J-League News December 2012
Mike Tuckerman
It seems it's feast or famine when it comes to football in the west of Japan. No sooner had the western half of the country celebrated Sanfrecce Hiroshima's historic J. League title win and Oita Trinita's promotion via the second division playoffs then attention turned to a dramatic final day in the top flight.
Going into the final day of the season, all three of the Kansai region's J1 clubs were in danger of relegation. Cerezo Osaka looked best placed to avoid the drop in 14th place, with big spenders Vissel Kobe two points behind them in 15th. 2008 Asian champions Gamba Osaka were in the greatest peril, languishing in 16th after spending much of the campaign struggling to get out of the drop zone.
Sure enough, Gamba blew their chance to avoid the drop as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat away at Jubilo Iwata. Not even a crucial second half equaliser from Shu Kurata could inspire the Osakans to victory, as Jubilo substitute Yuki Kobayashi stunned the visiting support with the winner five minutes from time. The loss means Gamba drop into the second tier for the first time in J. League history following a wretched campaign from start to finish.
There was no better news across Osaka Bay as Vissel Kobe slumped to a similarly dismal relegation. Backed by controversial Internet mogul Hiroshi Mikitani, Vissel began the campaign with Masahiro Wada in charge. The club's poor form led to Ryo Adachi taking charge on an interim basis in April, before ex-Gamba coach Akira Nishino took over in May, charged with the task of steering Vissel up the standings. Instead the perennial battlers hovered around the relegation zone, so much so that Nishino was dismissed in a desperate last-ditch move in November. The move failed to produce the desired effect as Vissel hosted champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima on the final day with Adachi once again in charge. Needing to at least to avoid defeat to maintain their hopes of staying in the top flight, Vissel slumped to a shock 1-0 loss to the astonishment of their shocked supporters. Five years after their first relegation, the Kobe club will once again traverse the vast distances of J2 next year.
The big winners from the relegation rendezvous were Albirex Niigata, who looked doomed going into the final day. They were 17th ahead of their home clash with already relegated Consadole Sapporo and needed a win to have any chance of staying up. An early goal from defender Shusuke Tsubouchi settled the nerves before influential Brazilian striker Bruno Lopes added a crucial second just before half-time. And while the visitors hit back shortly after the break, a goal from Alan Mineiro and a second from Lopes helped Niigata to a 4-1 win which, combined with results elsewhere, saw coach Katsushi Kurihara's team pull off an unlikely escape.
That means Cerezo Osaka will represent the Kansai plain alone in next year's top flight, after Kyoto Sanga missed out on automatic promotion by a point to Shonan Bellmare, before falling to a rampant Oita Trinita in the promotion playoffs. Kyushu side Oita hammered Kyoto 4-0 at Nishikyogoku Stadium to set up a meeting with JEF United in the final of the first ever promotion playoff series at the National Stadium in Tokyo. A draw would have seen JEF United win promotion back to the top flight after three years in the second tier but former United and Kyoto striker Takenori Hayashi broke their hearts with a winner five minutes from time.
While the relegation of Gamba Osaka and Vissel Kobe comes as a major surprise, it wasn't all doom and gloom for football in the western half of the country. After leading the standings for much of the campaign, Sanfrecce Hiroshima claimed their first ever J1 title with a 4-1 thumping of Cerezo Osaka on the penultimate day of the season. That meant northern outfit Vegalta Sendai had to settle for second place, while Urawa Reds nabbed the third and final AFC Champions League spot at the expense of surprise packet Sagan Tosu and Yokohama F. Marinos. Sanfrecce's title win means they will represent Japan at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup in Yokohama and Toyota, where they will hope to face English side Chelsea in the final.
Copyright: Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com
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