Punishment from Jubilo RE: Banner

Barry writes:

Released by Jubilo on Friday, the verdict after the Ghotbi nuclear banner. In summary:

1) The two who hung the banner are indefinitely banned from all J.League matches, this may be lifted in the future.

2) The president and vice president of the main jubilo supporter group Progresso, are banned from J.League matches until the end of this season.

3) Beginning in July all banners and flags at Jubilo home games must be approved ahead of time by the club and are limited to player names and 'content supporting the players'. No anti S-Pulse flags for the derby as per in the past, then. They won't screen stuff in June but security will ask anyone with non-compliant flags to either put it away or leave the stadium.

With thanks to Dokool of Aishiteru Tokyo for translations help.

Note that this is not the J. League's verdict, which will follow at a later date.

Iranian Fans' Response to Nuclear Banner

Barry writes:

Since Saturday this blog has had more visitors from more corners of the world than ever before. A shame it had to come off the back off controversy, but such is life. The news spread all over the globe in hours, including to Iranian news sites. Here's a selection of comments from various Iranian message boards.

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Gorbi

After reading the article and watching some of the videos, I have to say that I am impressed with the Japanese fans who will not stand for such BS. I think what they had on the banner was rather dumb, but not necessarily racist. Also reading the comments left by fans, I am impressed by the responses. Looks to me like the vast majority of the fans in Japan are decent and don't care for such stupidity. Good for them, our own fans can learn a thing or two from the Japanese.

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Anon

Gorbi I disagree and think it is very racist to bring up the nationality of a coach into club rivalry. ... We Iranians have to stand up to these racist behavior.

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futbol IRAN

thats a shame considering how much Iran helped Japan during the earthquake tragedy!

tasteless and immature fans!

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Persianking

lol personally I feel not insulted by this but still a bad move , did not expect that.

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Babak agha

That's not remotely racist!!! You guys need to get the difference between racism and stereotyping ;-)

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dokhtar92irooni

That's harsh and insulting to all Iranians

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maij

That is NO WHERE near ..., I say again NO WHERE & NO WAY near a racist comment!!

You need to understand the difference between Political comment and Racist comment. That banner about Nuclear weapon production is POLITICAL not race.

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Ardalan

It may not be racism, but it sure is "loos and bimaze". Like saying, the only things Italian do is eat Spaghetti, or all Chinese people know martial arts like Jackie Chan. Ridiculous and predictable generalizing is what is it.
But then again, this does not by any means represent the view of the majority of Japanese football fans. It's just a demonstration of lousy sense of humor

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allan123

True, this only from Jubilo Iwata Fans and the Japanese people are very nice.
But This comment "To Gotbi, stop making nuclear weapons" I don't like.

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Webmaster

That is NOT a racist comment but a political one. ... I have not seen any people more polite and real than the Japanese in the entire world, so I am sure they are not meaning anything racist. (And that is the majority in my opinion)

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P.Nima

We shouldnt be angered by this at all. There were just a couple of fans behind this. The banner was quickly pulled down, they were kicked out, and the club apologized to Ghotbi. What more can you want from them?

We cant expect everyone in Japan to be homogeneously perfect, there are jackasses in every country.

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Mehran

I for one, do not find this kind of racist behavior funny. Good for the Shimizu supporters for shutting down these Jubilo little punks and their idiotic banner.

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Some people not bothered, others deeply insulted. Anyway, I guess it's time to leave this be for now while we wait for the J. League's response.

One unfortunate upshot of everything is that next year's home derby may end up now being played at Ecopa with the increased segregation and security of the newer stadium. All well and good, but it's an hour from Shimizu and ten minutes from Iwata. Not ideal. :(

Jubilo Iwata Supporters in Terrorist Slur Towards Afshin Ghotbi

Barry writes:

You know one of the many things I like about the J. League? The ability to have a good, healthy rivalry between teams without the off field problems or political tensions of certain showdowns around the world.

Well, take a bow Jubilo Iwata supporters. Some of your ranks succeeded in dragging this year's Shizuoka Derby into the gutter with a truly foul display of racist stereotyping.

"Ghotbi, stop making nuclear weapons!"

Afshin Ghotbi was born in Iran and moved to America as a child. Not that any of this should have anything to do with anything, of course. To most people in Nihondaira today it didn't. But a small group of Iwata supports clearly though it such an issue to spend the time effort and money to make the above banner.

Think for a moment how this looks to the world. A man of Iranian heritage comes to Japan to work, and within months is labelled on national TV as a terrorist. Nobody thinks for a minute that those Jubilo fans actually believe that, but to be making such displays of race discrimination so freely and without any shame is simply abhorrent.

The banner sparked a near riot as large numbers of the S-Pulse supports were so incensed as to run the entire length of the stadium to confront and demand the flag. To my mind they were 100% justified in their actions and deserve applause for not letting this pass without words.

The banner incited violent confrontations

The livid home fans didn't leave the away end for half an hour. I hear the Iwata supporters responsible were apprehended. They deserve to be banned from J. League stadiums for life for bringing shame to one of the oldest derby fixtures in the J. League, and inciting angry brawls that endangered women and children in the crowd. Punches were thrown, flags torn down and a whole lot of pushing and shoving. It may not sound much, but this is virtually unheard of in Japan, and just the type of thing that can turn hundreds of people off the game.

Incensed S-Pulse fans refused to leave the away end

Above and beyond this, what of Afshin Ghotbi himself? He comes to Japan to manage S-Pulse and gets vile racist abuse. Poor fella. What a welcome to the country. The message to the world today, for it is all over Twitter, is "Japan racially stereotypes with no shame." The J. League needs to come down on those responsible like a ton of bricks to show that this won't be tolerated.

One S-Pulse fan who joined the angry mob told me "It can't be allowed. It had to be challenged." One Jubilo supporter told me "It's fucking stupid." Yep, it is. It's foul and left a bad taste in the mouth. It's time for the J. League to act, and act swiftly.

Ghotbi - I'm so very, very sorry you had to see that. Please don't take these wannabe hooligans' words to heart. Most people in Japan are decent folk who won't let this type of thing go unchallenged. You saw how our fans defended your honour - and that is the majority of this country.

Sunday May 29th Update:

Those responsible have been identified on YouTube.

Jubilo have issued a full unreserved apology to Afshin Ghotbi, S-Pulse supporters, everyone at the game, and everyone who loves the game of football.

Two males in their teens were detained after the game and interviewed by the police and match commissioner. The J. League are waiting on the official report.

S-Pulse new boy and former Jubilo striker Takahara was reported as expressing his disappointment with Iwata's fans.

Videos

The moment the flag was unveiled.



The shit immediately hitting the fan.







Oh, yeah - the game ended 0-0.

Shizuoka Derby Charity Match April 9th

Barry writes:

A fund raising match between S-Pulse and those pesky toe rags from across the prefecture (hey, I can't be too harsh - this is for charity!) was announced today.

It will be at Nihondaira on April 9th, kick off 1pm. Tickets are 2000 yen for adults, 1000 for everyone else and are on sale in the usual way. Needless to say, all proceeds will be going to the earthquake funds.

Get yourself down there!

S-Pulse 0-0 iwata

Barry writes:

Shimizu S-Pulse 0-0 iwata

Att. 19968

There you have it, folks. The first ever no score draw in a league Shizuoka Derby. It took 17 years and 40 games to come, but come it did. It takes our unbeaten run at home against iwata to seven years.

Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Tsujio
DF Iwashita
DF Bosnar
DF Arata (yellow 36)

MF Fujimoto
MF Honda
MF Ono

FW Okazaki
FW Johnsen
FW Nagai

Subs Used

Nagai on for M. Yamamoto (HT)
Ota on for Arata (77)
Omae on for Fujimoto (85)

Videos

The game was sold out and the place was rocking.



Not S-Pulse related, but here's a video of a game this weekend with goals. Gamba Osaka beating Urawa after Urawa had equalised in the 93rd minute. Brilliant stuff.

S-Pulse 2-0 Iwata

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 2-0 Iwata
Nagai 38 -------------------Park sent off 79
Hiraoka 62

Att. 17521
Line Up

GK Nishibe

DF Tsujio
DF Hiraoka
DF Bosnar
DF Ota

MF Hyodo
MF Honda
MF Ono

FW Nagai
FW Johnsen
FW Fujimoto

Subs Used

M. Yamamoto on for Hyodo (75)
Hara on for Nagai (82)
Omae on for Fujimoto (84)

Report

Perfect day for a derby win

We comfortably beat Iwata at a packed Nihondaira Stadium to extend our run of unbeaten home fixtures against Jubilo into it's eighth year. The win leaves the Nabisco Cup group B looking like this:

#		Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	D	Pts
1		S-Pulse	6	3	2	1	6	3	+3	11
2		Yamagata	5	3	1	1	6	1	+5	10
3		Iwata	5	3	1	1	7	5	+2	10
4		Yokohama FM	5	2	2	1	6	3	+3	8
5		Urawa	5	2	1	2	6	6	+0	7
6		Kobe	5	1	1	3	5	8	-3	4
7		Shonan	5	0	0	5	2	12	-10	0

So all we need to hope on Wednesday is that Yokohama don't win. In that case anything can happen in the Iwata v Yamagata game. If Yokohama win, then we'd need the Iwata game to end in a draw to progress. (Not entirely true - see comments.)

As for today, we were the better team; sharper and quicker to the punch than the visitors who, despite getting far enough forward on a number of occasions to shoot, they wouldn't have hit the target if they were still playing now.

The freekick we extended our lead from

Both our goals came from the height of Bosnar and Johnsen creating havoc in the Jubilo penalty area. Johnsen, who admittedly didn't have a great game, was still the main reason we took the lead shortly before the break. A nicely weighted freekick floated in by Ono (who was effortlessly world class again. Okada's unfathomable decision to exclude him from the national team is our gain) was met by the towering Frode. He nodded it into the danger zone, and after another flick on, it was met by Nagai. 1-0.

In the second half it was another freekick which was met by the two metre Bosanr. His powerful header brought a good save from Hatta in the Iwata goal, but it was too much for him to do anything other than parry, and Hiraoka was on hand to smash the rebound home.

Unquestionably helped by the sending off of Park, Jubilo never really looked like scoring, and Nishibe, save for one near catastrophic error of judgement in the first half, was solid as a rock. To be fair, he recovered well from his one mistake and went on to have a great game. As mentioned, Johnsen wasn't at his best with his first touch letting him down more than once, but we all have off days, and his strength in the air was instrumental today.

I'm tired and sunburnt, so I'm going to call it a day. Just before I do, hello to Ken - excellent to meet someone with such a strong English accent!

Now it's all about Wednesday...

Videos

Nagai's goal from a personal cam. A hint of the offsides about it to say the least.



Personal cam of Hiraoka's goal:

Today's Fun Fact

Barry writes:

As of 7pm this evening:

Number of tickets sold for tomorrow's Shimizu S-Pulse game: 41639.

Number of spectators at Jubilo Iwata's first FOUR home games PUT TOGETHER: 35331.

That is all.

S-Pulse 5 (FIVE) - 1 Jubilo

Barry writes:

S-Pulse 5-1 Jubilo Iwata
Iwashita 2 ----------------- Maeda 44
Edamura 10
Hyodo 24
Edamura 57
Okazaki 75

Att. 20116

Line Up

GK K. Yamamoto

DF Ichikawa
DF Aoyama
DF Iwashita
DF Ota

MF Edamura
MF Honda
MF Ito
MF Hyodo

FW Johnsen
FW Okazaki

Subs used

Fujimoto on for Hyodo (73)
Nagasawa on for Johnsen (85)

Report

3-0? Pah, that's nothing. 5-1 on the day, that's 5-4 in aggregate. There's only one team in Shizuoka, and today underlined that fact not once, not twice, but five times.

Jubilo prepare for the spanking of their lives

Nihondaira was heaving for another sell out; the biggest game of the season bar none. After the horror of getting beaten 3-0 back in April, we had it all to prove, and we didn't need long to get things going. We burst out the traps and were two up within ten minutes. The first was from Iwashita, and as you can probably guess it was from a corner. Edamura doubled the lead eight minutes later, and suddenly my pre-match prediction of 10-0 wasn't looking entirely improbable.

Maeda very nearly pulled one back for Iwata when he smashed a volley against the bar, but less than ten minutes after that we were celebrating again. Our third came from some uncharacteristically elegant play from Hyodo, as he brought a high ball down and evaded the defender on the turn to score a stunning goal. It sent the packed stadium wild, and Jubilo must have known there was no coming back.

All smiles in the S-Pulse end

Maeda did manage to pull one back in first half stoppage time, and the goal puts him level with Okazaki and Kawasaki's Juninho at the top of the top scorers table, all with 12. With that goal on the board, the visitors came out the stronger in the second half, but it was Edamura again who was there to bring down a loose ball and slam it home to make it four just before the hour. The party in the stands well and truly began when Okazaki beautifully sent it through Kawaguchi's legs to make it 5.

We twice hit the bar, the second time when substitute Nagasawa went achingly close to grabbing a sixth, but let's not be greedy. This was the biggest league Shizuoka Derby victory of all time, with a four goal margin eclipsing anything Jubilo could manage even during their glory years. How long ago they must seem to the blue masses who were scuttling for the exits with five minutes still to go...

Even Kenta joined Loco Loco - he later said once was enough!

We're now unbeaten in eight, winning five of those. As is our tradition to start poorly and warm up with the summer, we're up to third. This is before the Sunday games for Gamba Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale, but regardless of their results, we're looking well placed for an ACL challenge. Antlers are still eight points clear of second place, and still look pretty much uncatchable at the top. That said, Urawa were seven points clear with, what? four games left in 2007, and they managed to blow it. We still have eleven games remaining, so who knows! Our game with Kawasaki next Sunday will be a huge chance to set out our intentions, so I may just have to head up to the Todoroki.

For now, I'm just going to enjoy a classic day down at Daira. We were incredible. :)

Videos etc:

Official pictures can be found here (top row). Full highlights:



Post match Loco Loco - including Kenta!



And finally, an excellent compilation video of one of the best ever nights down Nihondaira:



:)

David killed Goliath... Simple as That?

Since Black Sunday, I've had a little time to calm down, put things in perspective and generally get over it (mostly). Reading back my post from Sunday evening I was absolutely raging (not without due cause), but in hindsight, it was quite possibly just a little bit much.

Of course, the blame must lay squarely with Kenta for his starting line up / tactics / substitutions and what was an absolutely abject performance. But in my eagerness to dismiss Jubilo as mere relegation fodder I was doing ourselves a disservice. There were bigger factors at play on Sunday.

On paper, Little Jubilo have a team more than capable of survival in J1. The inner turmoil at the Yamaha has provided plenty of laughs around Shizuoka over recent years, but it's masked their true potential: that of a solid lower-bottom half team capable of claiming the occasional big scalp.

The dwindling crowds (less than 9000 for a Saturday game? Ouch!) and general lack of interest at the Yamaha have in turn fostered a spirit of the underdog. The years of winning things are long past. The fans know it and the players know it. Playing to more than half empty stadiums has become a matter of course for Little Jubilo, and so when they face off against their prefectural big brothers in a David / Goliath style showdown, it's inevitable they will raise their game.

Hands up - we were caught with our pants down on Sunday and dealt a sucker punch in a classic tale of the underdog. We swaggered in expecting a walk in the park, and we met a team fired up for the game of their lives. It's no coincidence that Little Jubilo's only two league victories of their last ten games both came against us. The derby is their cup final, and we were had fair and square.

So, what can we take away from all this? Well, don't underestimate the little guy. It's easy to disregard those teams scrapping around at the foot of the table, but we have been given a stern lesson, and it's one we have to learn from. Well done to Iwata for a huge achievement - you're no doubt milking it, and you've every right to given what you achieved.

;-)

Weeeeeell, anyway, onwards and upwards! On Saturday we face perpetually unfashionable Kashiwa Reysol, in what is traditionally our lowest crowd of the season. Given we've already sold three thousand more tickets for this than the same fixture last year, that distinction will probably go to another team this time around. My money's on Yamagata.

In a week it's all off to Ecopa again. This time we're using it as a home ground for the first time in three years, and S-Pulse are eager to get as many there as possible. It's for the visit of Urawa, and let's face it, anything less than 20339 and we're going to be left looking rather stupid. Any more than 18500, however, and we'll have bettered what Little Jubilo could manage for the same game in the same stadium, but with the advantage of it not being an hour journey away.

We're handing out leaflets at stations (which I reckon they should do around Iwata station, but there you go) and inviting primary school kids for free and their parents at a discount, so we'll see. The club are clearly using this game as a conciousness building exercise in the west of the prefecture. The aim being to capture the casual, floating footy fan to the orange side of life, and maybe even convert some of the fans deserting Jubilo in droves.

This is all laudable, but the thing is, despite being on a national holiday (Showa Day) we're all back in work for Thursday. Will more people travel all the way out to Fukuroi than would have to Nihondaira? Fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, three points would be nice!

I'm setting out an aim of at least eight points from our next four games. We face Kashiwa, Urawa, Hiroshima and Chiba. If we harbour ACL ambitions (and with just cause, we do) then that has to be our target. If we fail to hit that, then it may well be time to talk some more about our man at the helm.

Come on S-Pulse!!!

Iwata 3-0 S-Pulse SHIMIZU: SHAME ON YOU

I'm tired, sunburnt, hoarse, but most of all I'm absolutely fucking disgusted. Getting turned over by second-rate relegation fodder is one thing, but letting your biggest rivals have the time of their lives at your expense is completely bloody unforgivable.

I forget my exact words, but they weren't very polite

One question, Kenta: what the FUCK was that? We're one of the better teams in this league. We've got talent - you only have to look to Iwashita, Paulo, Jungo, Okazaki, Hara, or Nagai for evidence of that. If you're not able to mould these players into a threatening team, one which doesn't get given the run around by a team which hadn't won in nine league games, then you've got to start asking yourself if you're the right man for the job.

Nishibe was at fault for the first (how many times have we said that?), but even at 1-0 we had nothing. Twelve shots for Iwata in the second half to our three. And that was with four strikers on for a good portion of it. Johnsen was ineffective, so why leave him on? It was instead Jungo who was removed for Hara. Then when 2-0 down a defender was taken off for another striker. Minutes later our now non-existent defence was breached to make it three. Game over.

Kenta, the fans gave you and your team - our team - a hell of a barrage of abuse at the end, and I'm hoping you've been pulled up in front of the board to explain what went wrong. I hope you can, and I hope you can fix it, because nothing less than a win at home against Kashiwa (one of only two teams with less points that Iwata) on Saturday is now acceptable. No three points and those who were calling for your head last season will be back loud and clear.

S-Pulse - hang your heads in shame. The whole of Iwata is having one big party tonight while the ten thousand oranges are back at home kicking the cat, throwing the remote control and generally feeling ASHAMED and EMBARRASSED of their team, and it's YOUR fault.

While I'm ranting, Jubilo, you don't get off scot free. Oh, no. Look at the two pictures below taken at exactly the same time and tell me what you see:

What is it that immediately springs out at you? Is there double, triple?, the number of away fans? Come on Jubilo - we had to travel the best part of an hour for this. You're ten minutes - TEN MINUTES - down the line. We had trouble getting seats in the bottom tier over two hours before kick off. An Iwata friend waltzed in at 12:15 and found swathes of empty seating behind their goal. "Embarrassing" was her precise wording.

We did our part by taking thousands of fans to Fukuroi, but if you can barely muster ten thousand of your own number, it's no wonder we're left with a half empty stadium and a measly crowd of 22152. Yeah, you were bottom of the table, but have some freaking pride in your team.

Yeah, we sucked, blew, were generally a steaming shower of shit on the day, but it's patently obvious who Shizuoka's premier supported, and all round classier and superior outfit are. Jubilo, you knows it! Reysol, watch out next week - someone is due a battering, and Kenta's job security may now depend on it.



Read a rather more measured, but no less scathing, report by Mike Tuckerman here.

The Shizuoka Derby: Jubilo v S-Pulse (Preview)

The 2009 away Shizuoka Derby. It's a game which came within a whisker of never being. Had J2 Vegalta Sendai put it in in added time last December, this game would not be taking place. To the heartbreak of S-Pulse fans the world over, the dark side of Shizuoka prevailed in that relegation play off, but it's already turned out that it was all for the best.

Yup

While Jammy Jubilo somehow clung onto their J1 status against J2 opposition, we didn't have to wait long for their first public humiliation of 2009. When it came it didn't disappoint. On match day number one, Iwata were destroyed at home by J1 new boys Montedio Yamagata in that now famous 6-2 demolition job. While still only five games into the season, Jubilo are rock bottom with no wins and thirteen conceded.

hahahahaha

This makes lovely reading for all right thinking S-Pulse supporters, and with the sun set to shine over Ecopa Stadium tomorrow, things are looking perfectly poised for classic derby and with all three points for the S-Pa. Johnsen's height should prove too much for the Jubilo defence (I use the term loosely) to handle, and with Okazaki on fire and Nagai waiting in the wings, things are looking good for a team aiming for a 4th straight win and 4th straight clean sheet.


Did I mention Jubilo's main hope up front, scorer of four of their five goals this year, and all round diving wanker, Gilsinho is out suspended? I didn't? Well he his is. Did I also mention we've sold more tickets than the home team? No? Well, as of yesterday, we have.

Pretty much all that's left is for our eleven orange heroes to go out and assert our self evident superiority over Iwata, send ourselves up into the top three, and at the same time leave the scum even further adrift at the foot of the table. The first Shizuoka Derby of 2009 is here - come on lads, don't let us down!!

Jubilo Iwata 2-6 Montedio Yamagata

All football fans occasionally have times where they wonder why they bother. You can only put up with a certain number of dreary goal-less draws before you feel your commitment start to waver. The effort a fan puts in over years of trudging off to stadiums far and wide is rarely repaid by games of pulsating, edge-of-your-seat excitement. But every now and again, there comes a match. A match which reminds you why you love the game. Today was just such an occasion.

Yamagata Fans Revel in a Famous Victory

New boys Montedio Yamagata made their first ever top flight appearance down Shizuoka way against Jubilo Iwata - three times J1 champions. A game almost universally predicted as a home win, as I left my flat into the bitterly cold winds whipping in from Suruga Bay, I almost had second thoughts. Almost, but not quite. And I'm so glad I didn't.

By no means a work of art, the game had guts. The game had fight. And the game had goals. Eight, yep, that's right, eight of 'em. From Gilsinho's theatrical dive which gave Jubilo an undeserved penalty on 17 minutes, to the two goals for Yamagata right at the end which capped their dream start to J1 life, the game was a raw demonstration of the spirit of the underdog.

Yamagata took the game to Jubilo, even after they had suffered the early injustice of that penalty. They turned it round towards the end of the first half with two goals to go in at the break with the lead. Early in the second half, Yamagata should have gone 3-1 up when Hasegawa was through on the keeper, but he blew it when he tried a cheeky lob. Not long after that, Gilsinho made it all square after a period of sustained Jubilo pressure, but from the 75th minute in, the visitors ran absolute riot through the hapless home team.

The ball is played in to the the advancing Hasegawa (15) who made it 3-2

The complete inability to deal with the height of Hasegawa and Leonard gave Montedio an open invitation to practice their finishing, and more often than not they took it. Witness for yourself the fifth goal here.

The travelling support (who, by the time they made it home, had covered a cool 700 miles) were in wonderland, and I, as an S-Pulse fan behind enemy lines, just sat back and let it all wash over me. The J. League's been gone too long, and in the opening week I was lucky enough to witness something truly memorable - Jubilo getting hammered, annihilated, destroyed at home by a team many tip to head straight back to J2. Going by today, there's only one team likely to end the season relegated. Last year's play off survival may yet prove to have been a mere stay of execution for the blue half of Shizuoka!

It was a game which, for very different reasons, will go down in history for both teams. All I want to say is thank you and well done to Yamagata - I went along merely to get a football fix prior to next week's game with Marinos, but way more than that, you gave me a hell of a spectacle to enjoy. It was one of those games you come away from still buzzing and remembering just why you love the game so much. The long-faced Jubilo fans who streamed home long before the final whistle probably have a different opinion, though... :-D

Montedio's Travelling Hordes

There was no shortage of goals in the other Saturday games, either. Fellow promotees Hiroshima also battered their opponents, and Niigata put in four away from home to contribute to the 31 goal bonanza.

FC Tokyo 1-4 Niigata
Marinos 2-4 Hiroshima
Nagoya 3-2 Oita
Chiba 0-3 G. Osaka
Kashima 2-0 Urawa
Kawasaki 1-1 Kashiwa

S-Pulse play tomorrow - six away goals would be just fine, please!

Full Jubilo - Montedio highlights here:

S-Pa 2-1 Jubilo (SDT Cup 2009)

Not that it was ever in doubt, but yeah, in stoppage time we scored two goals to win us supremacy over Jubilo.

'ave it. :)

Extended highlights (personal cam):



And Okazaki's goal. 94th minute was is it? :-D

S-Pulse v Jubilo - SDT Cup 2009

Announced last week was the latest instalment of the SDT Cup. In pre-season 2007 we played out a cracker against Marinos, which culminated in a 5-4 penalty win for us and an all-important SDT Cup crown. Next month, Saturday 21st at 1.30pm, Jubilo will be coming over to get soundly beaten by our team of young guns and experienced stars.

Tickets go on sale this Saturday (24th) and are available from the usual places. You can get your hands on some at any of the various S-Pulse shops, at convenience stores all over the country and, of course, at the ground on the day. Behind the goal is a knock-down 2000 yen, with anywhere in the side stands a cheaper-then-usual 3000 yen. Lawson code: 43129 Ticket Pia code: 813-436

For many of us, any game to bridge the gap before the start of the new season is welcomed with open arms. Me, Fuz and many others will be there without fail, but some may dismiss this as just a friendly and be tempted to give it a miss. For those wavering, consider not only the chance to see some of our new acquisitions in action for the first time, but also remember the opponents. We have no bigger game each season than that against Iwata, so a bonus derby should never be passed up!

My own personal enthusiasm for this one was substantially heightened today having read the gut-wrenching, heartbreaking climax to Jonathan Birchall's Ultra Nippon. Now out of print, the book is the story of the London-born West Ham fan who followed our heroes for a year in 1999. He details with excruciating detail that night at 'Daira when we fell at the very last hurdle in our quest for a J. League title. As we know, it was Jubilo who took the title on penalties, and we were bridesmaids yet again.

This book was published way back in 2000 and paints a picture of a J. League in some ways unrecognisable to that of today. There are some great insights into our club back when Steve Perryman ruled the roost, and seeing how the then-rookies and then-veterans have faired in the last eight seasons makes for fascinating reading.

While not without it's faults, (not least, the utterly unforgivable decision to run with Jubilo fans on the cover), it's well worth a read. If nothing else, in these long, football-less weeks, it will remind you just who the enemy is, and why we should grab every opportunity to assert our Shizuoka supremacy. So, I'll see you down 'Daira next month, then? :)

The Shizuoka Derby Lives to Fight Another Day!

Although for a while it was looking very much like Shizuoka's second team were about to bid farewell to top flight football, bless their little cotton socks, they just about managed to beat a J2 team and stay up! S-Pulse fans can now look forward to the home and neutral derbies next year. What with Ecopa being our stadium too, we don't actually have an away derby these days!

Well, joking aside, well done Jubilo on staying up. Finishing in the top five every year isn't as much fun without your rivals in the bottom half of the table to make you feel superior. :) The final score on the day was 2-1 to Jubilo, 3-2 on aggregate.

Sendai came achingly, excruciatingly close to an equaliser at the death. It would have put them in J1 on away goals had one their many shots which rained down on the Jubilo goal found it's way in, but it wasn't to be. Well, at least Shizuoka keeps two top flight flight teams, for now at least! Reckon you can stay up next year, Jubilo? The bottom three go down automatically from 2009 you know - there'll be no play off to save you! ;-)

A few pics from your roving reporter in Iwata:

What it was all about

Both sets of fans in full voice

Nice pic, isn't it!

Sendai fans rocking the Yamaha
All over

Gutted, as you might expect

Sendai fans salute their heroes

Júbilo on the Brink

Five short years ago, who would have thought it!? In 2003, Júbilo narrowly missed out on the chance to defend the league title (their third) they had won the previous season. That blow was somewhat softened by claiming the Emperor's Cup title instead. The previous six seasons had reaped three J. League titles, a Nabisco Cup crown, and an unprecedented three consecutive appearances in the final of what is now the Asian Champions League. A brand new 50000 seater stadium had just opened ten minutes from Iwata to house a fan base which frequently outstripped the 17000 capacity Yamaha, and their achievements totally eclipsed even those of S-Pulse, who were also busy racking up titles. With all this, you could have forgiven their supporters for feeling pretty confident in the future.

Well.

Five years down the line, things have gone from bad, to worse, to a level completely unimaginable a few seasons ago. Júbilo are just 90 minutes away from relegation to J2, from likely losing the handful of young, decent players they have, and probably worst, from being laughed at for years by S-Pulse fans. The empire enjoyed around the turn of the century has faded, died, and has been pushed far into the past by Júbilo's J1 peers, not least, and most importantly, by us. In 2008 S-Pulse finished better placed (much better placed!) for a third year running, and had far more impressive cup runs. We also recorded a higher average gate than Iwata for the first time since 1999, and that was even without the use of Ecopa to accommodate 30000 for our bigger games - something we did until last year.

So how could things get any worse for Shizuoka's fallen giants? Well, starting the 2009 season in J2 would be a start! That was the very real prospect their fans woke up to on Sunday morning. That they barely avoided automatic relegation to J2 was bad enough; it was only Tokyo Verdy's inferior goal different which meant Iwata finished above an automatic relegation spot. This gave them a second chance in the promotion / relegation series against J2's third placed Vegalta Sendai. The first leg on Wednesday finished 1-1, and now it's all back to Shizuoka for the game which decides it all. The match sold out in hours, and Sendai are bringing down a huge following to see (they hope) their triumphant return to J1 after relegation in 2003.

So while Júbilo's incredible fall from prominence is readily welcomed by the orange half of Shizuoka, the split between the S-Pulse fans who would embrace Júbilo's demotion and those who would hate to lose their local rivals is huge. A perusal of the S-Pulse supporters group on Mixi (think Facebook, but in Japanese) shows as many people eager the Blues stay up as there are with yellow flags at the ready ahead of tomorrow. I'll be behind enemy lines at the Yamaha and am expecting an atmosphere unlike any other this season. The game is balanced at 1-1 meaning a win for either team will be enough. In the event of a draw, the following applies:

0-0 - Júbilo win on away goals
1-1 - Extra time
2-2, 3-3 etc - Sendai win on away goals

With the away goal, and home advantage, the J1 team are clearly favourites to avoid the drop, but if the last three promotion / relegation games have taught us anything, it's that you can never underestimate the underdogs. The last three all went the way of the J2 challengers.

I've been agonising for days over who I want to win this one, and I've come to the conclusion that I want Sendai to send Júbilo down. Heck, Júbilo would already be down if we hadn't gifted them the derby last month, and that's surely more than enough charity from us. I know I'd miss the derby if Iwata drop; it's the highlight of the season and the easily the biggest home game of the season, but that's football, and there'll be more than enough Shizuoka match-ups in the future. I recently came across this photo from around 2005, when we were looking none to clever ourselves.

Click for more anti S-Pulse propaganda

Such gleeful enjoyment of our own struggles bore revenge in the form of a huge "Congratulations on your relegation to J2" banner which made it's début at last month's derby. Other gems from the link above include Shimizu referred to as "A Shame of Kingdom." They clearly want to play hardball with regard the rivalry, so they can't be expecting anything other than Shimizu to paint itself yellow this weekend! Relegation isn't the end of the world, they would surely recover, and you can be certain they would come back swinging ready to wrestle back the title of Kings of Shizuoka. So, with the utmost respect to all Iwata fans, (hey, my other half is one!) I say:

Come on Sendai!!!

Kyoto Sanga 1-3 S-Pa

J. League 2008 is over!

Champions: Kashima Antlers
ACL Qualification: Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus, Kawasaki Frontale
Relegated: Condadore Sapporo, Tokyo Verdy
Promotion Relegation series: Jubilo Iwata (J1) v Vegalta Sendai (J2)

What a great way to end the season. :)

Highlights:



I wasn't at the game, or watching on TV, as I was deep behind enemy lines at the Yamaha Stadium watching Jubilo crash to defeat at the hands of Omiya. The defeat puts them into the promotion / relegation series with Sendai. The second, and home, leg for Jubilo is next Saturday, so I'll probably wander over to Iwata again, yellow t-shirt in hand. ;-) While we'd all like to see Jubilo drop, I'd seriously miss the derby next season should Jubilo go down, so it's win win for many S-Pulse fans. The fact they even have to play in this series is a humongous embarrassment to all connected with the club, so even if they stay up, you could argue they will have suffered enough! The last three pro / rele ties have all gone the way of the J2 side, so Jubilo are up against it!

The story of the day today was in Chiba, where the miracle escape was made even more miraculous by the fact they were 2-0 down before they came back to win 4-2. Losses for both Jubilo and Verdy meant they leapfrogged both teams to preserve their J1 status. Well done Chiba and especially Alex Miller who truly did perform a miracle!

Well, we went out on a high, and we have every right to look forward to our Emperor's Cup 1/4 final with optimism. Opponents FC Tokyo were the team on the receiving end of Chiba's four goals today, and as a result were displaced into 6th place by us who finished this season a respectable 5th. Had Aurelio put away the last minute penalty back against Omiya earlier in the season we would have equalled 2006 and 2007's finish of 4th. No matter - it's been a roller-coaster season and we ended it on a high. 5th place also brings with it a cool 40 000 000 yen. Nice! Now just bring on the cup on the 20th!

Iwata 1-0 S-Pa

I have nothing to say about this, so here's a couple of videos instead:

The players come out as thousands of S-Pa fans turn the stadium orange, white and black:



After the whistle, the players get what's coming to them when they let down 10000 travelling die-hards:



And if that doesn't give you a headache, I don't know what will...

And finally, here's a video of Jae-Jin scoring the winner in the 93rd minute of last year's Shizuoka Derby.



Not that you can see it, but God that felt good. :)

Lose the Game, Win the Group! Jubilo 2-0 S-Pa

S-Pulse roll into Iwata

With our route to the quarter finals already in the bag, you could argue that we had little reason to even turn up against Jubilo. You could also argue that losing 2-0 meant nothing, as had we won 5-0, Group B's final standings still would look exactly the same. You could argue these things, (yes, we are through as group winners - yes Jubilo are out) but try arguing that to the thousands of S-Pa fans who ventured into deepest, darkest Iwata yesterday. In the terms of the competition it may haven been meaningless, but so far as local pride goes, a derby is a derby, and getting beat hurts like hell.

S-Pa homejacked the arse out of the Yamaha

There's really not a great deal to be said about the game. Jubilo wanted it more, we were lethargic and made stupid mistakes which gave them the chances they needed. 2-0 at half time, Nishizawa went closest ten minutes into the second half but Matsui did excellently to get down low and deny him. After that it felt like the blues were just playing out time, and we never looked like coming back. Again Omae was put on with ten minutes to go, again far too little time to have any impact, and when the whistle went, the Jubilo fans predictably started bouncing around like loons. Fair play, it was their first derby win since 2006, and with us comprising a good 35-40% of the crowd, they got to rub our our noses right in it.

Final group standings and quarter final ties

The result was a sickener, and especially so because it played out with such a terrible sense of inevitability. A team which knows it can afford to lose invariably will lose, and as we knew was the case before kick off, it made not the slightest difference in the bigger picture. Still, to allow Jubilo to end their run of four straight defeats is frustrating to say the least.

Well, onwards, upwards and on to the quarters! We now face Antlers who, along with Gamba, join the competition having been tied up with the Asian Champions' League. Why Antlers and Gamba didn't get paired with the two best runners up is anyone's guess, and so Tokyo who finished behind us are rewarded with the far less intimidating prospect of Oita Trinita. Still, no complaints. The cup's the cup, and you can only beat who's put in front of you, as we will - home and away - with Antlers. Bring it!!

In other news, playmaker Fernandinho has seen fit to leave S-Pulse for Kyoto Sanga. On the surface, this is a pretty odd move, with newly promoted Kyoto certainly looking no better than S-Pa so far this year. We at least have been under-performing thus far, and while I can't speak much for Kyoto, I'd put money on us finishing a good few places above them come December. All I can imagine (and this is pure speculation) is that for whatever reason he wants to be back near Osaka where he started his J. League career. Either way, we're going to miss all the work he gave the ball boys with wayward shot after wayward shot... Nah, seriously, it's a big hole behind the front two, and I'm anxious to see how we fill it. Just to make it interesting, guess who our next league game is against on June 28th? Seriously, you couldn't write it better!

Homejack The Yamaha! Jubilo v S-Pa Part 3 (Preview)

Homejack The Yamaha! Banner from the One Person One Flag Project (jp)

Another day another newly learnt Japanese English word - Homejack! This was a new one on me when I read it yesterday, but the meaning is simple enough: to take over an away ground and make it a home game. I'm sure Fuz is more than used to this following Rangers; their travelling army swamps pretty much any ground it visits. So far as S-Pa go, it never fails to impress me how many of our fans travel, but apart from the away derby, I can't say we ever come close to outnumbering the home fans. However, this Sunday we're going for it - let's homejack the Yamaha and paint it orange!

A quaint little stadium somewhere outside Hamamatsu

On account of Jubilo's Nabisco Cup hopes hanging by a thread and S-Pa's route to the quarter finals already assured, it won't quite be quite the cauldron atmosphere it might have been. Still, a decent enough crowd will be turning out - lets hope over half of them are in orange! I'm going to stick my neck out and predict a 13500 crowd to witness a 2-0 S-Pa win with Genki Omae getting both! As with the home leg, we're missing a handful of players due to international call ups and injuries, and I hear Aurelio won't be playing, so I don't think we'll get a more perfect chance to give Omae his first start - and his first goal!

Okazaki after getting crocked in Toulon last week

I've never been to the Yamaha to watch S-Pulse, and I won't be alone in this fact since it's our first game there in six years. I can only imagine what the atmosphere was like back in 1999 when we played there in a title decider. Sunday's Nabisco Cup antics will be a world away from those kinds of stakes, but as ever local pride is on the line, with the chance to beat Iwata in their own back yard. Doing it at Ecopa with a stoppage time winner (ah, memories...) is one thing, but for the first time in eight years we have the chance to do it at the Yamaha - let's have it!!