Seems there is no thread for J1 2017 yet, so here it goes! J.League 1 Team By Team Season Preview: Albirex Niigata: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...birex-niigata/ Cerezo Osaka: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...-cerezo-osaka/ Consadole Sapporo: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...adole-sapporo/ Gamba Osaka: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...w-gamba-osaka/ Jubilo Iwata: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...-jubilo-iwata/ Kashima Antlers: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...shima-antlers/ Kashiwa Reysol: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...n-preview-kas/ Kawasaki Frontale: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...saki-frontale/ Omiya Ardija: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...son-preview-o/ Sagan Tosu: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...ew-sagan-tosu/ Sanfrecce Hiroshima: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...cce-hiroshima/ Shimizu S-Pulse: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...imizu-s-pulse/ FC Tokyo: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...view-fc-tokyo/ Urawa Reds: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...ew-urawa-reds/ Vegalta Sendai: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...egalta-sendai/ Ventforet Kofu: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...entforet-kofu/ Vissel Kobe: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...w-vissel-kobe/ Yokohama F Marinos: https://japanese-football.com/2017/0...ama-f-marinos/ Table Prediction: 1.Urawa Reds ( 1st - 2nd ) 2.Kashima Antlers (1st - 3rd) 3.Gamba Osaka (2nd - 5th) 4.Kashiwa Reysol (3rd - 6th) 5.Kawasaki Frontale (4th - 7th) 6.Sanfrecce Hiroshima (4th - 8th) 7.Vissel Kobe (4th - 8th) 8.Yokohama F Marinos (5th - 9th) 9.FC Tokyo (5th - 9th) 10.Omiya Ardija (8th - 13th) 11.Cerezo Osaka (9th - 14th) 12.Shimizu S-Pulse (12 - 15th) 13.Consadole Sapporo (13th - 16th) 14.Sagan tosu (13th - 17th) 15.Jubilo Iwata (14th - 17th) 16.Vegalta Sendai (15th - 18th) 17.Albirex Niigata (16th - 18th) 18.Ventforet Kofu (16th - 18th)
It still amazes me that everyone takes Antlers as contenders for the title. The team had it's ups and downs (lol, anyone remember when Ishii wanted to leave the club in the Sepember if I remember it well and didn't even go to trainings?) and, above everything else, they ended up 15 (!) points behind Reds. I predict two teams race for the title. One of those should be Urawa and the second one? I don't know. Maybe Gamba? FC Tokyo always aims big before the season starts and they always crumble under the expectations. Vissel might finally join the big clubs in the race after all.
After Kaio left their performance dropped, but that they did so poorly in Stage 2 has a lot to do with them already being qualified for the finals anyway. They showed both in the Emperor's Cup, Championship Stage and CWC that they got quality, and now they finally have added a proper striker too. Pedro Junior could easily end up scoring 20 goals, and the rest of the team still holds good quality imho.
There won't be CS stage this year. The only team that showed that they can keep form in the league all season long and perform well on the AFC stage is Urawa. Entire league in recent years looked like meteors. Kashiwa, Gamba, Sanfrecce, Antlers might join them and land around 5-7 place in the end. So it's damn hard to predict anything and the only pretty sure thing is that Reds should be somewhere near the top. I hope for Vissel to join the top ranks so that Mikatani can be happy with his recet investments and spend even more money on football.
Cant believe that Urawa and Kashima lost today after their form this week in the ACL. Maybe its the fact that they are playing in ACL that is affecting their league performances.
oh,come on... it's J.League Kaimaku...you should have been around enough to see way more unbelievable events in this game BTW when the league starts is always a pleasure... @nipponbasse83 i think in your predictions you overrated Gamba and underestimated Cerezo (and FC Tokyo maybe)...did that on purpose? Yoon Jong Hwan was a tough guy in Tosu and so was it's team...maybe he's the right manager to turn the Beauty Salon in a winning team About Gamba i'm still unconvinced about Ademilson and Nagasawa and our key players are getting any younger,while Fabio seems a good addition...let's see
Well, Hasegawa has given the youth more playing time this year such as Genta Miura. I don't think there is much to be alarmed at with regards to the aging players. Of course, there needs to be replacement for Endo. BTW, how far do you think Gamba will go in the ACL this year?
Hard to say, I don't think Gamba can challenge for the title but should be a favorite for one of the ACL-spots. Lots of good teams with big potential behind them this year though like Reysol and Kobe, and Hiroshima might get back on track too. ACL might affect their performance though, so you never know, but atleast they got the experience. As for Cerezo, I'm not convinced they are as good as many suggests... I mean, they finished 4th in J2 last season. And the only change in players of any significance since then is Kiyotake, which obviously is good but it shouldn't automatically turn them into a contender for ACL as many suggests. As for Yoon, surely he is a step up compared to Okuma, but it's not like he's a magician. Sagan came close to be promoted even before Yoon took over the team, so it's not like he completed transformed the team from nobodies into a bunch of winners. He did well in 1,5 seasons in J1 as well, but there are probably many reasons why he got sacked too in the end so it can't all be positive. But, yeah in a few years I think Cerezo can be a contender again but probably not this season. Not before they buy a proper striker atleast...
Cerezo didnt really look that good in their match earlier against Jubilo imo. A scrappy game whereby both teams keeping losing possession of the ball cheaply. Sugimoto's touches and finishing is really poor. They need a new CF. Agree about Yoon. BTW, speaking of manager, which manager do you think is the best in the J league currently?
I think they can contend this season. Why not? Not like others improved or looked great in 1st week so far (Urawa, Kashima and etc all looked poor + lost). edit - btw, it isn't just Kiyotake. Jonjic might be our best new signing this season
great stuff from Saito in the first and the last goal 浦和の ペトロヴィッチ 監督は「サイトーに負けたと言ってもいい。十分に注意を払ったがやられてしまった」と2得点を演出するだけでなく、常に脅威になり続けた齋藤のパフォーマンスに脱帽。
What a feeling to watch that comeback win while at sea. ESPECIALLY glad to see Makino be humbled by the scoreboard. That guy.........
Frontale look like they'll take a while to gel, especially integrating the new additions like Ienaga and Rhayner. I just hope the team doesn't regress too much under Oniki so that some continuity from the Kazama era is retained, but so far they are missing fluidity.
I was at Nissan for that game. Saito was a beast. His touches were brilliant, and he completely owned Moriwaki throughout the entire game. I guess Urawa haven't gotten rid of their over-nonchalant passing game in defence yet either... They were close to giving away the ball on numerous occasions, and whenever the Marinos FW's were putting on pressure you could see they struggled. Especially Moriwaki, who imho played one of the worst games I've seen him played. IT was a game that could go either way though, Urawa had overall more big chances than Marinos I think and in the last 5-10 minutes or so it was gung-ho with both teams throwing everything forward.
DAZN are making extended highlights, but J-League official channel uploads only the goals at some games (see Tosu vs Reysol and Marinos vs Reds) Antlers vs FC Tokyo Vegalta vs Consadole Ardija vs Frontale Marinos vs Reds (@nipponbasse: are all the key moments in this video?) Sanfrecce vs Albirex