you can discuss Nakamura in the above thread (Japanese Footballers Abroad Thread). that's why nobody has posted here for 6 months.
I'm going to post on the Nakamura thread about Nakamura. Sorry, I'm just going to do what I want. Sorry dad.
So the Espanyol move has turned out to be a fiasco, let's say he returns to the J-League midseason... where would it be? Marinos can't afford him. Grampus has surely expended its transfer budget. Gamba? They must have cash from their lucrative sell-on trade to the Middle East. Or could Shunsuke end up, God forbid, at Reds, where Japanese stars go to die?
Do Albirex have some money? They have the crowd and the ambition (??) that would do for an over-30 Shunsuke. Another ideal spot would be at Sanfrecce, to take up Kashiwagi's place.
We'll take him! Vissel have slashed the wage bill and not spent much during the off season. Still, if there were funds available, I guess we would have used them by now. I think he and Okubo would link up brilliantly..
One of the candidates for the transfer (loan? The article I read said that it would only be for a few months similar to what Beckham is doing) is Tokyo, but our supporters are nearly united in their opposition.
Shunsuke's situation has become quite pathetic: http://soccer.yahoo.co.jp/world/news/show/20100212-00000019-ykf-spo Some board member at Espanyol is quoted that Shunsuke is a good footballer but not even trying to learn Spanish... and he would not be sold now due to the club's tour to Japan in the summer, but he is available for loan - for 250 mio. Yen = ca. 2.5 US$ (including his wage bill). Further it turned out that his agents already have talked to a few J-clubs to evaluate possibilities: Reds (don't want him), Grampus (issues because of Shunsuke's commitment to Subaru), FC Tokyo (too expensive), Marinos (too expensive & probably not liking the Subaru-thingy). Now... with the Spain-move turning out really disastrous it sounds to me like Shunsuke could also be deciding Okada's fate. I am starting to think that Shunsuke in his current "form" should not even be included in our WC squad...
I'd like to see how he plays for japan before deciding to drop him or not. He does a completely different role for japan than he was supposed to for espanyol. Also he can't speak to the other players. This wasn't an issue as much at celtic cause strachan loved him and trusted him and based the entire side around what he does pretty much. He should've gone to middlesbrough when he had the chance. The similar freedom he would've got there on the pitch and his contrasting style to the british game would've been good for him to remember that passing teams are still widely in the minority and passing movements do baffle a lot of sides. To be completely honest there are very few teams in the world cup who are real 'passers'.
Omiya is linked pretty closely to Subaru.....can't wait for us to put up a stupid bid for him only to be rejected.......again.
So Reds, Grampus, Tokyo and Marinos are all out of the running? The only other team I've seen linked is Gamba. I'm not sure if I'd be happy with Gamba spending all that money on a player that we'd have for at most 18 matches. It's not like Gamba are desperate for midfielders.
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20100213-00000014-dal-socc Now a Spanish paper is saying that Espanyol-side are agreeing to let him go for 2 Mio Euro. Apparently Shunsuke is pushing for a move away. But there is no mention of Gamba?
Truth is, none of the top-Japanese team need him. Overall, there is abundance of good midfielder in Japan. Honestly, even as a Sanga fan, I'd kill for a good striker or for some tough side-backs, but an aging midfielder kinda prone to injury and at a stellar price... I can live without... I can only think of a team that needs a publicity stunt and wants to bring in a big name, but in the end the only "logical" place for him to go are either back to Marinos (if financially feasible). I still think he'll do great at Sanfrecce. Maybe at Jubilo. Besides that it would be a move dictated by reciprocal economic interest to a second-tier club, such as Ardija, Cerezo or Vissel. At Sanga he would be well accepted by fans and media, but in that category we already have Yanagisawa.
Well, transfer period is over for Europe & he wants to keep his chances for WC - that should mean he is targeting Japan.
Maybe media is going to post some speculative article everyday, but the article linked states there is a meeting scheduled this week between representatives of both sides. But after what happened last summer I guess there will be no further statements as long as he is not already wearing their uniform. http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/soccer/jleague/headlines/20100217-00000114-jij-spo.html
It seems quite certain now that Marinos is where he is heading. At this stage, if there is again a turnaround, Marinos would become the laughing stock of the league, and I don't think a player in Shunsuke's situation could do that to them. http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/soccer/jleague/headlines/20100220-00000008-dal-socc.html
And to think, FCT put the season opener (vs. Marinos) in Category 2, which means tickets are 500-1000y cheaper than Category 1. We got 40k vs. Urawa after the Nabisco Cup last year and even if this game sells out (50k) the team still won't make as much money as it would for the Urawa game. In a way that kinda sucks but then again we'll probably get 40k+ at Ajinomoto to see Shunsuke's "comeback", probably 15k more than would have shown up normally.
Yes, but I would say that Marinos are to blame for what happened back then... It was not only the uniform-thing, if I recall right their president tried to renegotiate after already agreeing terms. Which is a good enough reason to look for another employer if you ask me...
For some strange reason, Espanyol played Shunsuke as a sub in the 87th minute. Didn't see him play, but why would they start playing him if he's about to leave? They also lost 2-1.
Dunno... From what I read negotiations are proceeding between Shunsuke's agent and Marinos. If you consider the "traumatic events" of last summer, one would assume that Marinos-side would do everything it takes to keep things confidential until they have his signature. On the other hand, I don't know about Espanyol's injury list, but for sure Shunsuke himself was injured the past weekends. So maybe it's just business as usual, he gets some minutes here and there.
His stock is so devalued that they risk little in the event he is injured; he's just not worth much cash. But if he plays a little and maybe has an uptick in form, they could squeeze a higher price out, perhaps. I can definitely understand the logic.