Vissel Kobe have secured themselves a domestic double following their successful defense of their J.League 1 title, claiming the 2024 trophy after beating Shonan Bellmare 3-0 in the final day of the season at the Misaki Park Stadium on Sunday.
Having won the 2024 Emperor’s Cup on November, Vissel’s successful title defense were also banked on the results of Kansai rivals Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers, with the two sides prevailing 3-1 over title rivals Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Machida Zelvia respectively.
But with the advantage of being league leaders coming into the final day, Vissel knew that their entire fate was in their hands, and they duly delivered on their title ambitions with a textbook routine win over a Shonan side siting in the lower half of the J1 table.
Veteran strike partners Yoshinori Muto and Yuya Osako, complimented by the rising talent that is Taisei Miyashiro, once again proved to be Vissel’s key men going forward, effortlessly slicing through the Shonan defense like butter.
A scuffled clearance from Shonan goalkeeper Naoto Kamifukumoto in the 26th minute led to Vissel’s first goal, with the clearance itself stemming from an effort by former Newcastle United man Muto. Miyashiro, who was once part of Kawasaki Frontale’s all-conquering team between 2020 to 2023, seized upon the loose ball and slams it straight into the empty goal.
Muto then finally got himself a slice of the cake in the 45th minute, latching onto a Daiju Sasaki ball before blasting a shot that went beyond Naoto’s reaches.
And while he did not partake in the scoring, Osako did his part in the match by assisting Takahiro Ogiwara’s 70th minute drive that sealed both the three points and the J1 title for Vissel.
With a well-oiled attack and a sturdy defense, both of whom balancing each other out, Vissel’s strongest quality lies in their mental fortitude when the push comes to shove, a quality that was brought on by their league win last year that has solidified their maturity – a stark contrast from the immature days where they would throw money to bring in aging stars from the European leagues only a few years ago.
While both Machida and Sanfrecce had spells of excellent form, they would eventually ran out of steam at the business end of the season and falter out, thus allowing a consistent Vissel side to steadily overtake them in the final stretch.
This consistency and mental maturity helped Vissel through their four matches against their title rivals, drawing twice and winning twice to ensure that they would gain the upper-hand over both Sanfrecce and Machida.
In a way, the triumph also came as a redemption of some sorts for Muto. Much derided due to his disastrous, injury-ridden spell in Newcastle, Muto slowly rediscovered his touch once joining Vissel in 2021. From scoring five in 14 in his first half-season, to six in 26 in Vissel’s first league-winning campaign, Muto has blossomed into the formidable attacker that he once as this season, firing home 13 goals from 37 matches as well as assisting 7 times – his most prolific season of date.
And many of Muto’s goals came at crucial points for Vissel, with the Ushi earning a whopping 16 points through his goals alone.
An obvious shoe-in for this season’s J1 MVP, should Muto retain his form and further refine his partnership with Osako and Miyashiro, as well as Vissel remaining consistent in future seasons, we might be seeing the rise of a new dynasty in Japanese football.