Official 2014 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

One of Hamada'a headers (all 3 of her goals were headers - and also Vegalta hit the ceoss-bar at least 5 times) was really superb; and a second was also good. The Belle coach's plan was a disaster for the poor GK as she faced non-stop nerve-wracking danger, and she was possibly the shortest player on the field. The Belle MF played at the edge of the PK box, and so any loose ball was a scoring opportunity. And instead of trying to fight back, they stuck to it for 89 full minutes. Perhaps through "obedience" or perhaps they knew from last week that there was little point.

And 90 minutes of attack with ZERO off-sides! That's what happens when the DF line is on the 6-yard box.
Such a disastrous strategy against the team with the tallest FWs in the League, and as someone said, they added Sakai to Hamada and Ono to make it a real nightmare.

 

Some captures from the Sendai Belle match.

Miyama and friends

Some fancy numbering on the keeper's kit.

Young Sendai

Popular Shark!

 

Yes the Shark got more Xmas gifts from the cheering section (still the best in the League?) that she could hardly "scurry" them across the field.
On Twitter the Belle posters seem to have shed a lot of tears today..... but they found this excellent amateur highlights of the game, taken from the opposite side of the field too; in addition the same YT guy has long highlights of Beleza v Niigata: HERE
My captures: The Belle 4-4-2 formation - awaiting AndG's comments: Someone on Twitter said that Miho was "louder than the other 22 players" - this photo shows why she is out, her eye is swollen due to proximity to the injury: the strange goal celebration: Tanaguchi: Vegalta cheering section (not as big as it used to be?) The same goal celebration - all 10 outfielders:

What I was really hoping to see on Twitter was an outcry against coach Taneda - and because this game was on national TV, you have to wonder what the JFA thinks .... in England there is a charge widely used called "bringing the game into disrepute" and I really think she turned off some Nadeshiko fans today. Its not often that Belle was on TV all year (I believe FullBloom showed that, until they won the Regular Series they were last in TV appearances, even behind Kibi), and she played a "new" reserve GK (while Fushiki sat on the bench - despite her 2-game GK experience) and worse, played the other ten players "out of position" the whole game.

 

Hamada was playing centre forward. This is not the first time in Vegalta - she has been used as out and out striker I this team as well. As far asi know this is the position she has played in last few games.

It's typical of Vegalta coach. He likes players with pace up front.

Not really good for Hamada's career though. She will never make the Natinal team as a striker but she has potential to be a great left back. She really needs to play left back week in week out at her club. Some of her defending in U20 tournament was naive to say the least.

 

Sameshima played as a left back in this match. Takara played left midfield.

Well as for the Sameshima's goal, it was certainly a cross not a shot that was pretty much all Vegalta could do to putting the ball into the box and the one which wasn't accurate went in.

 

I may be soft-hearted but I feel that given the circumstances, Taniguchi did a pretty good job. She stopped more than a few shots and that third header from Hamada would have been difficult to stop for a lot of goalkeepers, especially a short one (Taniguchi is about the same height as Nahomi Kawasumi). She did stop the last Vegalta goal but it rebound into the goal off another Belle player's foot. I also like the little pat on the shoulder Brittany Cameron gives her at the end of the video as they shake hands. It was a small gesture but a gracious and sympathetic one.

Having said that, the fact that this situation came about gives Okayama a sort of amateurish quality that reflects on the entire league. Would something like this have occurred in Bundesliga, FA WSL or even French Division 1?

 

According to some rumor on FB, Yoko Tanaka has played her last game with INAC and will play in the Challenge League for Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara next season.

 

I certainly agree she did a reasonable job, it was a miracle that it was 0-0 at HT. FullBloom describes that the Belle DF became "exhausted". Its not so easy to jump non-stop for 90 minutes, and Belle seems to concede mostly headed goals anyway (even from Ohno of all players). I think #24 Takahashi is not so good in the air.
The report on WSU HERE shows that the average # of shots in the other three QFs was exactly 8 for each team. If the stupid coach had Belle play normally, with the other 10 in position and with the usual off-side trap in place, even with a few additional speculative shots, probably Vegalta would have shot no more than 10-12 total. Perhaps less if they had instead crowded midfield or focussed on keep-ball or something. But instead Vega had 44 shots, which is 4x times higher(!) Much the same stats for CKs, 12-0. That huge excess is not a GK fault, it is just a huge coaching blunder - really Belle had only 2 players in MF for 89 minutes!

About Taniguchi, there were some interesting Tweets this morning (none explaining why the much taller Fushiki did not play in goal - maybe she was also injured, either in last week's game or in training?) Take a look at the links in this one:
昨日、急増したきいちゃんファンがこぞってココに行っちゃったら、これから予約取れなくなっちゃうかも!?　 http://resortinnyunogo.jp/ pic.twitter.com/bgCbMGD9EE
This hotel is not far from where I stayed on my last night in Mimisaka (the Australians were still there, in hotel next door - they were supposed to play Kibi in a friendly but it was canceled for unknown reasons). On their home page you can see low on the left that they announced last March the "signing" of Taniguchi to their staff......lol. Its probably the closest hotel to the stadium by the way (for those planning their trip next year!).

 

By the way, ndsk120 had missed my Japan reports and only read them today - and he sent a very nice message, impressed by the details .... interesting that he agreed with me that Yoshida had wrecked Urawa's chances against Sao Jose by substituting in the kids. He also recognized the Tokyo bar! It must be well known to those who have ever been to that stadium (is Mr. Giraffe on the forum?).

Also more commuication from someone else about the other QFs, seeing as little to no highlights have appeared anywhere:
In the first game, Urawa's focus was on making sure Iga's Kristen Mewis didn't see much of the ball and as a result she had a quiet game but they forgot about Ami Sugita. She was Iga's best player on the day, creating their best chance to score.......
........sat next to a female INAC fan and she was gasping and screaming every time Chiba came close to INAC's goal. So, this meant she was gasping and screaming for the whole match! Takase was booked for complaining to the referee. INAC's president, Hironori Bun, always sits on the bench during matches but he disappeared at the final whistle without acknowledging any of the players......
Actually the stats in the WSU story (last post above) show that INAC v JEF was a tight game, not at all one-sided. If Ikadai won it, one wonders if it was one of her FKs.

 

Thank you for warmly greeting me!
I'm living in Tokyo, but you are more familiar with L-league and Nadeshiko Japan than me
My favorite teams are Albirex Niigata Ladies, Yunogo-Bell , and INAC kobe.
Yes,　they all disappeared at the quarterfinals......heartbreaking December!
The results made me sad, but their plays made me love these teams more, especially Bell.
The empress Cup is unpredictable and dramatic

Then, I 'll translate Japanese into English, if you want

 

Ok　I know　who you said .It's Ms. or Mr. unepomme , isn't it?
At first, about this video
Ms.kawamoto was weeping in this video, because her tenure as a coach of the team was going to end, but she was feeling that she had things to do more for the team.
However, in the end of the video, there is a good news that she got the appointment as coach again to next season.

 

Next,　oh, lovely video...
I like Kinga and Ohno.


Momo Hayashi, the player of Musashigaoka, said " Our greater talent than man player's is cuteness! ”　
Hahaha, it is not a serious answer, and she is so young and cheerful.

 

Wow, sorry to hear that. All three of your clubs in one round, that's a real shame. It's nice to see another INAC fan though, for what it's worth. You're absolutely right, drama is one of the pulls of sports in general, Some clubs might have the longer stick in battle most of the time, but sports are every bit as unpredictable as they are beautiful. That's definitely something to love, even if the losses hurt.

Much obliged for the translations, Ms. Sola. I'm happy to hear that Ms. Kawamoto gets more run with the reins, I don't like when managers get ousted prematurely, or in the middle of their system, that's not good for anyone. And truer words than Ms. Hayashi's have never been spoken. Although, some of the male players are definitely very cute, too!

 

Really, really, really, off-topic, and yet also indirectly Nadeshiko news. Ms. Kawasumi's blog is on fire right now with Ji-Fever (well, the most recent post). Queen Ji just won KFA Women's Player of the Year. Woohoo! Time to put the Korea kit on and celebrate!

"God's Son" Heung-min won the Men's award too, which is equally awesome to me.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program...

 

Oh and speaking of INAC memories... since I'm in a mood and because I'm searching up random videos at the moment. Here's a nugget of gold from way back in week 1.



Bang! Merry Christmas! (yes, I know we lost that match.)