There are three teams left in the J. League title race after Shimizu S-Pulse and FC Tokyo both dropped out of the running following the latest round of fixtures.
A Renatinho hat-trick propelled Kawasaki Frontale to a 3-2 win over relegated JEF United in a thriller watched by 18,470 fans at Todoroki Stadium. Click to continue reading...

All the colour of the Japanese Yamazaki Nabisco League Cup final will descend upon the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 3, with this year's showpiece event set to be an all-local affair.
FC Tokyo have reached their first League Cup final since 2004, with Hiroshi Jofuku's team winning through on the back of some impressive displays. Click to continue reading...

Sunday October 18
JEF United Chiba 1 Kyoto Sanga 1
Oita Trinita 2 Shimizu S-Pulse 1
Saturday October 17
Albirex Niigata 0 Urawa Reds 1
FC Tokyo 4 Kashiwa Reysol 0
Jubilo Iwata 0 Kashima Antlers 0
Montedio Yamagata 1 Vissel Kobe 0
Omiya Ardija 2 Kawasaki Frontale 3
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 Gamba Osaka 2
Yokohama F Marinos 2 Nagoya Grampus 1
Kawasaki Frontale now lead the J-League after 29 rounds of the J1 championship. Click to continue reading...

It is being reported locally that Chonburi keeper Kosin Hathairattanakul will sign for Persib Bandung after the TPL season has finished.
He is signing on a loan for half a season because in March he will join Gamba Osaka in the J League.
According to one report he is being joined in Bandung by Rangsan Viwatchaichok who currently plays with PEA and has also played for Geylang United. Click to continue reading...

Referee Masayoshi Okada took centre stage at Kashima Stadium as he called a halt to the top-of-table clash between Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale.
With Kawasaki leading 3-1, they were left furious when the match was abandoned after 73 minutes as monsoonal rains swept across the ground. Click to continue reading...

Sunday August 30
Kashiwa Reysol 0 Kyoto Sanga 0
Kawasaki Frontale 1 Shimizu S-Pulse 1
Montedio Yamagata 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2
Saturday August 29
FC Tokyo 2 Oita Trinita 0
Jubilo Iwata 1 Gamba Osaka 3
Nagoya Grampus 1 Albirex Niigata 0
Omiya Ardija 3 Kashima Antlers 1
Vissel Kobe 3 Urawa Reds 2
Yokohama F Marinos 1 JEF United Chiba 1
Kashima Antlers remain top of the J-League followed by Kawasaki Frontale, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Shimizu S-Pulse. Click to continue reading...

Adam Griffiths is hardly the biggest name in Australian football.
He wasn't the most high-profile star at his A-League club. He's not even the most recognisable player in his family.
But the twin brother to Joel and older brother of Ryan made headlines this month when he swapped A-League club Gold Coast United for Saudi side Al-Shabab after just one game. Click to continue reading...

It's now officially a crisis.
When they needed desperately to win, Urawa Reds slumped to one of the most stunning defeats in recent J. League history as the Saitama giants were torn apart by second-from-bottom Kashiwa Reysol.
The 4-1 scoreline is only half the story.
Kashiwa's masterful passing game had the Reds chasing shadows, and when Urawa did pour forward they were hit time and again by Reysol's incisive counter-attacks. Click to continue reading...

Sunday, 26 July
Albirex Niigata 1 Montedio Yamagata 1
Jubilo Iwata 1 Yokohama F Marinos 1
Kyoto Sanga 3 Kawasaki Frontale 1
Saturday, 25 July
Gamba Osaka 1 Oita Trinita 0
FC Tokyo 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0
JEF United Chiba 1 Shimizu S-Pulse 2
Kashima Antlers 1 Kashiwa Reysol 1
Urawa Reds 0 Nagoya Grampus 3
Vissel Kobe 1 Omiya Ardija 2
Kashima Antlers top the J-League by 10 points from Albirex Niigata and Urawa Reds. Click to continue reading...

If there's one team that can stop the Kashima Antlers juggernaut from steam-rolling to a third successive J. League title, it's Kawasaki Frontale.
The Kanagawa side geared up for an epic showdown with Kashima on Sunday by beating Gamba Osaka 1-0 at Todoroki Stadium in a rescheduled Round 10 fixture overnight. Click to continue reading...

Kyoto Sanga V. Sanfrecce Hiroshima (2-0)
37' Someya
67' Mizumoto
Kyoto pulled out a good win. Rookie Someya dribbled past a couple of players and took a shot that deflected off a Hiroshima defender. Mizumoto put in a nice header off a freekick.
Jubilo Iwata V. Kashiwa Reysol (2-3)
20' Naruoka
29' Suganuma
58' Nishi
63' Suganuma
89' Lee
Kashiwa Reysol finally got an away win. Click to continue reading...

We've seen this so often. Goalkeeper does the "smart" thing by aiming to prevent conceding a corner kick and in the process wind up conceding something so much worse. In this case, Yokohama Marinos keeper Hiroki Iikura is especially generous, ushering in Gamba Osaka's goal with a free ball and the appropriate arm motion. Click to continue reading...

This was an exciting week of matches with a few key upsets.
Kawasaki Frontale V. Oita Trinita (2-0)
26' Renatinho
61' Renatinho
Oita's terrible run continues with 11 loses in a row in league. Renatinho scored a brace for Kawasaki. One from a nice run combined with a good through pass from Yabu and the second was a header from a Yokoyama cross. Click to continue reading...

Hello, I am a new poster on here and I will be discussing the J-League and Japanese football.
Here is this week's match of the day.
Gamba Osaka v. Albirex Niigata
Background: Finally after two weeks of no games the J-League can finally resume. Gamba should be a little rusty after not playing for 2 whole weeks while Niigata's recent 1-2 defeat against bottom-dwellers Oita Trinita in the Nabisco Cup should help keep them in match fitness. Click to continue reading...

Looking more like a ward of hospital patients than a squad of professional footballers, Japan arrived in Melbourne with seemingly one goal in mind. Forget the three qualifying points on offer from their World Cup qualifier against the Socceroos, Takeshi Okada's men appeared more determined to avoid contracting swine flu as they disembarked in the sporting capital of Australia. Click to continue reading...

Japan will send an understrength squad to Melbourne to face Australia on June 17, with Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura not making the trip as he nurses a groin injury.
Nakamura is joined on the sidelines by influential Gamba Osaka playmaker Yasuhito Endo, while VfL Wolfsburg representatives Makoto Hasebe and Yoshito Okubo have also pulled out, as has in-form VVV Venlo midfielder Keisuke Honda. Click to continue reading...

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has announced a 26-man squad for the three upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers. As the top two countries gain automatic qualification to the finals, Japan must secure victory in one of their remaining fixtures – away to Uzbekistan on 6 June, at home to Qatar on 10 June and away to group leaders Australia on 17 June – to certify their seats to South Africa. Click to continue reading...

Like it's much-maligned English cousin, the League Cup in Japan is facing an image crisis. That's nothing new for J. League officials, who for years have struggled with the competing interests of Japan's biggest clubs.
A revamped Asian Champions League has brought the League Cup issue to a head. Click to continue reading...

We all know how many more trophies than Liverpool we won this season but how many more games have we had to stretch ourselves over to win the league early?

FA Community Shield Man Utd 0-0 Portsmouth 10-08-2008
English Premier Man Utd 1-1 Newcastle 17-08-2008
English Premier Portsmouth 0-1 Man Utd 25-08-2008
European Super Cup Man Utd 1-2 Zenit 29-08-2008
English Premier Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd 13-09-2008
European Cup Man Utd 0-0 Villarreal 17-09-2008
English Premier Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd 21-09-2008
English League Cup Man Utd 3-1 Middlesbro 23-09-2008
English Premier Man Utd 2-0 Bolton 27-09-2008
European Cup Aalborg 0-3 Man Utd 30-09-2008
English Premier Blackburn 0-2 Man Utd 04-10-2008
English Premier Man Utd 4-0 West Brom 18-10-2008
European Cup Man Utd 3-0 Celtic 21-10-2008
English Premier Everton 1-1 Man Utd 25-10-2008
English Premier Man Utd 2-0 West Ham 29-10-2008
English Premier Man Utd 4-3 Hull 01-11-2008
European Cup Celtic 1-1 Man Utd 05-11-2008
English Premier Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd 08-11-2008
English League Cup Man Utd 1-0 QPR 11-11-2008
English Premier Man Utd 5-0 Stoke 15-11-2008
English Premier Aston Villa 0-0 Man Utd 22-11-2008
European Cup Villarreal 0-0 Man Utd 25-11-2008
English Premier Man City 0-1 Man Utd 30-11-2008
English League Cup Man Utd 5-3 Blackburn 03-12-2008
English Premier Man Utd 1-0 Sunderland 06-12-2008
European Cup Man Utd 2-2 Aalborg 10-12-2008
English Premier Tottenham 0-0 Man Utd 13-12-2008
FIFA Club World Championship Gamba Osaka 3-5 Man Utd 18-12-2008
FIFA Club World Championship Man Utd 1-0 LDU Quito 21-12-2008
English Premier Stoke 0-1 Man Utd 26-12-2008
English Premier Man Utd 1-0 Middlesbro 29-12-2008
English FA Cup Southampton 0-3 Man Utd 04-01-2009
English League Cup Derby 1-0 Man Utd 07-01-2009
English Premier Man Utd 3-0 Chelsea 11-01-2009
English Premier Man Utd 1-0 Wigan 14-01-2009
English Premier Bolton 0-1 Man Utd 17-01-2009
English League Cup Man Utd 4-2 Derby 20-01-2009
English FA Cup Man Utd 2-1 Tottenham 24-01-2009
English Premier West Brom 0-5 Man Utd 27-01-2009
English Premier Man Utd 1-0 Everton 31-01-2009
English Premier West Ham 0-1 Man Utd 08-02-2009
English FA Cup Derby 1-4 Man Utd 15-02-2009
English Premier Man Utd 3-0 Fulham 18-02-2009
English Premier Man Utd 2-1 Blackburn 21-02-2009
European Cup Inter 0-0 Man Utd 24-02-2009
English League Cup Man Utd 0-0 Tottenham 01-03-2009
English Premier Newcastle 1-2 Man Utd 04-03-2009
English FA Cup Fulham 0-4 Man Utd 07-03-2009
European Cup Man Utd 2-0 Inter 11-03-2009
English Premier Man Utd 1-4 Liverpool 14-03-2009
English Premier Fulham 2-0 Man Utd 21-03-2009
English Premier Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa 05-04-2009
European Cup Man Utd 2-2 Porto 07-04-2009
English Premier Sunderland 1-2 Man Utd 11-04-2009
European Cup Porto 0-1 Man Utd 15-04-2009
English FA Cup Man Utd 0-0 Everton 19-04-2009
English Premier Man Utd 2-0 Portsmouth 22-04-2009
English Premier Man Utd 5-2 Tottenham 25-04-2009
European Cup Man Utd 1-0 Arsenal 29-04-2009
English Premier Middlesbro 0-2 Man Utd 02-05-2009
European Cup Arsenal 1-3 Man Utd 05-05-2009
English Premier Man Utd 2-0 Man City 10-05-2009
English Premier Wigan 1-2 Man Utd 13-05-2009
English Premier Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal 16-05-2009
English Premier Hull vs Man Utd 24-05-2009
European Cup Barcelona vs Man Utd 27-05-2009

European Cup Standard Liege 0-0 Liverpool 13-08-2008
English Premier Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool 16-08-2008
English Premier Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbro 23-08-2008
European Cup Liverpool 1-0 Standard Liege 27-08-2008
English Premier Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool 31-08-2008
English Premier Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd 13-09-2008
European Cup Marseille 1-2 Liverpool 16-09-2008
English Premier Liverpool 0-0 Stoke 20-09-2008
English League Cup Liverpool 2-1 Crewe 23-09-2008
English Premier Everton 0-2 Liverpool 27-09-2008
European Cup Liverpool 3-1 PSV Eindhoven 01-10-2008
English Premier Man City 2-3 Liverpool 05-10-2008
English Premier Liverpool 3-2 Wigan 18-10-2008
European Cup Atl Madrid 1-1 Liverpool 22-10-2008
English Premier Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool 26-10-2008
English Premier Liverpool 1-0 Portsmouth 29-10-2008
English Premier Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool 01-11-2008
European Cup Liverpool 1-1 Atl Madrid 04-11-2008
English Premier Liverpool 3-0 West Brom 08-11-2008
English League Cup Tottenham 4-2 Liverpool 12-11-2008
English Premier Bolton 0-2 Liverpool 15-11-2008
English Premier Liverpool 0-0 Fulham 22-11-2008
European Cup Liverpool 1-0 Marseille 26-11-2008
English Premier Liverpool 0-0 West Ham 01-12-2008
English Premier Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool 06-12-2008
European Cup PSV Eindhoven 1-3 Liverpool 09-12-2008
English Premier Liverpool 2-2 Hull 13-12-2008
English Premier Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool 21-12-2008
English Premier Liverpool 3-0 Bolton 26-12-2008
English Premier Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool 28-12-2008
English FA Cup Preston 0-2 Liverpool 03-01-2009
English Premier Stoke 0-0 Liverpool 10-01-2009
English Premier Liverpool 1-1 Everton 19-01-2009
English FA Cup Liverpool 1-1 Everton 25-01-2009
English Premier Wigan 1-1 Liverpool 28-01-2009
English Premier Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea 01-02-2009
English FA Cup Everton 1-0 Liverpool 04-02-2009
English Premier Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool 07-02-2009
English Premier Liverpool 1-1 Man City 22-02-2009
European Cup Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool 25-02-2009
English Premier Middlesbro 2-0 Liverpool 28-02-2009
English Premier Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland 03-03-2009
European Cup Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid 10-03-2009
English Premier Man Utd 1-4 Liverpool 14-03-2009
English Premier Liverpool 5-0 Aston Villa 22-03-2009
English Premier Fulham 0-1 Liverpool 04-04-2009
European Cup Liverpool 1-3 Chelsea 08-04-2009
English Premier Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn 11-04-2009
European Cup Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool 14-04-2009
English Premier Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal 21-04-2009
English Premier Hull 1-3 Liverpool 25-04-2009
English Premier Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle 03-05-2009
English Premier West Ham 0-3 Liverpool 09-05-2009
English Premier West Brom 0-2 Liverpool 17-05-2009
English Premier Liverpool vs Tottenham 24-05-2009

We had played 64 games in all competitions by the time the title was won, collecting the Community Shield, the FIFA World Club Cup and the League Cup along the way, as well as booking our place in the European Cup final.

Click to continue reading...

#usl #libertadores #soccer #concacaf
USL teams battled to the bitter end all the way through the CONCACAF Champions League. Last month, Montreal held a late lead in Mexico against Santos Laguna before giving up two in stoppage time. Last night, the Puerto Rico Islanders also were barely beaten. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United - Champions League Winners
Originally uploaded by JulianTL El Manchester United que juega actualmente la Champions es el campeón defensor y eso les ha valido llegar al puesto numero 1 de los clubes en el mundo según la IFFHS.
Pero curiosamente el equipo que mejor juega y ofrece espectáculo es el Barcelona quien se ocupa en la posición numero 2, y el mejor equipo mexicano incluido en esta lista son las Chivas rayadas del Guadalajara en la posición numero 58. Click to continue reading...

Gamba Osaka (ガンバ大阪) is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1 and AFC Champions League. Located in Suita, Osaka, the team's home stadium is Osaka Expo '70 Stadium. Gamba are one of only six teams to have competed in Japan's top flight of football every year since its inception [. Click to continue reading...

South Korea's two best teams had nights to remember in the opening round of Asian Champions League and face very different tests on matchday two this week. FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung Bluewings have also had mixed fortunes in the fledgling K-League season so far.br /br /Seoul's early season form got the headline writers in Korea far too excited. Click to continue reading...

The Fuji Xerox Super Cup between reigning J. League champions Kashima Antlers and Emperor's Cup holders Gamba Osaka kicks off the seventeenth season of professional football in Japan on Saturday.
The two heavyweights of the Japanese game will meet at the National Stadium in Tokyo, and Kashima will be looking to erase the memories of last year's controversial defeat when referee Masaaki Iemoto took centre stage - sending off three players, awarding a dubious penalty and ordering two spot-kicks retaken during a penalty shoot-out that ended in a pitch invasion. Click to continue reading...

Semi-final results from Japan's Emperor Cup from yesterday...
FC Tokyo 1 - 2 Kashiwa Reysol
Yokohama F Marinos 0 - 1 (extra time) Gamba Osaka
Gamba continues to find success in almost any tournament the club enters.
Soccer Pie offers up a look at the Coca Cola Championship best 11 so far. Click to continue reading...

The long Japanese season comes to an end on New Year's Day, with an exhausted Gamba Osaka set to take on Kashiwa Reysol in the Emperor's Cup final.
Gamba booked their place with an extra-time semi-final win over Yokohama F. Marinos at the National Stadium in Tokyo, with young striker Masato Yamazaki continuing his recent goal-scoring exploits as he found the net after a marathon 116 minutes. Click to continue reading...

There was not quite a full slate of English Premier League fixtures this past weekend as Fergie and the lads headed to the Land of the Rising Sun to participate in a wintertime festival known as the FIFA World Club Cup. Depending on your viewpoint this could be considered the football definition of a complete and utter waste of time. Click to continue reading...

The FIFA Club World Cup, better known as the expanded Intercontinental Cup, concluded with Manchester United lifting the trophy after defeating Liga de Quito 1-0. Wayne Rooney settled the final with a well-taken strike in the 73rd minute. I had an early morning flight so I wasn't able to watch the match, but from reading the press reports it appeared that Man U were the better side despite the expulsion of Vidic. Click to continue reading...

Video ansehen

Manchester United hat heute im Nissan-Stadion von Yokohama die FIFA-Klub-Weltmeisterschaft 2008 mit 1:0 gegen den Außenseiter Liga de Quito gewonnen.

Die Mannschaft aus Ecuador, insbesondere Torwart José Francisco Cevallos hielt lange gut dagegen und vereitelte viele hochkarätige Chancen der Millionärstruppe aus der Premier League.

Click to continue reading...

YOKOHAMA—Gamba Osaka finished third at the Club World Cup with a 1-0 win over Mexico's Pachuca at Yokohama International Stadium on Sunday.
Afterward, the typically cheerless Akira Nishino gave his thoughts on the match, the tournament and about being "killed" by Manchester United.
Q: Can we have some comments on your impression of the match? Click to continue reading...

Manchester United advanced to the final of the FIFA Club World Cup by virtue of their 5-3 victory over Asian champions Gamba Osaka. It was 2-0 to United at halftime, but six goals were scored in the final 15 minutes -- and four in five minutes! United were always going to win, but Gamba kept on battling, and the crowd definitely got their money's worth. Click to continue reading...

El Manchester United resolvió su semifinal contra el Gamba Osaka japonés al imponerse por 5-3 en el Estadio Internacional de Yokohama. Ahora les esperan los ecuatorianos de la Liga Universitaria de Quito, que en el día de ayer vencieron a los mexicanos del Pachuca por 2-0 y obtuvieron la primera plaza en la codiciada final. Click to continue reading...

Fortunately it didn't end up with cleat impressions on someone's chest, but at the 5:50 mark hot head Wayne's temper flared yet again, getting a little too excited as he first kicked out and then fired a ball off the Gamba Osaka player when simply moving the ball would do. Yellow card for Wayne, and [. Click to continue reading...

Fortunately it didn't end up with cleat impressions on someone's chest, but at the 5:50 mark hot head Wayne's temper flared yet again, getting a little too excited as he first kicked out and then fired a ball off the Gamba Osaka player when simply moving the ball would do. Yellow card for Wayne, and [. Click to continue reading...

So, I set my alarm, woke up, found a stream of the match between United and Gamba Osaka, and then promptly went back to sleep. This sequence of events turned out to be a shame, as I missed a (seemingly) rare opportunity for United to display their firepower. Five goals (three in minutes 75-79) put Manchester through to the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup where they will meet Copa Lib Champions LDU Quito of Ecuador.

Click to continue reading...