The Strongest Domestic Army, Iwata!

The strongest domestic army, Iwata!

Júbilo Iwata's performance in 1999 was remarkable, winning the 99 J1 League 1st Stage, the 18th Asian Club Championship, and becoming the 99 J1 League Annual Champion. After the 1st Stage, the team maintained its strength with the emergence of young players like Futoshi Fukunishi and the competitiveness of Gon Nakayama in crucial moments, despite the decline in form of the talented left-footed player, Masashi Nakayama, who transferred to Venezia in Serie A (Italy). Regardless, it was significant that the team won titles with a focus on Japanese players without relying on foreign players. In the J League, championship teams have always had the presence of excellent (i.e., famous) foreign players, and their contribution to the victories has been significant. However, this year, in the 7th year since the start of the J League, a "purely domestic team" finally became the champion. This could be called the "J League effect," and the performance of young players, especially in the national team, has been remarkable, as seen in the World Youth Championship where Japan finished as runners-up. In the case of Iwata, a team that blended experienced veterans like Nakayama, Fujita, Hattori, and Miura, who had represented Japan, with talented young players like Oku, Suzuki, Fukunishi, and Takahara, who would carry Japan in 2002, did not need foreign players. In any case, the depth of the team is outstanding. For Tokyo, it is undoubtedly a challenging and steep path to face Iwata. However, it is a path that cannot be avoided to move forward. It is not the time to be impressed by the "club from another dimension" but to recognize them as the "enemy" to compete against on the same stage next season. It is well known that there is a clear difference in strength at the moment, but there will always be a chance to win. Nakayama and Fukunishi may not play in this match, but it is not just about them. Tokyo has its own style of soccer. The players have confidence, and the "passionate supporters" who have traveled all the way to Kagoshima, numbering over 100, believe in them. This 4th round of the Emperor's Cup is the perfect situation to say "Good luck next year!" and Tokyo has decided to confront this "domestically strongest army" head-on!

First chance to score!

The venue for this day's match was a stadium with a magnificent and scenic view, as rumored, with Sakurajima, the symbol of Kagoshima, in the background of the stands. However, the only miscalculation was the unexpectedly low temperature. It seems that cold air had been approaching for the past 2-3 days, and although the weather was not that bad, it was far from the image of a "tropical" location. The highlight of this match was, of course, the "first meeting" between the J1 champion and the team making their J1 debut next season. But another highlight was the "local showdown" between Maeda (Iwata) and Fujiyama (Tokyo), who are both from the same hometown (Kagoshima Commercial High School, where Fujiyama is the senior and Maeda is the junior). Rather, for the local fans, the latter was surely more exciting.

When the game started, the champions immediately put intense pressure. It was not only intense, but also a well-organized and controlled high-level pressure that I had never experienced in the Nabisco Cup. If the ball was passed back, one player would always press the ball, and at the same time, the whole team would shift forward one by one in a thorough manner, with precise and sharp movements. For the first five minutes of the game, Iwata dominated the ball, and Tokyo inevitably became defensive. However, Tokyo had anticipated this and gradually began to counterattack after cutting off the ball. And in the 4th minute, a big chance came. Kagami, who cut off the opponent's careless dribble in the midfield, immediately passed to Almir, who came to support. Almir, Amaral, and Kagami connected in a tight space, bypassing the opponent's mark, and Kagami made a perfectly floated pass to Yukihiko, who ran behind the defense. Yukihiko, who faced the opponent's goalkeeper one-on-one, saw the goalkeeper coming out and made a loop shot towards the unguarded goal~! However, the ball narrowly missed the left side of the goal...

A closely contested first half

Tokyo missed a decisive chance, but it seemed to have caused psychological damage to Iwata, and opportunities to push Iwata, who was shaken, increased. Amaral's play in the front line was somewhat lackluster, but Kagami, who had just returned from his training in Australia three days ago, showed strong play and created chances. Kagami actively involved himself with the ball, entered the post in the front line and kept it firmly, then made Okuhara and Yukihiko run vertically on both sides. In the 18th minute, he trapped the cross from the side with his chest, feigned a shot, floated the ball again, and then shot after evading the opponent, showing a sense of ease in his play and glimpses of his achievements in Australia.

On the other hand, even without their aces (Nakayama, Fukunishi), Iwata, who has a wealth of talent, stirred up the midfield with Fujita and Oku's abundant athleticism, connected the ball accurately with a fast tempo and few touches, and supplied sharp vertical passes to the front line of Takahara and Radchenko when space opened up. Takahara, who showed strong footwork and stable post-play, entered deep into the side and created a starting point, while Radchenko, the other player, created chances with stable post-play near the center. Kominato and Sandro marked these two, but in the first half, Tokyo defended firmly from the front line, limiting the passing lanes and hardly allowing them to do their job. However, the champions couldn't stay silent forever.

Exploited in a momentary gap...

When Iwata determined that Tokyo's central defense was strong, they started putting long balls deep into the sides. The seasoned Iwata team, seeing that Tokyo was shifting to attack and moving forward, accurately played long balls from midfielder Hattori to the open space behind Tokyo's defense, changing the rhythm. Especially skilled at exploiting momentary openings, they would deliver sharp balls to vital areas during restarts such as set plays or counterattacks after being pressed, leaving no doubt about their ability. Tokyo found themselves in a pinch as they were targeted for the same strategy of exploiting the space behind their defense multiple times, but finally, just before the end of the first half, the balance was broken. In the 43rd minute, with Tokyo and Iwata engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Tokyo slightly on the offensive, Miura, who had stolen the ball from Tokyo in Iwata's territory, quickly sent a long pass to the front line upon seeing Tokyo's shallow defensive line. Radchenko, who had just managed to stay onside, competed with Komine and reached the ball first, volleying it in one swift motion! The powerful shot passed over goalkeeper Suzuki's head and pierced the Tokyo goal. Regaining confidence with this goal, Iwata began to show their true strength in the second half.

Champion's Strength

Although they conceded a goal near the end, Tokyo fought evenly in the first half and came out for the second half. In the first half, Fujiyama, the left full-back who did not participate much in the attack, started to move up to the front line and broke through with his dribbling skills, passing to Kagami, Almir, and then playing a one-two. However, Iwata's defense was also solid, and they couldn't create any decisive opportunities because they couldn't break through deeply. Amaral, the forward, was perfectly marked by Suzuki, who was also selected as a candidate for the Japanese national team, so the focal point of the front line became only Kagami, and Kagami also struggled to hold the ball against the tough double-team check. Nevertheless, Tokyo, knowing that the next goal would be crucial, brought in Okamoto, who had caused a sensation in the third round. Okamoto showed intense fighting spirit both in attack and defense without being intimidated by the champions. However, in the 25th minute of the second half, they were caught off guard once again. Iwata gained a throw-in on the left side of Tokyo's territory, and in a moment when Tokyo's defense briefly turned their eyes away from the ball (= turned their backs to the ball!), Oku ran freely into the deep left side and easily received the thrown ball, then rushed towards the goal. Finally, he passed it carefully to Takahara, who had come into the center, and shot freely in front of the goalkeeper! The ball effortlessly shook Tokyo's goal net.

It was a difficult task for Tokyo to score two goals in the remaining 20 minutes against the champion, but they still wanted to retaliate. They continuously sent Kaburagi and Yamao to the front line. They even pushed Sandro, the key player of the defense, to the front line and attempted an all-out attack by removing the right side back and defensive midfielder. However, this resulted in the imbalance of the midfield and Iwaki skillfully passed the ball around. Then, in the 36th minute of the second half, Maeda, who is from the local area, scored a decisive goal and all hope was lost... The first encounter with Iwaki ended with a harsh reality that was beyond expectations. What was the meaning of this 3-point difference? Of course, there was a difference in individual skills, but the biggest difference was the "difference in experience". Until Tokyo conceded a goal, they were playing an equal or even better soccer without any exaggeration. However, the team that had experienced the world knew how to handle crucial moments, and that was the difference. In the next season, Tokyo will face opponents of this level (or close to it) in every league match. There is some anxiety, but I am not overly worried. FC Tokyo will also have experienced players joining the team, and they will transform into a more mature team in a positive sense. This year's activities will end with this match. The unknown season of 2000 will start fresh from mid-January. We will restart aiming to compete in J1...

[Thank you]

Thank you for your continued support over the past year. The 1999 season of FC Tokyo has come to an end with this final match, and as a result, this page will also be ending. I am deeply grateful for the warm support and encouragement from all of you who have enjoyed this page, which has allowed me to write about all 48 official matches (36 league matches, 8 Nabisco Cup matches, and 4 Emperor's Cup matches) without missing a single one. This page will continue in the upcoming season as well. Thank you for your continued patronage, and I look forward to your continued support. Thank you very much.