Official 2016 AFC Champions League Thread

Discussion in 'Japanese Club Football' started by Whispered11, Feb 2, 2016.

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  1. Ogasawara

    Ogasawara Member

    Jun 15, 2014
    Club:
    Kashima Antlers
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Man this scene reminds me of this...
     
  2. Tanuki

    Tanuki New Member

    Apr 4, 2016
    Club:
    Jubilo Iwata
    Average points between 2011 and 2015.

    Round 1 - 1.05
    Round 2 - 0.90
    Round 3 - 1.50
    Round 4 - 1.65
    Round 5 - 1.95
    Round 6 - 1.85

    J-League teams tend to get off to a slow start and raise their game from round 3. Why do they start so poorly every year?
     
  3. artml

    artml Member

    Liverpool FC
    Ukraine
    Jul 11, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Because of the calendar. ACL group stage starts in late February; J. League usually begins two to three weeks later—exactly after two group rounds are played.

    So for Japanese teams these first two rounds are effectively pre-season games. No wonder they play poorly.
     
  4. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    But K-League and CSL starts late as well. This season J-League started early in late February, while CSL started a week later, and K-League two weeks later, but had no effect on the trend.
     
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  5. nipponbasse83

    nipponbasse83 Member+

    Jun 17, 2007
    Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
    Club:
    Consadole Sapporo
    Nat'l Team:
    Norway

    Not true.

    ACL and J.League have started the same week in 5 out of the 6 last seasons, with only 2015 having a 2 week gap.

    So it doesn't steal much of the pre-season, and it is not different from any of the other East Asian leagues really.

    Why they do so badly in the first 2 rounds is very interesting though, but this is not the reason. Might have something to do with lineups ( for example Gamba and Hiroshima have been using some pretty weakened squads in some of their ACL-games), and the teams not fielding their best possible lineup before "they feel they have to", which will be the final 3-4 rounds if they do badly at first.

    Also, might be because the players are really hyped up about getting their domestic season starting again, and playing the first home-game in front of a sold-out stadium ( in most cases) etc.

    Here are the numbers:

    2011:
    ACL March 1st-2nd
    J.League March 5th

    2012:

    ACL March 6th-7th
    J.League March 10th

    2013:

    ACL February 26th -27th
    J.League March 2nd

    2014:

    ACL February 25th – 26th
    J.League March 1st


    2015:

    ACL February 24th – 25th
    J.League March 7th

    2016:

    ACL February 23rd – 24th
    J.League February 27th
     
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  6. artml

    artml Member

    Liverpool FC
    Ukraine
    Jul 11, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I stand corrected.
     
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  7. Majster2

    Majster2 Member+

    Apr 23, 2010
    Poland
    Club:
    Urawa RD
    Seems like Gamba is out.
     
  8. Issei Wong

    Issei Wong Member

    Japan
    Dec 21, 2015
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Gamba's performance was awful. Usami can't even scored from the spot twice in succession. They deserved to be eliminated.
     
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  9. Majster2

    Majster2 Member+

    Apr 23, 2010
    Poland
    Club:
    Urawa RD
    Reds are in the next round.
     
  10. Samurai Warrior

    Samurai Warrior Member+

    Dec 2, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    They might be the only Japanese representative in the next round.
     
  11. Gordon1995

    Gordon1995 Member+

    Oct 3, 2013
    F.c Tokyo's performance was shit but then they used a lot of subsitutues.
     
  12. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    Urawa Reds have qualified.

    FC Tokyo, if they beat Binh Duong, they proceed to the round of 16 whatever happens.

    Sanfrecce Hiroshima, if they lose today, they are out.

    Gamba Osaka has been eliminated.
     
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  13. Radu Razvan

    Radu Razvan Member+

    Mar 1, 2013
    Bucharest, Romania
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Romania
    Yes, but both Jeonbuk and Sainty have lost there in Vietnam. Very difficult away game. Maybe Tokyo will win who knows.
     
  14. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    No, Jiangsu drew there.

    Also, Jeonbuk only lost due to some horrific refereeing. Binh Duong are terrible.
     
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  15. Gordon1995

    Gordon1995 Member+

    Oct 3, 2013
    Hopefully F.c Tokyo can win but its gonna be difficult with Binh Duong at home. Sanfreece and Gamba are absolutely terrible.
     
  16. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    So is FC Tokyo. But if they lose against Binh Duong, they can find a new low there.

    Also, there are no secret reasons why J-League teams perform badly. Their teams are just not as good as other Asian teams.
     
  17. chook90

    chook90 Member+

    South Korea
    Jan 2, 2015
    Al Khor, Qatar
    Club:
    FC Seoul
    Nat'l Team:
    Korea Republic
    :eek:
     
  18. Radu Razvan

    Radu Razvan Member+

    Mar 1, 2013
    Bucharest, Romania
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    Romania
    Yes, sorry, but thaat draw was like a loss. They are not terrible there. The conditions are difficult for the oppoents.
     
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  19. greenlion

    greenlion Member

    Apr 22, 2004
    CHINA
    Club:
    Beijing Guoan
    Nat'l Team:
    China PR
    No! J-league doesn't take ACL seriously!
     
  20. Whispered11

    Whispered11 Member+

    U.C. Sampdoria
    Japan
    Oct 4, 2011
    Munich, Germany
    Club:
    UC Sampdoria
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Sanfrecce got third in the last CWC and they lost six points against Shandong Luneng... sigh.
     
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  21. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    More that they are wise enough to know that dishing out tonnes of money to fill foreign quota is not the way for domestic football in the long term.

    Nothing surprising. J1-League sides are more evenly balanced in strength, be that due to the sustainable model that J-League clubs follow or whatever. In the long term, it's a good thing given that outside Japan, self-sustaining clubs are very rare.
     
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  22. Majster2

    Majster2 Member+

    Apr 23, 2010
    Poland
    Club:
    Urawa RD
    The problem is that Sanfrecce and Gamba look pretty pathetic in the league as well. Gamba's nose-dive is pretty depressing especially. Sanfrecce somehow manages to get some points in the league thanks to Utaka's goals but there's a gap between three top teams in the league and rest of the pack. Looking how Endo detoriorated a lot compared to last season and Usami not scoring twice on the same penalty kick is ugly. FC Tokyo plays their usual mid-table football which of course could get them a spot in the next round... No one was putting their money on them before the competition started anyway. Reds are strong at the moment and they are already in the next round though I thought they will throw this game away knowing that they will have an important game for the top spot in J League table against Frontale. And it's the hardest group of all in this half of Asia. There are three teams who look good right now in the league and only one of them is playing in ACL this year.
     
  23. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    Well, if it's the strongest group on this half of Asia, it's the toughest group in the whole of Asia. We know why it's been divided up in the first place.

    And exactly what I said above. J-League tends to be more evenly matched in strength, which means that the top teams aren't going to be as overpowering as the top teams in other leagues.
     
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  24. Issei Wong

    Issei Wong Member

    Japan
    Dec 21, 2015
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    FC Tokyo was awful yesterday. FC Tokyo just passed the ball around without any threat to opponent half. The coach should use Nathan Burns as he could provide more threat than other Japanese striker in ACL (based on what I saw in other previous ACL matches).

    I watched first half of Tokyo match before switched to other channel to watch Sanfrecce match. Same story. Lack of a strong target man (they are missing player like Douglas). But Sanfrecce still fare better than Tokyo. They dominated possession and have the game fully in control after conceded the 1st goal, but unable to find way pass through Shandong.

    To be fair, Sanfrecce did not utilise their strongest line up in this match, most likely because they did not put much hope on ACL and want to focus on domestic league. Utaka and Mikic did not follow the team to China. Kashiwa was not in the first eleven to replace Mikic on the right flank. Moriyasu used a youngster instead (forgot his name) who was not very effective until Kashiwa came on from the bench.

    The problem with J League clubs in ACL is that they seem not very used to fast tempo of ACL matches as J League matches usually play at a slower tempo and they prefer to play passing game with minimal physical contact. In contrast, Korean and Chinese team are the opposite. Hence Korean and Chinese team will always use their physical advantage, the speed & height of their foreigners and high intensity game to pressure J League clubs to make mistakes (eg; 1st goal of Shandong vs Sanfrecce).
     
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  25. Gordon1995

    Gordon1995 Member+

    Oct 3, 2013
    That is why i feel that more Japanese players should go play in Europe to train themselves better as the leagues there are more physical and high-tempo. Japanese players' weaknesses have always been their physicality and inability to deal with high pressing. The Ivory Coast match in the WC 2014 is a very good example.
     

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