J-League!

J-League!
7/11
I hope you all went to 7-11 for me yesterday, because I forgot.  Instead, I experienced the J-league for the first time, which for the uninitiated is the Japanese top-tier soccer league.  A student in one of my Friday classes bought a pair of tickets (at my supervisor's strong recommendation, I suspect) for a Saturday game and invited me to join him for my first (live or otherwise) J-league game!

Dedicated readers may recall that I bought a Yokohama F-Marinos jersey in Harajuku my first weekend here.  Sadly, it will continue to remain only my general-purpose Japanese-person camouflage, as it would have been a major faux pas to break it out for a game between Sagan Tosu and Kashiwa Reysol.  Kashiwa, the home team, is located in Chiba, maybe ten minutes or so by train from Narita airport.  Sagan Tosu is from northern Kyushu.  This means that the fixture was in the middle of goddamn nowhere and one of my farthest expeditions from home in Motosumiyoshi.

I didn't mind the hour-and-a-half train ride because Japan is gorgeous.  Some point along the Joban line must mark the transition from urban to countryside, but it's difficult to say exactly where.  The buildings get smaller and smaller, and then between stations you begin to see paddies, gardens and fields.  At each station though, urbanity returns with industrial buildings, fluorescent-lit street signs and tightly packed shopfronts.  I assumed that our rendezvous at Kashiwa station would be simple, but it was far more crowded than many of the lesser stations close to Tokyo.  Of course, I was so fascinated by the scenery that I forgot I had a camera.

Keita's favorite player is a forward named Toyoda Yohei.  This is the sole reason he supports the club; as I understood, he's never even been to Kyushu.  I imagined this guy must be good, so I bought a towel with his name and number before the game.

My new Sagan Tosu towel!  I collect scarves from teams I support and games I attend.  Interestingly, J-league teams don't sell scarves as a westerner might expect, but rather long, narrow cotton towels.  I imagine this is because the soccer season is in the summer, unlike Europe, and the weather gets really hot, so a washable cotton version makes more sense.

Kickoff, and this guy Toyoda is decidedly mediocre.  Why the other team is so closely marking him I can't imagine.  He plays like Ash Ketchum's Charizard; he has a big, sprinter's body but he barely runs and doesn't really bother to jump for headers.  (If you're not a 90s kid, imagine Didier Drogba on pot.)  Kashiwa are playing Tosu off the pitch; they have full control of the midfield and the wings, while the Tosu defensive strategy seems to be a ragged semicircle on the edge of the penalty box.

It takes about twenty minutes for Sagan Tosu to possess the ball long enough to string a few passes together, and they score on the resulting corner kick.  On the kickoff, a Reysol defender makes a poor pass, which is intercepted and scored by a Tosu midfielder.  About two minutes later, Tosu are again on the counterattack, and Toyoda makes a cutting run through the Kashiwa defense and coolly finishes.  Halftime, and Tosu have scored on three of their four forays into the opposing half, giving them an undeserved but commanding 3-0 lead.

Kashiwa (yellow) take a corner.  This was the only action shot I took during the game, assuming that I would be able to find better on the internet afterwards.  I was wrong; I have no idea where to look for J-league highlights.

I compare Toyoda to high Didier Drogba because he plays like Drogba but lazier.  His role is similar; Toyoda shows bursts of speed when needed and good finishing skill.  On goal kicks and set pieces out of their own half Toyoda is often the target, and is good at holding the ball and playing the Tosu wingers into the corners.  But he's static on defense and inconsistent in the air, contributing to Kashiwa's dominance of the midfield.  After the break he comes alive a bit and wins some balls in the air, but Tosu are parking the bus, especially after the referee awards a penalty for a clumsy challenge on a less-than-threatening Kashiwa run.  The referee does Tosu no favors, doling out three yellow cards for delay of game and a second questionable penalty in the dying minutes.  But, Tosu win, 3-2.

"No Reysol No Life": Reysol fans raise a tifo before the game.  Both teams had enthusiastic fans behind the posts, although they were far more respectful to the referee and to the other team than one could expect pretty much anywhere else.  My favorite chant was Ore ore ore Sagan Tosu ('We are Sagan Tosu') sung to the tune of Green Day's I Wanna Be a Minority, mostly because I could understand it and knew the tune.

Overall I think Tosu deserved to win, if not by their own good finishing then by disastrous performances by the Kashiwa defense and strikers.  Reysol were poor against the counterattack, and their keeper had little to do save (lol) retrieve the ball from his net.  Meanwhile, they sent dozens of crosses into the other box, but few connected and none challenged the Sagan Tosu goalkeeper.  Kashiwa ended with sixty-five percent of possession, keeping us Tosu fans nervous until the final whistle.

(If you're bored, stop here; more soccer analysis to follow)

The J-league plays very differently from the MLS, possibly because of differences in transfer rules.  The MLS is comparatively highly individualistic, with star attackers running rings around hapless defenders.  I imagine this reflects the American aesthetic that sports should be high-scoring, as well as the financial reality of franchises being able to pay a star designated forward but not four or five skilled defenders.  By contrast, Tosu at least had a disciplined defense, and both offenses featured coordinated attacks quite unlike the fractured American game.  I'd prefer the J-league on TV but the MLS in person; you can't beat the drunken exuberance of the Timbers Army.