Krishna Sadhana
Football Tribe SEA Editor
A momentous occasion was marked on the afternoon of Saturday, November 16th. As the referee blew for full time at the Machida Athletic Stadium, expressions of joy were etched on the faces of Nelsinho Baptista and his players. Thanks to a comprehensive 3-0 win over hosts Machida Zelvia, Kashiwa Reysol are back in the big time that is the J.League 1.
Much has been said about Kashiwa’s tumble from being the 4th best team in Japan to being relegated to the J.League 2 in the 2018 season. A lot of people have predicted the Chiba-based side to be in the mix for the title race, joining the likes of Kawasaki Frontale and Kashima Antlers in the upper echelons of the 2018 J1 table. However despite the amount of talent that Kashiwa had, they ended up finishing 17th come the end of the 2018 season and with it, relegation to the J2. Low points of that disastrous season include an AFC Champions League defeat to underdogs Kitchee of Hong Kong, their sheer inconsistency that costed them points (Kashiwa were only able to muster up two consecutive wins at the very end of the season), an Emperor’s Cup exit at the hands of J2 side Montedio Yamagata, as well as the disastrous appointment of Nozomu Kato, a Kashiwa legend who has little experience in handling a J1 club, as head coach. A series of injuries to Kashiwa’s number one goalie Kosuke Nakamura and the inability of backup goalie Kazushige Kirihata in filling his sizeable shoes also contributed to Kashiwa’s downfall, made worse by the porous defense in front of Kirihata, the fourth worse defense of the 2018 J1 League. This cocktail of ingredients sent this talented team down the drain and the Kashiwa management knew that decisive action must be done.
Nozomu was quickly shown the door once the season ends, with Nelsinho Baptista making a return to Kashiwa in his place. The Brazilian was considered a living legend at the Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, having guided Kashiwa to the 2010 J2 title and incredibly, the 2011 J1 title, as well as establishing Kashiwa as a consistent feature in the J1. Nelsinho’s return was greeted by much fanfare by Kashiwa fans and optimism was added by the fact that the management has managed to retain a bulk of the talented squad that Kashiwa has at their disposal. Junya Ito and Yuta Nakayama were the only notable exits from Kashiwa in the 2019 off-season, but the likes of Nakamura, Yusuke Segawa, Cristiano, Ataru Esaka, Ryuta Koike among others were retained. Nelsinho wanted to use the talent already available to him at the club, trying his best to alter the team’s backbone of players as little as possible.
And the result? Kashiwa performed consistently well in their J2 exile. 24 wins, 9 draws, and 8 defeats speaks massively in a division known for its unpredictability, where J1 regulars such as JEF United Chiba, Kyoto Sanga, Tokyo Verdy, Ventforet Kofu, Omiya Ardija, Albirex Niigata and Avispa Fukuoka are known to have struggled massively. Bouncing back immediately to the J1 isn’t an easy job, yet Kashiwa had pulled this off for the third time, proving themselves as a resilient unit that is hard to keep down. While Cristiano kept his firing boots on from his J1 days, the previously underwhelming Michael Olunga, a mid-season recruitment from that disastrous 2018 season, had banged in 19 goals so far in the league this season, effectively becoming Kashiwa’s top scorer in the J2 and earning himself regular call-ups to the Kenyan national team.
However, Olunga took no part of the 3-0 demolition job that got Kashiwa promoted – instead it was Cristiano who scored a brace on that day in Machida to increase his J2 goal tally t0 16, while Segawa scored after just two minutes to open the rout. The win meant that Kashiwa have earned 81 points from 41 matches, 5 points above 2nd placed Yokohama FC. With only one more matchweek to go, this meant that Kashiwa had effectively sealed the 2019 J2 title – an icing on top of a cake that was made from a season’s worth of hard-work and has that sweet taste of victory in every bite.
While the 2019 J2 title is effectively wrapped up and with one relegation spot confirmed – FC Gifu bidding farewell to the J2 after a 1-3 home defeat at the hands of Kofu on the same day Kashiwa confirmed their title – the race is still on for that one remaining automatic promotion spot, the promotion play-off spots, and to avoid that one remaining relegation spot. The last matchweek of the 2019 J2 on Sunday, November 24th will see Machida, Kagoshima United, and Tochigi SC battling out to avoid relegation, while Yokohama FC and Omiya will fight it out for that final automatic promotion spot. Should either of them be promoted, it marks the return of an interesting rivalry to the J1 – for Yokohama FC promotion would meant resumed hostilities with Yokohama F. Marinos in the Yokohama Derby, while Omiya will be relishing the chance to face off against Urawa Red Diamonds in the Saitama Derby.
7th placed Kyoto Sanga are also eying a spot in the promotion play-offs, as should they get promoted to the J1, they would have the opportunity to host the best teams the J1 could offer at their newly built Sanga Stadium by Kyocera, which adds more incentive to their promotion push.