J-Football Journals Round-Up #1

From the Writer;

Welcome to the first edition of the "J-Football Journals Roundup!" - effectively created to make my life easier, it's an amalgamation of features, stories, insights and choc full of Japanese football content; as a certain someone described to me "just one big chunky article".

I am passionate about writing, sharing information and teaching - I want to become the best version of myself for the future, so I believe others feedback is extremely valuable. Japanese Football is something I look at and think about every single day - so there is rarely shortage of things to cover.

Albeit the looming risk of burnout is always there, I am so lucky to have people around me to remind me to take it easy. In a world where the industry expects us to become just as effective as AI - I think that's hard (I've been accused of being an AI writer before).

So relax, grab a cup of tea or coffee and sit back for your weekly J-Football Journals issue - we look at some very interesting sources, resources, stories, facts and tidbits.

The "Americanisation Resistance" - How Has Europe Influenced Japanese Football?

The J-League is nothing like it's overseas counterpart - the Major League Soccer. It has values such as the relegation and promotion system in order to nurture a healthy sense of comeptition, drive and prosperity amongst it's teams.

With how many players from the J-League (and below!) aim to make the leap to playing in Europe, it's no secret that many higher-ups and officials are also huge fans of the European passion for the sport.

Players such as Machida Zelvia's Ibrahim Dresevic, Gamba Osaka's Neta Lavi, Sanfrecce Hiroshima's Tolgay Arslan, Avispa Fukuoka's Nassim Ben Khalifa - are all just some of the great examples of European talent within the Japanese football system.

Furthermore, an announcement that there will be compatibility between JFA Pro Licenses and their UEFA counterparts.

Gekisaka.jp outlined that there was a technical committee meeting surrounding the progression - which has been identified to be going very smoothly. There will potentially be more news in June.

J-League To Implement An U23s League?

Via @jpnfoottoto on X.

There are rumors of an U23 system being introduced to the J-League - allowing for more game time to younger players amidst a very competitive environment.

Many J-League sides such as Shonan Bellmare are not afraid to field young players; but there are instances where teams simply cannot afford the risks.

The real question is; is it really needed? There is already a lot of money being invested into the J-League - will it cause financial problems?

Record-breaking 15-year-old Maki Kitahara played 27 minutes in FC Tokyo's loss to Fagiano Okayama - with Tokyo's will to nurture such young talents, it might mean some sides within the league may not need a plan like that.

JFA x J-LEAGUE!

Via jleague.jp - official announcement

The official JFA x J-League badge.

There was an official announcement regarding a collaboration between the JFA and J-League to organise a series of matches; the J-League U22 Select will face the Kanto University Select side on April 22nd in a bid to "training and strengthening players for post-youth (ages (19 to 21)".

The match will be televised via the official J-League YouTube channel - for free. Former Jubilo Iwata and Japan U23 coach Masakuni Yamamoto will be involved in the coaching and organisation of the J-U22 side.

Another round of fixtures between the sides will follow in May.

The J-U18's side will also be set to go on a European Tour in order to help them gain valuable match experience beyond their years - all of this is a serious project put in place to invest in the youth players of Japan.

J-League Shuffle-Up

With potent strikers such as Shin Yamada, an assist leader in Sota Miura, you'd expect the Kawasaki Frontale side to be one of the league favourites. They currently sit sixth in the league despite a pretty good record in their last few games - just one loss.

However, two draws stain their chances of being higher up. Their only J-League loss came at the hands of surprise winners Kyoto Sanga.

With their ruthless Brazilian talisman Rafael Elias being the focal point of their team, he takes his chances extremely well - especially in their jumpscare of then-league leaders Kashima Anlters last weekend.

Rafael Elias leads the J-League's G/A ratio as he sits above Leo Ceares with a combined nine.

A 4-3 away win gave the Kansai boys more to rave about - with four goals in the dying 80 to 90th minutes, it was an absolute spectacle for anybody there, a game set to be etched in J-League's history.

This results in high-flyers Machida Zelvia to leapfrog Hiroshima and Kashima to the top spot - being par on points and goal difference with their second place counterparts.

FC Tokyo further wallow in their woes as Fagiano Okayama's Ryo Tabei bagged his first J-league goal - a floated ball which dipped into the net with a dynamic punch of the foot. This means FC Tokyo are now under early threat of the relegation zone.

The 25-year-old has been consistent in his last three starts with a 7.00 rating on FotMob - in turn, Fagiano Okayama have seen a slight resurgence now having sat eighth.

The league champions Vissel Kobe continue to search for a lifeline as Albirex Niigata found their first league win against them.

The situation now is that there are two clubs on 15 points, three on 16, and the joint-leaders both on 17 - the next gameweek is set to be an early partystarter.

University Football Updates

After the news of Shuto Yamaichi's jump up to the J-League via Kawasaki Frontale, university footballers are becoming more spotlighted thanks to the attention surrounding numerous recent events.

Tashin Yamazaki's Ambitious Words

Via gekisaka.jp

Tsukuba's Tashin Yamazaki was revealed to have rejected an early jump up to the Kawasaki Frontale side, instead opting to continue on the university level at the age of 21 - to try and echo the journey of Kaoru Mitoma - who also attended the university.

"But I think that if you do not hurry and cherish one game at a time, the opportunity will come around." Yamazaki told Gekisaka.

He is still yet to pick up an offer despite numerous Tsukuba teammates already having picked up offers from the J1-League. His goal is to become a more "complete" player, to be able to rack up statistics in both goals and assists equally.

Yamazaki is a contender to become the captain of the University of Tsukuba, which might help the player develop even further.

Will Issei Kumatoriya Shine At Tokyo Verdy?

Issei Kumatoriya was one of the players picked up by a J-League club directly from Meiji University. His sharpness on the ball and partnerships with players such as Sota Fujimori and Rei Shimano really helped him shine.

His time with Verdy has since been scarce - although his recent acquisition of a chance at such a level may have slowed his progress down. But is it for the best? Potentially, a player like Issei should not be rushed into the limelight; it's something the English media could take notes from.

We hope to see Kumatoriya making more moves at J-1 level soon!

The J2 Brazilian Banquet

The J2 saw a goal-fest at FC Imabari as Vinicius set the game alight - his hattrick sealing Wesley Tanque's sole goal to counter Guilherme's early equaliser for V-Varen Nagasaki. Curiously, every goal in this game was scored by a Brazilian!

Japan has a vast Brazilian network and seem to invest in underrated talents from the South American country. There is also a population of Brazilians within the country too.

The FC Tokyo Centre-midfielder Blueprint!

FC Tokyo's midfield has to play to their liking - and that's fluid possession and constant adaptiong to the situation on the field. It is what many people would call the embodiment of the "ekkono method" of coaching which is a trend in Japan.

The centre-mid is one of FC Tokyo's standout players with an average 7.25 rating - albeit only picking up one assist in nine games. There is more to just statistics in such a case - as it is with most other midfielders amidst the red-blue ranks.

Koh comes across as a versatile player, often creating passing networks with his constant movement and adapting nature to the game's flow rather than being a physically superior presence.

Koh promises an 80% tackle winning percentage in addition to 82.2% successful passing accuracy - a full package of total football.

Now enter Kei Koizumi. Albeit having been absent from the FC Tokyo gameplan for a while now, he has a very similar player philosophy to Koh.

Koizumi racks up an impressive 89.2% of passing accuracy, suiting a possession based FC Tokyo side. He rarely gets dispossesed, with less than one dispossession per match.

The idea in the FC Tokyo gameplan is to have steadfast midfielders able to disrupt opposition play off the ball, but dictate tempo on it. Players like Koizumi and Koh have the ability to bring in individuals such as Shirai into the match.

The 3-4-3 is ever-changing and puts direct game pressure on players such as Koh, Hashimoto and Koizumi to be able to adapt. The central midfielders in question must be innovative, steady on the ball, and adept in decision making.

The mixed-in wing-play revolving around Soma Anzai and Kosuke Shirai - also versatile forward-thinking defenders such as Kanta Doi - contemplates the gameplay of such central midfielders. Although struggling this season so far, FC Tokyo have a concrete gameplan in mind.