Vissel Kobe have won the 2023 J.League 1 title after their 2-1 win over Nagoya Grampus on Saturday ensured that the men in crimson has an unassailable four point lead over Yokohama F. Marinos with only one more matchweek to go in the season.
Interestingly, Vissel claimed their first ever J1 title in a season that saw both Andres Iniesta and Sergi Samper left the club midway through the campaign – signaling the end of Vissel’s star-studded era that saw the likes of Lukas Podolski, Bojan Krkic, Thomas Vermaelen, and David Villa turning out for the Ushi.
Former Chelsea and Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata is still at Vissel, however he played a periphery figure in the grander scheme of things this season, with most of Vissel’s successes this season being built upon a crop of established local players with plenty of experience in both the domestic and foreign fronts – the likes of top scorer Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Gotoku Sakai, Reo Osaki, Daiju Sasaki, and Ryo Hatsuse, to name a few.
And while the era of big-name imports yielded both the 2019 Emperor’s Cup and the 2020 Japanese Super Cup titles as well as a bronze medal finish in the 2021 J1 season and a spot in the 2020 AFC Champions League semifinal, it also saw Vissel performing inconsistently in the league. The aforementioned 3rd placed finish was then followed up by a dismal campaign that saw Vissel being rock-bottom of the league at one point of the season, with 13 defeats from 24 games. Thankfully the ship was steadied and Vissel finished 13th – but a change of direction was dearly needed after several inconsistent performances from the club’s star-studded squad.
For the 2023 campaign, Vissel turned their focus away from their big-name imports and instead built their squad around their three local lynchpins – captain Yamaguchi and strike-force duo Osako and Muto, three players with considerable European experience underneath their belts. Combined with a club culture and mentality that was improved by the presence of Iniesta and co during Vissel’s star-studded era, and you’ve got a team that’s slowly but surely finding their consistency, with the Ushi winning 10 of their first 15 league matches.
And surely enough, it was one member of the aforementioned trio – Osako – who played an instrumental role at the Misaki Park Stadium on Saturday as they sealed their long-awaited J1 title with an intense yet routine win over Nagoya – using a starting lineup that has little-known yet hard-working Brazilian defender Matheus Thuler as their only foreigner, an outlier in a league that heavily depends on foreign signings.
In the 12th minute, Haruya Ide scored to give Vissel the lead after a skillful play by Osako, who controlled a loose ball with his thigh and delivered a precise through ball into the box. Ide maintained his composure, using his first touch to side-foot the ball into the net off the right-hand post with Nagoya’s Australian goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak being well-beaten.
Two minutes later, Osako orchestrated another goal as Sasaki released the ball to his left. Osako sent in a cross from inside the box, finding Yoshinori Muto unmarked, who executed a first-time volley past Langerak to double the home team’s advantage.
Despite Sasaki’s attempt in the 29th minute after robbing the ball off the Nagoya backline, he steered his shot wide. The visitors managed to pull one back at the half-hour mark when Vissel goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa’s long ball was headed back into the Vissel half by Nagoya center-back Haruya Fujii. The high bounce favored Kasper Junker, who poked home the ball to half the deficit for the visitors.
In the 42nd minute, Danish forward Junker nearly volleyed an equalizer after a cross from right wing-back Ryoya Morishita, but defender Tetsushi Yamakawa cleared the ball off the line. Nagoya center-back Shinnosuke Nakatani then narrowly headed wide, creating a tense end to the first half for the home side.
The second half saw Vissel’s first real chance in the 62nd minute following a defensive mix-up, but Muto’s header was blocked. Osako and substitute Jean Patric both had opportunities but failed to find the net. In the 74th minute, Nagoya’s substitute winger Naoki Maeda struck the bar with his weaker right foot, coming closest to equalizing, but Kobe players and supporters celebrated as the final whistle blew.
With Japan already conquered, it’s curious to see how Vissel would fare in Asian competitions with such a consistent and ambitious squad. The money injected into the Saudi Arabian league made things much more difficult for teams from the East Asian front, but Vissel almost went all the way in 2020 with their star-studded squad. But now with a refreshed lineup and focused mindset, the sky’s the limit for the Ushi.
If their tight title race with Yokohama this season could provide much excitement, who knows what entails in the continental stage for Yamaguchi and co?