| | | | | GAME
PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
Nabisco Cup: Reds vs. Antlers
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| Urawa Reds midfielder
Keita Suzuki |
Strange as it might seem, the Nabisco Cup
final on November 3 will pit two managers who are desperately
seeking a trophy. Why so strange? Well, you wouldn't
think that Kashima Antlers boss Toninho Cerezo would be sweating
over the No. 3 trophy in the pantheon of Japanese soccer titles
(the other two being the overall J. League title and the Emperor's
Cup)-after all, he won the triple only three years
ago. Urawa Reds manager Hans Ooft, on the other hand, has
bags of credibility with nearly 20 years of on-and-off service
in Japan, including a stint as manager of the national team.
He was also largely responsible for putting Jubilo Iwata on
the road to glory, although he didn't stick around
to see the seeds he sowed blossom soon after.
But while the two managers have impressive resumes, coaches
rarely have the chance to rest on their laurels. Both Cerezo
and Ooft want to-and to some extent can afford to-look
at the long-term picture for their clubs, but they could also
do with having the Nabisco Cup in the trophy cabinet. Antlers
fans have become used to winning trophies, and the current
drought, however short-term, will not be going down well in
the wilds of Ibaraki Prefecture. The Reds fans, of course,
have blind faith in their team, and while they live in hope,
even the dumbest Diamond fan never expects his team to actually
achieve something. Their record of disappointment is far too
extensive.
But Dutchman Ooft and his sidekick Wim Jansen are changing
that. While the Saitama boys are always capable of pulling
defeat from the jaws of victory, they are now playing with
a belief that's been as rare as the trophies they've
craved over the years. The retirement last year of Masami
Ihara and Masahiro Fukuda sent a message that the old wave
and the old ways were gone. The teaming of young Brazilian
striker Emerson with Japanese hotshot Tatsuya Tanaka up front
has seen the Reds rip the heart out of a few J. League defenses,
notably against Shimizu S-Pulse in the second leg of the Nabisco
semifinals, which the Reds won 6-1 (Emerson 3, Tanaka 2).
The defense and midfield are also gaining strength as the
Ooft message fights its way into the hearts and minds (often
difficult to penetrate) of the Urawa players. Add to this
a 63,000-seat home stadium and the biggest fan base in J1,
and the Reds are flying.
The Antlers, though, are struggling to match past glories.
It hasn't been an easy couple of years for Cerezo.
After the glory of 2000, his team found it hard to string
together a decent series of results. The Antlers are always
dangerous and never easy to beat, but a series of personnel
problems has made it hard for Cerezo to move his team into
top gear. Unlike the Reds, the biggest problem for Kashima
has been up front. In the glory days, Atsushi Yanagisawa and
Takayuki Suzuki did the job, with occasional help from Tomoyuki
Hirase and Yoshiyuki Hasegawa. But Suzuki has been bouncing
between Belgium and Japan, Yanagisawa has hopped off to Italy,
Hasegawa is no longer around, and Hirase has only recently
come back from a miserable loan period at the Yokohama F.
Marinos.
Compounding Cerezo's problems have been a number of
injuries, including the long-term absence of influential midfielder
Koji Nakata. But while some Antlers stars are getting a bit
long in the tooth, their youth system is second to none, and
a number of young players are coming through the ranks. As
usual, they'll rely on enigmatic midfield star Mitsuo
Ogasawara in midfield and Yutaka "Mr. Grizzly"
Akita at the back.
As the team on the up, the Reds will be slight favorites in
the final at a (no-doubt) packed National Stadium in Tokyo.
Either Ooft or Cerezo will get their wish for a trophy, and
for two teams in transition, the final could set up a breakout
year in 2004. Either way, it'll be a loud and intriguing
final.
The Nabisco Cup final takes place
November 3 at the National Stadium, Tokyo. See listings for
details.
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