2013 Season Fixtures

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2013 Sanfrecce fixtures: –>

2013-04-02 [ACL Group G] Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0-1 Pohang Steelers (ROK)

Honey badger doesn’t give a f*** about the ACL, and neither do Sanfrecce. Image from: http://theshroom.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/advice-column-ask-a-honey-badger/

Sanfrecce lost a match that nobody in Japan cares about in a competition that nobody in Japan cares about either. This might be overstating it a little, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that Sanfrecce are not taking this competition seriously as it is an unwelcome distraction from the J League, and success would not benefit them in the slightest. The message is clearly not lost on Sanfrecce’s fans, as only 5,365 turned out for this game.

Poichi and Hisato made some comments after the game along the lines of “now we have to go give our all in the final three matches”, the corollary to which of course is that this wasn’t the case in the first three games. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Sanfrecce started to pick up results now that qualification is all-but-impossible, but just fail to qualify in the sixth group match.

It therefore shouldn’t be in the least bit shocking that Poichi again swapped out the core of Sanfrecce’s first XI and replaced them with a B side including Okamoto, Park, Ishikawa and Notsuda. This is in line with previous ACL games this season. For comparison (the formation against Pohang is my best guess as I didn’t see the game):

I don’t think analyzing this match any further would be useful as it is obvious that Sanfrecce did not have their best side and were not at their best in this match, for reasons I have outlined, so I will just post the highlights.

Other News

My analysis of the Shimizu game was featured in a Japanese twitter newspaper. Check it out here.

The Sanfrecce 2012 J-League victory t-shirts finally arrived at the V-Point. Mine arrived at Tenso.com yesterday and I should be getting them for myself and Claire next week. Awesome!

Highlights

2013-03-30 [J1] Shimizu S-Pulse 0-4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

A classic for you: SATO Hisato takes the high road against S-Pulse’s AOYAMA Naoaki. Photo taken by me, 2/2010 – stefanole

Sanfrecce destroyed a lackluster S-Pulse at Nihondaira in a match that saw Shimizu central defender OKANE Naoya sent off in the second half for two yellow cards.

2013-03-17 [J1] Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0-0 Kashima Antlers

Antlers’ Davi collides with Koji and Shiotani. Image from http://blog.livedoor.jp/domesoccer/archives/52023340.html

Sanfrecce were very unlucky not to win all three points as they dominated 2007-2009 champions Kashima Antlers at the Big Arch. The home side outshot the visitors by 14 to 8, but the match was marked by two offside decisions, only one of which was correct.

2013-03-13 [ACL Group G] Beijing Guoan (CHN) 2-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

*article edited March 15th with some more comments. Jsgoal also has an interesting article in Japanese about the creepy atmosphere in Beijing precipitated by having Sanfrecce escorted by five police cars and the stadium guarded by armed paramilitaries and soldiers, as well as constant warnings about air pollution. This culture of intimidation goes a long way to explaining Chinese teams’ success in China against Japanese teams as much as (or even moreso than) superior ability, but Sanfrecce can only learn from this and improve.

Another photo of Sanfrecce players looking glum. From: http://blog.livedoor.jp/domesoccer/archives/52022547.html

Sanfrecce left the Beijing Workers Stadium empty-handed after suffering through another ACL game.

2013-03-09 [J League] Albirex Niigata 1-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Sanfrecce’s stars at the Big Swan stadium. Photo from: http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn201303100037.html

Sanfrecce won their first game of the 2013 J League season as they defeated a poor Albirex Niigata, who are quickly beginning to look like favorites for relegation.

2013-03-02 [J League] Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-2 Urawa Reds

Ex-Sanfrecce players Moriwaki, Kashiwagi, and Makino. Image from https://twitter.com/kokokochan/status/307733845468405760/photo/1

Sanfrecce were soundly beaten in the 2013 J League opener by arch-rivals Urawa Reds. Though the scoreline was close, Sanfrecce never really threatened before or after MORISAKI Koji’s beautifully lofted free-kick goal on 55′.

2013-02-27 [ACL Group G] Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0-2 Bunyodkor (UZB)

Image from http://blog.livedoor.jp/domesoccer/archives/52020446.html

Sanfrecce’s 2013 Asian Champions League campaign got off to a disappointing start as they fell 0-2 to Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor. Sanfrecce were the better team for most of the match, but failed to make their possession pay and were punished by Bunyodkor’s classic away-team counter-attacks.

New 2013 Uniforms On Sale

2013-02-23 Fuji Xerox Super Cup: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-0 Kashiwa Reysol

Captain SATO Hisato celebrates scoring the winning goal for Sanfrecce. Image from http://blog.livedoor.jp/domesoccer/archives/52019833.html

2012 Season Review

Official J-League 2012 season review video on YouTube.