Welcome Guest   |  Login   |   Signup
JG Logo
Fri, May 25, 2012
Archive Search

Japan Boss Insists on Euro-Style Season To Help Bolster National Team Efficacy
J-League | August 02, 2010

Share This Page
0
0
0
0
Share with google+ :


Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

Be the first to write your opinion!

Tokyo. Japan’s new football supremo Junji Ogura is pushing to implement his predecessor’s radical plan for a European-style autumn-to-spring J-League season to help the national team.

Japan Football Association president hopes to usher in the sweeping reform of the 18-team league, which normally runs from March to December, by 2015.

“This is something we really need to do … hopefully in the next five to 10 years if finances permit,” Ogura told the Asian Football Confederation’s Web site.

“The FIFA calendar is very much European-oriented and if we don’t change our league calendar … it is the players, eventually the national team, who will suffer the most.”

An overhaul of the J-League’s calendar to mirror the European campaigns that run from August through to May would be a costly enterprise that would force clubs to invest in under-pitch heating.

“Change is necessary if Japan wants to continue to be competitive on the international front,” said Ogura, who took over from Motoaki Inukai last month.

“Having said that, every change needs to be well planned as it will drastically affect the league as a whole.”

Clubs in the north of Japan, with its freezing winters and heavy snowfall, would be a major priority for the JFA in carrying out its bold plan.

“We need to implement change step-by-step, from north to south.” said the 71-year-old Ogura. “We need to start from Hokkaido, and then Yamagata, Niigata to Sendai and the list goes on.”

In Sunday’s game, Norwegian striker Frode Johnsen notched a hat-trick as Shimizu S-Pulse moved within one point of J-League leader Kashima Antlers with a 6-3 thrashing of Shonan Bellmare.

Shimizu took a commanding 4-0 lead and sent a strong message to Kashima before two first-half goals from Emerson and Yuya Nakamura cut the lead to 4-2.

Johnsen completed his hat trick six minutes after the break and Jungo Fujimoto added another goal in the 54th.

Shimizu has 33 points, one behind Kashima, who defeated Vissel Kobe 3-0 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Kawasaki Frontale rallied to beat Vegalta Sendai 3-2 and move into fourth place with 28 points.

Kunimitsu Sekiguchi and Fernandinho gave Sendai a 2-0 lead before Juninho scored five minutes before the break and Masaru Kurotsu equalized in the 60th.

Hiroyuki Taniguchi completed the comeback for Kawasaki with a winner six minutes from time.

Hideo Hashimoto’s 32nd-minute goal earned Gamba Osaka a 1-0 win over Montedio Yamagata, while Hisato Sato scored twice in Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s 3-0 defeat of last place Kyoto Sanga.

 
Reuters, AP