The strongest team in the country - Iwata!

The strongest team in the country - Iwata!

Winning the 1999 J1 League 1st Stage, the 18th Asian Club Championship, and becoming the 1999 J1 League Annual Champion, it is no exaggeration to say that 1999 was the "Júbilo Year" due to the remarkable performance of Júbilo Iwata. After the 1st Stage, the genius left-footed player, Nakanishi, transferred to Venezia (Serie A/Italy), causing a dip in form, but the rise of the young warrior Fukunishi and the clutch strength of Gon Nakayama maintained the team's power. Above all, the significance of winning the title centered on Japanese players without relying on foreign helpers is great. Since the J.League started in 1993, champion teams have always had excellent (i.e., famous) foreign players, and indeed their strength was a major factor in winning. This year, in the 7th year since the J.League began, a "purely domestic team" champion was finally born. Whether it is called the "J.League effect" or not, the outstanding performance of especially the younger generation in the national team is remarkable, and this year's World Youth runner-up is a typical example. For Iwata, the team blended veterans who have experienced the Japan national team such as Nakayama, Yu FUJITA, Hattori, and Fumitake MIURA, with excellent young players like Oku, Suzuki, Fukunishi, and Takahara who will carry Japan in 2002, so foreign helpers were not needed. In any case, the depth of the squad is outstanding. For Tokyo, this mountain (i.e., the match against Iwata) is undoubtedly a very large and steep path. However, it is a path that cannot be avoided to move forward. It is no longer a time to admire them as a "club on another level," but next season they will be "enemies" fighting on the same stage. We fully understand the clear difference in ability at this point, but there is definitely a chance to win. Nakayama and Fukunishi may not play in this match, but that is not everything; Tokyo has "Tokyo's soccer." The players are confident, and they also believe in the "passionate supporters" of over 100 who traveled all the way to Kagoshima. This Emperor's Cup 4th Round is the perfect situation to say "See you next year!" and Tokyo will face this "strongest domestic army" head-on!

First chance to score!

The match venue on this day was a wonderfully scenic stadium, as rumored, with the symbol of Kagoshima, Sakurajima, visible behind the back stand. However, the only miscalculation was the unexpectedly low temperature. It seemed that a cold front had moved in a couple of days prior; the weather wasn't that bad, but it was far from the image of a 'tropical country.' The highlights of this match were, of course, the 'first encounter' between the J1 champions and the team making their J1 debut next season, but another highlight was the 'local showdown' between Maeda (from Iwata) and Fujiyama (from Tokyo), who are seniors and juniors from Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School. For the local fans, the latter enjoyment was undoubtedly greater.

As the match began, the champion immediately applied intense pressure. It was not just intense, but a highly organized and disciplined high-level press that had never been experienced even in the Nabisco Cup. Whenever the ball was passed back, one player would always press the ball, and at the same time, the entire team would shift forward one step each, maintaining precise and sharp movements. For the first five minutes, Iwata almost completely controlled the ball, and Tokyo inevitably became defensive. However, Tokyo had anticipated this and gradually began to bare their fangs with counters after cutting the ball. Then, at 4 minutes, a big chance came. Kagami intercepted an opponent's careless dribble in midfield and immediately passed to Almir, who had come to support. They connected directly through a narrow space: Almir to Amaral to Kagami, breaking free from the opponent's marking. Kagami then delivered a superb floating pass to Yukihiko, who ran behind the defenders. Facing a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, Yukihiko saw the keeper coming out and attempted a lob shot into the empty goal! However, the ball just narrowly missed to the left of the goal...

A balanced first half

Although Tokyo missed a decisive chance, it seemed to have inflicted psychological damage on Iwata, leading to more opportunities to press the unsettled Iwata. Up front, Amaral's play was somewhat lacking in brilliance, but Kagawa, who had just returned from his training in Australia three days prior, showcased strong play and created chances. Kagawa actively engaged with the ball, firmly held the position at the front, and allowed Okahara and Yukihiko on both sides to make runs. In the 18th minute, he trapped a cross from the side with his chest, feigned a shot, lifted the ball again to evade the opponent, and then took the shot, demonstrating a sense of composure and hinting at the results of his time in Australia.

On the other hand, even with the ace (Nakayama and Fukunishi) missing, the talented Iwata stirred up the midfield with Fujita and Oku's abundant movement, connecting the ball accurately at a fast tempo with few touches. When space opened up, they supplied sharp vertical passes to Takahara and Radchenko up front. Takahara, showing strong footwork and stable hold-up play, created a base by dropping deep on the side, while Radchenko, utilizing his reach with stable hold-up play near the center, created chances. Although Komine and Sandro marked these two, in the first half, Tokyo's solid defense from the front limited passing options, preventing them from doing much of their usual work. However, the champions would not remain silent forever.

Caught off guard for a moment...

Iwata judged that Tokyo's central defense was strong and sent long balls deep to the sides. The battle-hardened Iwata, seeing Tokyo shift to attack and push forward, delivered precise long balls from defensive midfielder Hattori into the open space behind Tokyo's defenders, changing the rhythm. Especially skilled at exploiting brief gaps, they delivered sharp balls to critical points during restarts like set pieces and counters after being attacked, which was truly impressive. Twice and thrice, they targeted the space behind in similar patterns, creating danger, but finally, just before the end of the first half, the deadlock was broken. At 43 minutes, with Tokyo slightly pressing in a back-and-forth battle, Fumitake MIURA stole the ball in Iwata's territory, immediately spotting Tokyo's shallow defensive line and sending a long pass forward. Radchenko, breaking just on the offside line, competed with Komine but reached the ball first and volleyed it in one motion! The powerful shot flew over goalkeeper Suzuki's head and pierced the Tokyo goal. With this goal restoring their confidence, Iwata began to show their true strength in the second half.

The Strength of Champions

Although Tokyo conceded a goal just before the end, they fought evenly in the first half and went all out in the second half. Fujiyama, the left side back who did not participate much in the attack during the first half, started moving forward, and from his specialty dribbling, he broke through with Kagami and Almir in a one-two combination. However, Iwata's defense was solid, and Tokyo could not create a decisive chance as they couldn't penetrate deeper. Since FW Amaral was perfectly marked by Suzuki, who was also selected as a candidate for the Japan national team, Kagami became the only focal point in the front line. Although Kagami held firm, he increasingly found himself isolated under the strict two-man marking trying to suppress him. Still knowing that the next goal would decide the match, Tokyo brought on Okamoto, who had a big impact in the third round, at 15 minutes into the second half. Okamoto showed fierce fighting spirit in both offense and defense without flinching against the champions. But at 25 minutes into the second half, they were caught off guard once again. Iwata earned a throw-in on the left side of Tokyo's half, and Tokyo's defense briefly took their eyes off the ball (turned their backs to it!). Oku made a free run deep on the left side, received the thrown ball effortlessly, and charged straight toward the goal. Finally, he carefully passed to Takahara who came into the center, and Takahara took a free shot right in front of the goalkeeper's nose! The ball easily shook Tokyo's goal net.

Scoring two goals in the last 20 minutes against the champions was an extremely difficult task, but still wanting to make a mark, Tokyo brought Kaburagi and Yamao consecutively to the front line. Even raising the defensive key player, Sandro, to the front, they tried an all-out attack by removing the right side back and defensive midfielder, but instead, they lost balance in midfield and ended up letting Iwata pass the ball around with ease. Then, at the 36th minute of the second half, a final blow was dealt by the local-born Maeda, and all was lost... The first encounter with Iwata ended with a harsher reality than expected. What was the meaning of this 3-goal difference? Of course, there was a difference in individual skills, but the biggest difference came down to the 'difference in experience.' Until conceding the first goal, Tokyo was honestly playing on equal footing or even better, but the team with world experience knew when to seize the moment—that was the difference. Next season, they will face opponents of this level (or close to it) every league match. There are concerns, but not too much worry. FC Tokyo will also add experienced players and will transform into a more mature team in a good way. This match will be the last activity of this year. The unknown season of 2000 will start fresh from mid-January. They will restart aiming to be a team that can compete in J1...

[Thank You]

Thank you for your continued support over the past year. FC Tokyo's 1999 season has concluded with today's match, and as a result, this page will also come to an end. We have been able to write about all 48 official matches (36 league matches, 8 Nabisco Cup matches, 4 Emperor's Cup matches) without missing a single one, thanks to the warm encouragement from all of you who have been looking forward to this page. Naturally, this page will continue next season as well. We appreciate your continued support just as before. Thank you very much.