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.
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.
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. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
*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.
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. Read the rest of this entry »
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′. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
