I really wouldnt call Kabe an U-18 player. He was in the U-16 and U-17 before he broke his leg but hasnt played in almost a year. He was on the bench until the final 20 minutes, and really had no impact on the result. The defender Inoue, too, is a shoestring NT member at best. He had one call in the past year and I dont think he will continue getting called if he plays like he did in the past two games. The only player for Yamanashi who fully deserves to be called an "NT star" is our captain, Usui, who has the most impressive football mind and level of maturity that Ive ever seen in a high school player. He is an FC Tokyo capped youth player so I suspect he will end up in their team by March (have you heard any rumours by any chance, Dokool?). If they let him get away theyre crazy. This kid looks more poised and sure of himself on the pitch than Hide Nakata did at that age.
Just got home from the game; Ritsumei did indeed play their hearts out and Goru should be proud of his squad! #4 was top notch and aside from the PK, their goalkeeper was definitely the better of the two. Matsu, we sat a few rows behind the cheerleaders; the view was fantastic and occasionally we watched some of the game too I didn't bring the nobori because my arms are still beat up from Countdown Japan 0910, but I did bring some cloth and spraypaint and we ran outside and whipped up an "IN SEIYA WE TRUST" banner that got taped up next to the school's other banners, so that was kinda cool. Two notes on sportsmanship: -You damned kids have barely hit puberty, when the ref whistles you down and cards you stand there and acknowledge it. -Was very impressed to see the teams take bows in front of the opposing supporter's sections and get applause.
Hi there. Another long day of soccer... I'll start with a couple of critics to "the system." 1 - Ok, the direct knock-out formula is "traditional," same as the FA Cup, same as the Tenno-hai and blahblahblah, but it is more a tennis formula than a soccer formula. Teams that won their prefecture (and it usually takes quite a few games!) and made it all the way to Tokyo, should be allowed to play three games, as in the World Cup, the Euro Cup, etc. To me, it feels quite miserable to go home after two games only, I don't even want to think about those poor kids, coaches, supporters and parents who played 80 mins only... Moreover, direct elimination means that an episode might decide the destiny of a team that has worked its butt out for a year, thus a group formula will leave more room for fate adjusting eventual wrongdoings... which leades me to point #... 2 - Today's worst person on the field was the ref. Not much for the penalty (I don't think it was a great call, but whatever...), but for his annoying attitude during the game. I believe he whistled 40 fouls, ANY contact, no matter what for him it was a foul. He made the game unplayable, and clearly sent the wrong message to the players. I don't blame the Yamanashi player who "helped himself" to a penalty: he played by the standard set by the ref: terrible. I really doubt Japanese soccer can become "stronger" if games at this level are ref'd as if the players were U12 girls... With that said, there is no real loser in this tournament, as the energy, the dedication and the passion of the players really make all of them winners. Today Ritsuji couldn't finish on two good chances in the first half, while Yamanashi had only one clear chance (shot rebounded after a few minutes). It had to be a game decided by an episode, and it did not go our way. Kudos to Yamanashi, a very solid, organized team that really kept us at bay in the last 25 minutes. But it is also true that while they brutalized Yasu in the second half of game 1, our defenders conceded them nothing, besides that opening half-chance and the unlucky penalty. Okuda in particular, the boy who caused the penalty, had a fantastic game. He has been pointed out as a prospect for Sanga, let's see if him and others decide to continue at University... I hope so, but I won't blame those who quit. These are kids that have spent their whole adolescence playing soccer, day after day. As much as I love the game, here is more than that to life, and joining a university team really takes guts: Ritsumeikan this year had for example 122 members! Back to today, anyway, I feel sorry for the vulture (=ie: official tournament cameraman) who came to our locker room after the game: nobody was crying, and we just celebrated the great adventure we had: in less than one month we played Nishikyogoku, Komaba and Saitama 2002. It was a fantastic, unforgettable ride, and I'll never thank enough these boys for the emotions they transmitted... After a very depressing second half of the season as Sanga fan, they re-conciliated me with The Game. A special thanks to Dokool for coming around and being supportive. Dok, I gave your banner to Seiya, and he was very happy and grateful. He actually did cry at the end, but not because the game. This was the last game as a High School player him and for many of the boys, and surely that was emotional. Rightly so, I believe! (I almost cried too!!) Kagawa unbelievably (??) took out Maebashi, so Yamanashi tomorrow imho has a good chance to make it into the top 8. Good luck to them, they are a very good team, and we'd love to say that we have lost to the champions! A final note on Nagasaki (Kunimi). They won the first game 5-0, and if you read newspapers and the net yesterday, it was all about them. Until they went down 1-4 to Shizuoka today... phew... I'll eagerly follow he rest of the tournament, hoping to come back with my team again one of the next years!
Its turning into a really interesting tournament. Maebashi lost, Kashima lost, Kunimi lost, Seibudai lost, Higashi Fukuoka lost . . . about the only big "traditional power" teams that are still in it are Yachiyo (Chiba) and Aomori Yamada (Aomori). A lot of surprises and a lot of "new" teams in the mix. Yamanashi Gakuin, for example, has never even been to the nationwide tournament before. I think the team to watch out for is Kamimura Gakuen. They not only scored ten goals in their win over Chuo U.HS but the goals were scored by nine different players!!! If they get a PK in one of their matches they should let the keeper take it, so everyone on the team can have a goal in this tournament.
I believe that besides Matsu's tips the Hiroshima team needs to be watched too, if only because of Minami winning last year. They struggled today (1-0 only), but I have heard very good things about them. Saitama as well seems promising. I am wondering which player will be picked by J.clubs. I am not sure about the quality (really hard to compare), but surely the kids playing in this tournament really have the guts some J.Leaguer seem to have not. Or to have forgotten... There is no comparison in the energy I have seen today between Ritsumeikan Uji and Yamanashi Gakuin, and the pitiful "effort" Kyoto Sanga put in their last 10 games (with the exception of that vs Reds). The effort I have seen of the faces of all players in these days will be for me an unforgettable memory of this tournament.
Such an apt description, minus the "feeling sorry" part. I loathe those mercenaries of manufactured melodrama. It reeks of everything I hate about Koshien, etc. Congrats on your team's run, I'm glad they chose not to follow the script in defeat.
Tough luck [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJeQz6OHy2g"]YouTube- ?????????????????????[/ame] No need to give it a 1 star rating goru just cause you lost... jk
Today Yamanashi continued their winning streak by beating Kagawa Nishi, who had defeated Maebashi Ikuei. What was impressive about it was that they really dominated the contest from start to finish. It wasnt just a fluke goal or two, but a complete domination. At the start of the tournament, Yasu HS, Maebashi Ikuei and Akita Commercial HS -- three of the candidates to win the whole tournament -- were in the same bracket as Ritsumeikan and Yamanashi, and I was sure wed get eliminated early. But now Yamanashi are through and almost all the top challengers have been knocked out. We have to play Luther HS of Kumamoto on Tuesday (another tough opponent) but if we win that one, Im starting to think we could go all the way to the title match. The only other really strong team Ive seen (and Ive seen five of the remaining 8 teams play) is Kamimura Gakuin, who are in the other half of the matrix.
Very good job Yamanashi! As Matsu said, a one-way game (that was broadcasted live in Kyoto...) Of course in a way the regrets grow for us, but on the other hand it kinda "feel good" to have lost (and barely) to a very good team. Most of our players on the shinkansen back to Kyoto today agreed that they hope Yamanashi wins. I saw Luther play in the first game. Another very well organized team. Expect a game similar to the one Yamanashi has played with Ritsuji, very balanced. (Of course that is what logic would dictate, and we have already seen how logic counts for nothing in this tournie... P) Good Luck Yamanashi!
Looks like Kamimura was destroyed by Aomori. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/soccer/flash/KFullFlash20100105055.html
By the way, where do you watch games...? KBS Kyoto is showing Yamanashi again (I believe that is because they booked what could have been Ritsumeikan Uji's spots) and they will show semis and finals. I am wondering if SkyPa will show all games later on, and if there will be a summary either on TV or on DVD...
Aomori vs. Kamimura [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZ2-DP5Mcw"]YouTube- ?????? ????(??)vs????(???) ??????????[/ame]
Was it just me, or did you also think that the amount of added time was extremely suspicious? I noticed only one or two breif stoppages, and yet the ref played almost 5 1/2 minutes of extra time Anyway, at least Yamanashi managed to hang on. If they manage to make it through to the final, I may give serious thought to going to Tokyo on the 11th. Anybody interested in meeting up for a high school final? The last one I went to was for Sota Hirayama's big show, and yet I still managed to get tickets on game day. I doubt it will be anywhere near as crowded this year, so if anyone else has an interest, let me know and we can meet up in Tokyo. . .
How much are the tickets and where in Tokyo is the game? I'll be bored with nothing to do on the 11th so I may go.
More than suspicious, I'd say extremely incompetent. Time was DONE and the ref let Luther take TWO extra corner kicks. Uh yeah, how cool if we have a dramatic last second equalizer and PKs with half of the teams and the fans of one team crying...!!! As said the ref in this tournament behave as if they were ref'ing children. The real problem is that such attitudes trickle up all the way to J1...
Agree completely, the referee in the Kannon match was refereeing in a way that I would have done for U13, or at a stretch U15 games. Incidentally, what is up with playing 40 minutes each way? These guys are 18 (or within a month of being 18). That should mean 45 minute halves, right?
The Shakaijin tournament each October, open to clubs from lower down the pyramid than the JFL, is also forty minutes a half. The Club Team tournament, open to clubs from lower down the pyramid than the Regional Leagues, is I am pretty sure only 35 minutes a half.
How strange. The Laws stipulate 45 minute halves for teams over the age of 16, but they do note that modifying the duration of play is allowed without having to get permission from IFAB. In my experience (England and France), 15 year olds play 40 minute halves, and 13 year olds play 35 minute halves. I didn't realise the JFA was so liberal in that regard.