Official 2004 J.League Thread [R]

THOMA GOL · 24 Sep 2004, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marchetti

Will I ever get to see an MLS side take on a J-League side, even in an exhibition? I would LOVE to see the Chicago Fire play JEF United (my two "hometown" teams).

Old school.
bits from 2001 at la-soccer.com

GALAXY LOSES CLOSED DOOR SCRIMMAGE TO J-LEAGUE'S TOKYO VERDY 1969, 3-2, ON LATE GOALS IN JAPAN

TOKYO, JAPAN - The Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer (MLS) club, who recently captured the F.C. Champions' Cup, lost the first match of its international tour of Asia to Tokyo Verdy 1969, 3-2, at Tokyo Stadium, marking the club's first defeat since losing to the Kansas City Wizards in the semifinals of the MLS playoffs. Forward Sasha Victorine scored his second straight goal of the tour with a well-placed header, while rookie Brian Ching tallied his first goal in only his second appearance as a member of the Galaxy.

"I was happy with how our team played today because we played many young players and for some of our players it was their first time playing against an international opponent," said Head Coach Sigi Schmid. "I was very pleased with how we came back after being down 1-0 and was able to get up 2-1. The red card and penalty kick were hard calls but internationally this what you expect when you play away from home. We finished the game by being generous guests and offering a gift to Verdy."

The Galaxy, who will represent the Football Confederation at the FIFA Club World Championships in Spain from July 29 to August 12, is on a 10-day international tour of Asia. Los Angeles has one more match remaining in Japan versus the Urawa Red Diamonds before returning home.

In true preseason form, the Galaxy started a very young line up that featured the débuts of rookies Isaias Bardales Jr. and Alex Bengard. Also in the line up were reserves Sebastien Vorbe, Marvin Quijano, Adam Frye, Ivan Polic and Matt Reis.

Tokyo Verdy jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 9th minute as striker Masakiyo Maezono broke in behind the Galaxy's defense. Charging off his line, goalkeeper Matt Reis was unable to come up with the stop and was beaten by Maezono's low shot.

With time running out in a slow first half for the Galaxy, forward Sasha Victorine scored the equalizer in the 45th minute. Bardales, who was the club's second overall 2001 SuperDraft pick, beat two defenders with a quick spin move to the sideline before sending a cross into the front of the goal. Victorine broke in front of his man and headed nodded the cross into the back of the net.

In the 53rd minute, Los Angeles' Ching broke through Tokyo's defense and beat Verdy goalkeeper Kenji Honnami. Off a broken play, Sebastien Vorbe collected the loose ball before threading a sharp pass through two defenders. Running onto the pass, Ching played the ball once before tucking it just under the sliding goalkeeper, giving L.A. a 2-1 advantage.

In the 57th minute, Vorbe received his second yellow card of the match for a hard foul and was sent off. Despite the man disadvantage, the Galaxy responded with increased pressure, solid team defense and was unlucky not to increase its lead.

However, a controversial penalty kick in the 89th minute was called against the Galaxy on Ezra Hendrickson tied the match. Verdy's Masakiyo Maezono converted the attempt placing his shot to the right, the opposite direction of the Galaxy's Reis.

Pressuring to regain the lead with time running out, Galaxy netminder Reis came 40-yards out of his goal to take a direct kick. However, a poor cross field pass deflected off the back of Alexi Lalas and toward the Galaxy's unguarded goal. Tokyo's Nobuhiro Takeda pounced on the loose ball and struck a well placed shot just over a recovering Reis and into the back of the goal, giving Verdy a injury time 3-2 victory.

Next, the Los Angeles Galaxy will face the J-League's Urawa Red Diamonds on February 25 to complete the club's 10-day international trip in Asia. For more information regarding Los Angeles Galaxy season tickets for the club's 2001 MLS season, please call the Galaxy toll free at (877) 3GALAXY.

Linescore 1 2 F
Los Angeles 1 1 2
Tokyo 1 2 3

Scoring
LA- Victorine (Bardales) '45, Ching (Vorbe) '53
TV- Maezono (Unassisted) '9, Maezono (penalty kick) '90, Takeda (Unassisted)
'93+

Lineups
LA- Matt Reis, Alex Bengard, Paul Caligiuri (Alexi Lalas '46), Adam Frye, Simon Elliott (Danny Califf '46), Sebastien Vorbe, Isaias Bardales Jr. (Ezra Hendrickson '76), Marvin Quijano (Brian Kelly '46), Ivan Polic, Sasha Victorine (Brian Mullan '46), Brian Ching.

TV- Shinkichi Kikuchi (Kenji Honnami '46), Toshimi Kikuchi, Yuji Hironaga, Atsushi Yamada, Takumi Hayama (Keiji Ishizuka '46), Kentaro Hayashi, Takuya Yamada (Yuki Takahashi '76), Tsuyoshi Kitazawa (Naoto Sakurai '62), Hideki Nagai, Masakiyo Maezono, Takahumi Ogura (Nobuhiro Takeda '54).

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Tokyo Verdy 1969
Post-Game Quotes
February 23, 2001

Sigi Schmid
"Especially in the first half, I thought eight (Tsuyoshi Kitzawa) and ten (Hideki Magai) gave us a lot of problems and the system they played was not what we expected them to play and that gave us some problems too. Knowing that they played many young players today and are looking at their team to finalize their roster for the season, I think their coach should be pleased with how they performed and the effort they gave."

Sasha Victorine
"We started slow and were a little sluggish. We started holding possession of the ball and getting some more chances towards the end of the half. I think we played well, but we could have done a lot better. We knew that we needed to start moving the ball faster, get it, move it, get it, move and then get it up the sides. The flanks were open all game."

(On his goal)
"The ball was out wide and Bardales had it and looked like he might beat his defender. I was trying to pull away on the back post and separate from my defender. As he started to go around the corner, I started thinking he was going to be able to cross it, but he got caught up with two defenders. As I saw him spin his defender, I started opening up to the back post, drop back and to open up space and he just put in a great ball. I just got up and made sure I kept it down."

Brian Ching
"I was a little nervous and was thinking a little too much, but finally I settled in a little bit more in the second half. I played a little bit better in the second half and got my first goal. I am just happy to be here playing soccer, it's just a dream come true."

L.A. GALAXY FALL TO J-LEAGUE'S URAWA RED DIAMONDS, 2-1

URAWA, JAPAN - The Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer (MLS) club, who recently captured the F.C. Champions' Cup, was defeated by the J-League's Urawa Red Diamonds, 2-1, on a cold blustery day in Urawa, Japan. Galaxy rookie Brian Mullan, who registered his first professional assist against China, scored the Galaxy's only goal of the match to pull the club even. A native of Brazil, Urawa forward Tuto scored two goals for the Red Diamonds in the victory.

"Overall as a coach, I learned a lot about my team over these three games and that was the main mission for RED DIAMONDS, 2-1us," said Head Coach Sigi Schmid. "I was proud of our team's character to come back after being down one nothing. We have traveled many miles on this trip and in the second half it was obvious that we didn't have the speed or quickness to stay with Tuto. As in all games, we had chances, they had chances, but they did a better job of finishing their chances."

The Red Diamonds' Tuto scored the match's first goal in the 53rd minute, beating Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Urawa's Adoriano sent a long corner kick to the far post, where Tuto volleyed the ball just inside the near post.

Los Angeles responded only a minute later, as Mullan finished off a quick string of passes beginning with a counter attack from the back. Former U.S. National Team member, Alexi Lalas, intercepted a Red Diamonds pass and first timed it to Mauricio Cienfuegos. Crossing midfield, Cienfuegos threaded a pass to Mullan, who beat one defender before blasting a right-footed shot past Urawa goalkeeper Yohei Nishibe.

Tuto tallied his second goal of the match in the 86th minute, beating Hartman on a one-versus-one from 8-yards out. Second half substitute, Tatsuya Tanaka, earned the assist slipping a ball behind the Galaxy's defense and into the box for Tuto.

Linescore 1 2 F
Los Angeles 0 1 1
Urawa 0 2 2

Scoring
LA- Mullan (Cienfuegos, Lalas) '55
UR- Tuto (Adoriano) '53, Tuto (Tatsuya Tanaka) '82

Lineups
LA- Kevin Hartman, Paul Caligiuri, Danny Califf, Alexi Lalas, Ezra Hendrickson, Peter Vagenas, Simon Elliott, Marvin Quijano (Brian Kelly '65), Mauricio Cienfuegos, Sasha Victorine (Brian Ching '75), Brian Mullan.

UR- Yohei Nishibe, Nobuhisa Yamada, Masami Ihara, Tsutomu Nishino, Masaki Tsuchihashi, Toshiya Ishii, Toshiya Abe, Tomonobu Hayakawa (Takamasa Watanbe '46), Adoriano (Tatsuya Tanaka '78), Masayuki Okano (Ichiei Muroi '86), Tuto.

STATS LA UR
Total Shots 11 13
Shots on goal 3 6
Saves 4 2
Fouls 13 13
Offside 6 1
Corner kicks 4 9

RememberDanny Calichman???
Assigned to the Los Angeles Galaxy, Calichman played professionally in Japan for four years from 1990-93, the first and only American to play in the J-League ... Played 1990-91 with Mazda F.C. in Hiroshima in the First Division before the inception of the J-League ... played 1992-93 with Hiroshima San Frecce in the J-League ... With San Frecce, he played against Manchester United, Sparta Prauge of Czechoslavkia and Sweden First Division club Helsingborg among others ...

Marchetti · 24 Sep 2004, 10:48 PM

So.... LA Galaxy played Verdy in a CLOSED DOOR SCRIMMAGE....
and Dan Calichman simply played in both pro leagues in the US and Japan....
Back to my original question, will there ever be a MLS side taking on a J-League side in a REAL match, even an exhibition (and exhibitions usually allow fans to watch)?

buggy · 24 Sep 2004, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marchetti

So.... LA Galaxy played Verdy in a CLOSED DOOR SCRIMMAGE....
and Dan Calichman simply played in both pro leagues in the US and Japan....
Back to my original question, will there ever be a MLS side taking on a J-League side in a REAL match, even an exhibition (and exhibitions usually allow fans to watch)?

from hearing about the J-League/Euroclubs tours, it seems that the two main reasons for playing each other are publicity/marketing/money and training/experience/team-building. There is no incentive for MLS and JLeague teams to play each other, is there? You don't really get either....

fireman451 · 04 Oct 2004, 02:46 PM

Here's an updated map of the J1 and J2 in English.

fireman451 · 04 Oct 2004, 02:53 PM

This board has not been updated for awhile. Here's this past weekend's games:

Date Kick off Home Away

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02 Oct Sat Division 1 2nd Stage:

1st Day 8th Sec 14:04 G-Osaka 7-1 C-Osaka
1st Day 8th Sec 15:03 Tokyo-V 0-2 Kobe
1st Day 8th Sec 15:04 Niigata 3-0 Oita
1st Day 8th Sec 15:04 Nagoya 1-1 FC Tokyo
1st Day 8th Sec 16:04 Ichihara 0-4 Urawa
1st Day 8th Sec 19:04 Iwata 1-2 Shimizu

03 Oct Sun Division 1 2nd Stage:

2nd Day 8th Sec 15:04 Kashima 0-0 Hiroshima
2nd Day 8th Sec 15:04 Yokohama F.M. 0-1 Kashiwa