHONAN Bellmare (J2)
YOKOHAMA F Marinos (J1) 1-2(a.e.t.) Thespa KUSATSU (JFL)

The biggest story of the day:
Nine man Thespa Beats the J Champ, Yokohama

Other News:
横浜・岡田監督「甘かった」
草津、浦和が準々決勝へ
田中達が２発、浦和強い

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

So if I'm reading the tea leaves right, the quarterfinal matchups are:

Thespa Kusatsu vs Tokyo Verdy
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka
Urawa Reds vs FC Tokyo
Consadole Sapporo vs Jubilo Iwata

Who gets the home games?

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Thespa Kusatsu vs Tokyo Verdy @ NAGASAKI
Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka @ TOTTORI
Urawa Reds vs FC Tokyo @ SAITAMA
Consadole Sapporo vs Jubilo Iwata @ 丸亀 (MARUKAME?)

Except for Urawa, all game is played in neutral field.

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Interesting. Why does Urawa get an exception? Does the J-League feel bad for them after losing two finals out of two so far?

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

No...no...no, these stadiums were chosen a month ago. Even if Urawa had lost the last match, the winner had to play in Sitama.

Re: The 84th Emperor's Cup [R]
 

Thespa Kusatsu vs Tokyo Verdy @ NAGASAKI
Preview: 勢いに乗る草津に東京VがJ１の意地とプライドを見せられるか？

Kashima Antlers vs Gamba Osaka @ TOTTORI
Preview: 今季G大阪の1勝1分で迎えた3度目の対決。両サイドでの攻守にわたる駆け引きに注目

Urawa Reds vs FC Tokyo @ SAITAMA
Preview: none

Consadole Sapporo vs Jubilo Iwata @ MARUKAME
Preview: 下部リーグ相手に今度こそ完勝を狙いたい磐田。札幌は2週連続して好守を継続できるか