J League Returns After Month Break

By: Ian Rose | June 24th, 2008

After over a month of no laser lightshows, and no killer whale mascots, the J League returns to action tomorrow. With the European Championship winding down, the attention in Japan will be returning to domestic football, and since we’ve been a bit distracted ourselves, let’s take a look at how things stand in J League One.

Kashima Antlers – Lately, it’s been more like “Can’t-lers”, as in can’t win for anything. The defending league champions have gone seven matches without a win, their last coming on April 4th over last-place JEF United Chiba. We’ll find out whether the month break did the Antlers any good when they face Oita Trinita on Wednesday.

Urawa Reds – Diamonds are the league’s best friends, as the Urawa Red Diamonds look to pick up right where they left off as the most exciting team to watch in Japan. With 24 goals in 13 matches, they have the best offense in the league, led by Brazilian striker Edmilson (though probably not the Edmilson you know). In addition to fighting for a repeat of their 2006 J League title, the Reds return to action in the AFC Champions League this fall, as they take the next step toward a repeat title there, facing Al Qadisia Kuwait in the quarterfinals.

Nagoya Grampus – Our favorite dancing orca remains a force to be reckoned with this season, tied on points with league leaders Urawa. They went into the break on great form, with a 3-1 win over Sapporo, but they will be tested this weekend by a Kashima side looking to get back to winning ways. If Grampus wins that one, even with Kashima playing poorly of late, it will be a huge confidence booster.

FC Tokyo – The J League side that dares to not have a mascot is holding their own in the title race as well. Their name might be boring, but their games have been anything but, winning (and toward the break, losing) by a late goal in seemingly every game. They stand only three points behind Urawa and Grampus, and have a relatively easy run of games ahead, so they might just get their chance on top while their competitors beat each other up.