Monthly Archive for February, 2009

BREAKING: Hitoshi Shiota now gone until mid-March

Published on February 28, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News and F.C. Tokyo Player News by Lantis. 0 Comments

It’s been a bad month for FCT’s starting GK Hitoshi Shiota. After a poor showing during the Guam training camp, he returned to Japan suffering heatstroke, then underwent an emergency appendectomy. And now a postoperative intestinal blockage has him out until at least the middle of March, meaning the first several matches of the season, assuming he’s in playing shape when he leaves the hospital.

It’s now up to one of the other three keepers on the roster (Shuichi Gonda, Nobuyuki Abe, or Ryotaro Hironaga) to man the sticks and keep FCT’s hopes alive. All three are products of FCT’s U-18 team, but Gonda has been getting the nod in most of the preseason friendlies, so expect to see him open the season wearing the gloves. If he struggles, though, he could find himself riding pine in favor of the other preseason choice, Abe. Hironaga hasn’t seen much field time in the preseason, so he’ll probably be the desperation choice of last resort only if the two ahead of him crash and burn.

CORRECTION: Due to my (Lantis) poor kanji reading, this was originally posted as having Shiota being out for three months, rather than until mid-March. I apologize for the mistake.

Tags: , , , , .

Injury report: Naohiro Ishikawa out two weeks

Published on February 26, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News and F.C. Tokyo Player News by Lantis. 0 Comments

FCT announced today that due to inflammation in his left knee, MF Naohiro Ishikawa (石川直宏) will be out for the next two weeks, meaning he’s likely to miss the J-League season opener.

Tags: , .

FCT Season Predictions

Published on February 21, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo Reports by dokool. 0 Comments

First off, I’ve written my 2009 prediction for FCT, which has been posted at JapaneseSoccer.net.  I won’t re-post it here yet (because then you’d have no reason to go there), but to sum things up:

  • FCT has made fine tune-ups instead of huge changes.  This is good.
  • FCT now has a mascot, which means it will get more money, which means it can afford to run a better team.
  • If Nakamura and Hirayama, former youth NT teammates, can work together as well as Cabore and Akamine, our offensive capabilities will be unparalleled.
  • Defense largely rests on a healthy Bruno, Hiramatsu’s leadership, and a fast resolution to the GK issue (namely how quickly Shiota can return in form and/or whether or not Kenta can pick up the slack).
  • I predict a top 3 finish and an ACL Berth.

Anyway, to read all of that in paragraph form and to see preseason predictions for other J-League teams, you should head over to JapaneseSoccer.Net.

In another English-language prediction, Rising Sun chief Matsu has forecasted that FCT will remain in the 5th-7th place range in his yearly J1 forecast.  While I’m certainly being optimistic in my predictions, I believe he’s being pessimistic in his, so I’m willing to take his view as a good omen.

Finally, my season ticket bundle arrives today!   2 weeks till opening day at Ajinomoto Stadium!

Tags: .

Player News: Cabore Returning to Brazil for Family Reasons

Published on February 19, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News and F.C. Tokyo Player News by Lantis. 0 Comments

FCT announced today that last year’s second-leading scorer, FW Cabore (full name Everaldo de Jesus Pereira) would be returning temporarily to Brazil, due to a sudden illness in the family. No date has been set for his return, though we at Aishiteru Tokyo wish his family member a speedy recovery and Cabore a swift return.

Tags: , .

Injury Report: Gonda and Akamine in collision during camp

Published on February 15, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News by Lantis. 6 Comments

During training camp yesterday, now-first-string GK Shuichi Gonda and last year’s leading scorer, FW Shingo Akamine got into a nasty collision, resulting in minor injuries to both. Both are working on rehabilitating the injuries, and both plan to participate fully in today’s session.

Tags: , , .

BREAKING: Hitoshi Shiota Recieves Surgery, Out 3-4 Weeks

Published on February 9, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News and F.C. Tokyo Player News by dokool. 0 Comments

Following a diagnosis of appendicitis, FC Tokyo goalkeeper Hitoshi Shiota recieved an emergency appendectomy today.  He will need 3-4 weeks to recover from the surgery, which means that backup goalkeepers Shuichi Gonda (a representive of Japan’s U-15, U-16, U-17, and U-18 national teams) and Nobuyuki Abe will have a chance to show off their skills between the posts during FCT’s training camp in Miyazaki Prefecture and, depending on Shiota’s condition, against Albirex Niigata in the opening day match on March 7th.

Tags: , , , .

FC Tokyo 2009 J1 & Nabisco Cup Schedule Announced

Published on February 6, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News, J.League Nabisco Cup 2009 and J.League News by dokool. 0 Comments

And here we go…
2009 J.League Division 1 (Home matches in bold)

3/7 HOME vs. Albirex Niigata
3/13 AWAY @ Urawa Reds
3/21 HOME vs. Montedio Yamagata
4/4 AWAY @ Jubilo Iwata
4/12 HOME vs. Kashima Antlers
4/18 HOME vs. JEF Chiba (Kokuritsu)
4/25 AWAY @ Oita Trinita
4/29 AWAY @ Gamba Osaka
5/2 HOME vs. Omiya Ardija
5/5 AWAY @ Sanfrecce Hiroshima
5/9 HOME vs. Kyoto Sanga
5/16 AWAY @ Yokohama F. Marinos
5/24 HOME vs. Kawasaki Frontale
6/20 AWAY @ Kashiwa Reysol
6/27 HOME vs. Shimizu S-Pulse (Kokuritsu)
7/4 AWAY @ Vissel Kobe
7/21 HOME vs. Nagoya Grampus
7/18 AWAY @ Omiya Ardija
7/25 HOME vs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima
8/1 AWAY @ Kawasaki Frontale
8/16 HOME vs. Yokohama F. Marinos
8/19 AWAY @ Montedio Yamagata
8/22 AWAY @ Kashima Antlers
8/29 HOME vs. Oita Trinita
9/12 AWAY @ Kyoto Sanga
9/19 HOME vs. Gamba Osaka
9/26 HOME vs. Jubilo Iwata
10/4 AWAY @ Nagoya Grampus
10/17 HOME vs. Kashiwa Reysol
10/25 AWAY @ Shimizu S-Pulse
11/8 HOME vs. Urawa Reds
11/22 AWAY @ JEF Chiba
11/28 HOME vs. Vissel Kobe
12/5 AWAY @ Albirex Niigata

My thoughts:

-Our matches with the AFC teams are finished by early October, so we don’t get the benefit of catching any of them in November when any teams that have made the finals will be worn out from travelling.

-Bitch of a Golden Week Sprint.  In 2 weeks the team will travel from Osaka -> Tokyo -> Hiroshima -> Tokyo.  Through a stroke of luck I might be in Osaka the day before that match and if I can I’ll just stay an extra night and catch the game there.

-FCT’s away match at Urawa is actually the Reds’ home opener, which I’m kinda stoked about if I can get a ticket.  Gotta figure any tifos they do will be damned impressive.

-I count several Spring matches where I’m either going from a game to a concert, or going to a game after an all-night DJ event, and possibly in one case both.  If I attend Anime Boston as I do yearly, no Kawasaki home game for me.

-In terms of tough stretches, I would say May is pretty rough with Kyoto -> Yokohama -> Kawasaki.  Shimizu -> Kobe -> Grampus in late June/early July could also be troubling.  That said I don’t see any ridiculous stretches like we had last year with Osaka -> Kashima -> Urawa or anything like that.

-Stunningly, FC Tokyo has not ended the J.League season at home since joining the league.  They have played the last game of the season in Tokyo once, as the away team in the 2001 Tokyo Derby (a 1-0 defeat).  This “tradition” will continue with an away match in Niigata.

And for completeness here’s our Nabisco Cup draw.

2009 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (Home matches in bold)

3/25 AWAY @ Kashiwa Reysol
3/29 HOME vs. Vissel Kobe
5/20 AWAY @ JEF Chiba
5/30 AWAY @ Kyoto Sanga
6/3 HOME vs. Montedio Yamagata (Kokuritsu)
6/13 HOME vs. Shimizu S-Pulse (Komazawa)

Tags: .

Injury Report: Hitoshi Shiota hospitalized

Published on February 6, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo News and F.C. Tokyo Player News by Lantis. 0 Comments

Following his early return to Japan from Guam camp for medical reasons, starting GK Hitoshi Shiota has been hospitalized. No further details of his condition have been released beyond the heatstroke and resulting glandular swelling announced on Jan. 31, and no date has been established yet for his departure from the hospital.

Tags: , .

News from Guam Camp and the NT

Published on February 1, 2009 in F.C. Tokyo Player News, J.League News and Japan National Team News by Lantis. 0 Comments

First the bad news: because of poor performance in the Guam training camp, starting GK Hitoshi Shiota returned on Friday to Japan for a medical examination, which was conducted in Saitama on Saturday. The examination diagnosed heatstroke and glandular swelling, and a second examination has been scheduled for a few days from now.

Now the good news. Two FC Tokyo players have been named to the team for the 2/4 Kirin Challenge Cup match against Finland and the World Cup qualifier against Australia on 2/11. DF Yuto Nagamoto and MF Yasuyuki Konno will be wearing NT blue on both dates.

Tags: , , , , .