The strongest domestic army, Iwata!

The strongest domestic army, Iwata!

99 J1 League 1st Stage Champions, 18th Asian Club Championship Champions, and 99 J1 League Annual Champions, it is no exaggeration to say that 1999 was a "Júbilo Year" for Júbilo Iwata. After the 1st Stage, the genius lefty, Naoya Namba, moved to Venice (Serie A/Italy) and lost his form, but the rise of young warrior, Fukunishi, and the clutch performance of Gon Nakayama helped maintain the team's strength. In any case, the significance of winning the title with a Japanese-centered team without relying on foreign players is huge. In the 93 J League opening request, there was always a prominent (famous) foreign player in the champion team, and it is true that their strength played a big role in the victory. This year, in the 7th year since the J League opening, a "purely Japanese team" champion was finally born. Perhaps this is the "J League effect", and even in the national team, the performance of young players, especially in the younger age groups, is remarkable, as seen in the World Youth Championship runner-up this year. Even for Iwata, the team that blended veteran players who have experienced the Japanese national team, such as Nakayama, Fujita, Hattori, and Miura, with excellent young players who will carry Japan in 2002, such as Oku, Suzuki, Fukunishi, and Takahara, did not need foreign players. In any case, the depth of the team is top-notch. For Tokyo, it is undoubtedly a difficult and steep road to face Iwata. However, it is a road that cannot be avoided if we want to move forward. It is not a time to be impressed by the "club in another dimension", they are the "enemy" that we will fight on the same stage next season. It is well known that there is a clear difference in strength at this point, but there will surely be a chance to win. There may be times when Nakayama and Fukunishi do not play in this match, but that is not the only thing, Tokyo has "Tokyo's soccer". The players are confident, and the "hot cheering squad" of over 100 people who have come all the way to Kagoshima also believe. This 4th round of the Emperor's Cup is the perfect situation to say "Good luck next year!", and Tokyo has to face this "strongest domestic army" head on!

First chance!

The venue for this match was a beautiful stadium with a great view of Kagoshima's symbol, Sakurajima, in the background, as rumored. However, the only disappointment was the unexpectedly low temperature. It seems that cold air has been coming in for the past 2-3 days, and while the weather wasn't too bad, it was far from the image of a "tropical" location. The main attraction of this match was, of course, the "first meeting" between the J1 champions and the team making their J1 debut next season. But another highlight was the "local showdown" between (Iwata's) Maeda and (Tokyo's) Fujiyama, who are both from the same hometown (Kagoshima Commercial High School). For the local fans, this was probably the more exciting matchup.

As soon as the game started, the champion immediately put on a fierce press. It was not only intense, but also a well-organized and high-level one that they had never experienced in the Nabisco Cup. If they dropped the ball back, one person would always press the ball, and at the same time, the whole team would shift forward one by one, 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 calculated this and gradually began to counterattack after cutting off the ball. And in the fourth minute, a big chance came. Kaga, who cut off the opponent's careless dribble in the midfield, immediately passed to Almir, who came to support him, and then connected with Amalao and Kaga in a narrow space, leaving the opponent's mark behind and sending a perfect floating pass to Yukihiko, who ran behind the defense. Yukihiko, who was one-on-one with the opponent's goalkeeper, saw the goalkeeper coming out and shot a looping shot towards the empty goal! However, the ball narrowly missed the left side of the goal...

Evenly matched first half

Tokyo missed a decisive chance, but whether it was due to the psychological damage inflicted on Iwata or not, they had more opportunities to push back the shaken Iwata. Amaral's play in the front line was somewhat lackluster, but just three days after returning from his training in Australia, Kaga showed strong play and created chances. Kaga actively involved himself with the ball, and after firmly keeping it in the post in the front line, he sent Okuhara and Yukihiko running vertically on both sides. In the 18th minute, he trapped a cross from the side with his chest, and showed his composure by faking a shot and then lifting the ball before shooting (and dodging the opponent), giving a glimpse of his achievements in Australia.

On the other hand, even without their aces (Nakayama and Fukunishi), the talented Iwata team, with midfielders Fujita and Oku providing plenty of energy, were able to stir things up with quick, precise passing and sharp vertical passes to forwards Takahara and Radchenko when space opened up. Takahara, with strong footwork and stable post play, would create opportunities by making runs from deep on the side, while Radchenko, with his stable post play and reach in the center, would also create chances. Although they were marked by Komine and Sandro, Tokyo's solid defense from the front line in the first half limited their passing options and prevented them from doing much work. However, it was only a matter of time before the champions made their presence known.

Caught off guard for a moment...

Iwata, judging that Tokyo's central defense is strong, sent a long ball deep into the side. The experienced Iwata, seeing that Tokyo had shifted to attack and moved forward, sent an accurate long ball from midfielder Hattori to the open space behind Tokyo's defense, changing the rhythm. Especially skilled at exploiting momentary openings, they would send sharp balls to the vital areas during restarts such as set pieces or counterattacks after being pressured, earning the praise of "as expected!" They were in danger a few times from the same type of play, but finally broke the deadlock just before halftime. In the 43rd minute, with the game going back and forth with Tokyo slightly pushing forward, Miura Fumitake, who had stolen the ball from Tokyo in Iwata's half, saw the shallow Tokyo defensive line and immediately sent a long pass to the front line. Radchenko, who had just barely beaten the offside line, competed with Komine and reached the ball first, volleying it in one swift motion! The powerful shot passed over goalkeeper Suzuki's head and into the Tokyo goal. With this goal, Iwata regained their confidence and began to show their true strength in the second half.

Champion's Strength

Despite conceding a goal near the end, Tokyo fought evenly in the first half and came out strong in the second half. In the first half, left back Fujiyama, who did not participate much in the attack, started to move up to the front line and broke through with his signature dribble, passing to Kaga, Almir, and then a one-two. However, Iwata's defense was also strong, making it difficult to create decisive opportunities. FW Amaral, who was also selected as a candidate for the Japan national team, was perfectly marked by Suzuki, leaving Kaga alone as the only point of attack. Kaga tried to hold his ground, but he was often isolated due to the tough double team check. Still, Tokyo knew that the next goal would decide the match, so in the 15th minute of the second half, they brought in Okamoto, who had caused chaos in the third round. Okamoto did not show any fear against the champions and displayed fierce determination on both offense and defense. However, in the 25th minute of the second half, they were caught off guard once again. Iwata earned a throw-in on the left side of Tokyo's territory, and in a moment when Tokyo's defense briefly looked 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 charged towards the goal. Finally, he passed it carefully to Takahara, who had come into the center, and he shot freely in front of the goalkeeper! The ball effortlessly shook the net of Tokyo's goal.

It was a difficult feat for Tokyo to score two goals in the remaining 20 minutes against the champion, but they still wanted to strike back. 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 tried an all-out attack by removing the right side back and the defensive midfielder. However, this resulted in an unbalanced midfield and Iwata was able to easily pass the ball around. Then, in the 36th minute of the second half, Maeda, a local player, scored a final goal and it was all over... The first meeting with Iwata ended with a harsh reality that was beyond expectations. What was this 3-point difference? Of course, there was a difference in individual skills, but the biggest difference was in "experience". Until Tokyo conceded a goal, they were playing an equal or even better game, but the team that had experienced the world knew how to win. That was the difference. Next season, Tokyo will face opponents of this level (or close to it) in every game. There is some anxiety, but I am not too worried. Experienced players will join FC Tokyo and the team will transform into a more mature team. This year, the team will end its activities after this game. The unknown 2000 season will start fresh in mid-January. We will restart with the goal of competing in J1...

[Thank you]

Thank you for your support over the past year. The 1999 season for FC Tokyo has come to an end with this final match, and as a result, this page will also come to an end. We have written about all 48 official matches (36 league matches, 8 Nabisco Cup matches, 4 Emperor's Cup matches) without missing a single one, and we deeply appreciate the warm support from all of you who have been looking forward to this page. Of course, this page will continue next season as well. We sincerely thank you for your continued support. Thank you very much.