Official 2021 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

36 min....Nittaidai 0 Ehime 1....

H.T.....Nittaidai 0 Ehime 1
Much improved performance from Ehime but let's face it it couldn't have got much worse than of late.Cut out a lot of the silly mistakes at the back and retaining the ball much better.Expected much more of Nittaidai in view of their league position but hey ho this viewer will settle for a one nil lead at H.T.

 

53 min....Nittaidai 0 Ehime 2...Hiratsuka

 

Nittaidai lacks 4 key players mainly due to injury.

 

F.T......Nittaidai 0 Ehime 2

Not even the news that the opposition were without four key players can dampen my spirits about a two nil win.I hope this the turning point Ehime fans have been waiting for.The defence which was best described as operating 'in haste and confusion' for quite some time was organised with everyone on the same page.Midfield were able to keep the ball and be loads more creative instead of giving it away easily.It's still difficult to see where the goals are going to come from but you can't have it all.Was good to see young Fujisawa come on and make three significant contributions with the team playing well.Can only be good for her future confidence.
(Great way to start the day with six hours of Womens Rugby Sevens to look forward to....You Tube JapanRugby TV )

 

Today's result:

Nadeshiko League
Iga (Mori, Nishikawa, Sugita) 3-2 Cerezo (Koyama 2)
Konomiya (Kitaura) 1-0 Orca
Nittaidai 0-2 Ehime (Matsunaga, Hiratsuka)

Nadeshiko League 2
Kibi (Furutani) 1-4 Bunnys (Takatsuka, Kaneshige 2, Aizawa)

 

Thanks for the favour

Best team that face us this season by far, I don't understand why they are not higher in the league. Great game to be honest, but I suffered a lot, thank god Sugita (who is not the captain by the way, actually is Sakuma, but maybe you are saying this because of the importance she has in the games) saves the match, but I have to praise Mori as well, goal, assist and creating chances from left side.

 

I'm investigating some matches of last season and she was it (with Sakuma playing too), that's weird, maybe she quit because of the pressure to be a captain?

 

Logrono 1 - 2 SD Eibar
Honoka Yonei (SD Eibar) noted an assist in this very important match against last team in the table. By wining this game (despite playing with 10 women from 11th min) Eibar avoids relegation with 2 rounds in hand.

2020/21 season stats for Japan internationals playing abroad in 1st division clubs
(league matches only)

 

I've never seen this kind of strong FK goal by any other Nadeshiko members.

 

I have no knowledge about such a Japanese peculiar tradition.

 

NWSL's games as of 7th Jun are included.

Ukraine will come to Japan without 3 key players.
Khimich is still involved with her club Split fighting for Croatian Championship, while Kravets (Stade Reims) and Apanaschchenko (Zhytlobud-1) are injuried.
https://womensfootball.com.ua/nataliya-zinchenko-yaponky-tekhnichni-shvydki-napoleglyvi/

 

Saki Kumagai added an iconic farewell foto to her already legendary status in Lyon. She even made the local news.

Il y a plusieurs manières de laisser 1 empreinte indélébile dans un grand club.
Mais cette image puissante, d'une élégance folle, restera, pour toujours, dans l'Histoire de l'OL. pic.twitter.com/EmN6HuRUqp

— Stephane (@OL_HISTOIRE) June 6, 2021

Après huit années à l'Olympique lyonnais, Saki Kumagai a fait ses adieux au parc OL pic.twitter.com/B5JOG6mAFY

— BFM Lyon (@BFMLyon) June 7, 2021

oh.. and this.

Real Madrid have joined the race for AC Milan midfielder Yui Hasegawa. (Source: @MilanInter241) pic.twitter.com/F4YvtDNLpi

— Women’s Transfer News (@womenstransfer) June 7, 2021

 

I guess I'm watching those Australian friendlies now

ジェフ千葉レディースでは、メルボルン・シティー所属のアレクサンドラ・チディアック選手が加入することになりましたので、お知らせします🦘https://t.co/vQqb85xgig#jefunited #ジェフ千葉 #ジェフ千葉レディース #WEリーグ #オーストラリア🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/TNpYT3xMj2

— ジェフユナイテッド市原・千葉【公式X】 (@jef_united) June 8, 2021

 

As an Australian I probably should know more about her, but I confess I knew very little until doing the requisite google searches.

It turns out she was recruited by Atletico Madrid and spent two season there. In my internet searching I came across an article about her from earlier this year, which was written after she had returned to Australia.

The article is interesting for a variety of reasons, but most interesting is how it frames going to Europe as perhaps not always the best choice for players from Australia. I get the impression that Chidiac did not enjoy her time that much in Spain, despite playing at one of the powerhouses in women's football.

Maybe this is part of the reason for her moving to JEF. Obviously the article is going to create a narrative to support the Australian player, but I found it quite resonant after watching Yoko for the last two seasons at Huelva.

My point is that if the WE League is shown to be of a high quality and is run professionally it may become an attractive proposition for good European players who cannot get into one of the big clubs in Europe.

I am also curious to know who brokered the deal. Did it start from Chidiac or JEF? Anyway, here is the article.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/aus...should-be-familiar-with-alex-chidiacs-journey

 

I noticed very simmilar situation back in 2017/18 when Aussies were comming to play in NWSL en masse. W-League season is short thus the Matildas who decided to move to US after domestic league finished were often prone to pick-up injuries from prolonged physical exertion to wich they weren't properly prepared.
This time around (Europe exodus) it wasn't such a big case (US lessons were learned + covid messed the calendar), but surely some unexperinced Aussie internationals still had difficulty to adjust.

Off the pitch situation is still pretty much as article says: grass is greener if you're playing for Barca, Bayern, Chelsea, Juventus, PSG or Lyon and such but not so much for the likes of Betis (Chidac - medical care issues) , Birmingham (Murray - poor infrastructure) or Klepp (Sikora - medical care issues) and NWSL wasn't any exception in that regard. (Sky Blue players housing problems, training pitch issues, Utah folding, etc.,)

Yeah, I totally agree. I feel like WE League in upcomming years can gain big ground on any other league in the world because of it's sustainability, professionalism and women's friendly environment.
In 2011 Nadeshiko Japan revolutionized women's football on the sporting level, now in 2021 the new WE League can do it again but on the administrative level.

 

I think this article somewhat answers your question.

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/matildas-recall-just-reward-for-chidiac-ahead-of-japan-move

“After the first few games with City there was a club that was interested from that and that was JEF and we’ve been talking ever since,” Chidiac recalled.

“It’s been in the works for quite a while now and I had to keep it a secret - I signed quite some time ago now."

 

I hope so, but we will see how it goes. Europe just has the historical allure. If Nadeshiko can have a good Olympics and maybe start performing a bit better outside of Japan in internationals (She Believes Cup) that could also help raise the image of the league.

I am glad JEF are looking abroad at talent. They definitely need a midfielder. Losing Narumiya has hit them hard. I wonder if Nojima are going to find anybody else?