Game Preview: J1 Week 1 FC Tokyo vs. Albirex Niigata

March 7th 2009, 1PM Kickoff at Ajinomoto Stadium (Chofu, Tokyo)
J1 Competition Record: FCT 6 wins, 0 draws, Albirex Niigata 8 wins

Background

After two and a half months of endless waiting, the 2009 J.League season is finally upon us!  FC Tokyo will open the 2009 campaign at home against Albirex Niigata, who will likely bring its sizable contingent of supporters along for the ride.  Both teams are looking to win for totally different reasons; FC Tokyo hopes to prove its legitimacy as a title contender, while Niigata wants to forget the mediocrity of last season as quickly as possible.

The Matchup

FC Tokyo will be limping into the opening match following what could only be described as an unusually rough offseason.  The team will be without their first-string GK Shiota (still in the hospital following complications related to his emergency Appendectomy in February), and most likely without DF Sahara (right hip) and MF Ishikawa (left ankle).  I’m seeing reports that Hokuto Nakamura did something to his leg as well but I can’t find anything solid on that front.  DF Nagatomo, who injured his knee in training camp, has been practicing normally with the team and claimed he would be ready for Saturday.

To ante up the drama, FW Cabore returned to the team on Wednesday following an urgent trip to his home country of Brazil to visit his ailing father.  Cabore is said to have continued his training while in Brazil so as not to lose ground and should have shaken off the jet lag by kickoff.

As for the team’s formation, while FCT changed from the 4-3-3 formation it used in 2008 to a 4-4-2B formation in training camp, Weekly Soccer Digest is predicting, for reasons unknown to me, a 4-3-2-1 spread.  The team has opted to conduct its final practice matches under a complete media blackout so for all I know they’re trying out 2-3-5… which would be kinda fun to watch, but I digress.  WSD is hot off the presses so I’m going to assume 4-3-2-1 until I see a starting lineup announcement, in any case.

With Nagatomo’s return, he’ll likely take the left back position with Tokunaga on the right and Moniwa pairing up with new aquisition Daishi Hiramatsu as center backs.

At midfield will be Bruno, Konno, and Kajiyama.  Ahead of them will Hanyu and Akamine, with Cabore taking the charge up front.

In goal will be second-string goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Tuesday with a promise to give 100% effort to his team.  Gonda, in his third year with FC Tokyo, has yet to log playing time but is considered by some to have skills superior to Shiota’s based on what he’s demonstrated in practice.  In a way, this will be the perfect baptism by fire for the young goalkeeper; he will be exposed to all of the trappings of a major game (as season openers tend to be portrayed as): a large crowd (could reach 30,000), a large number of visiting supporters (as is the case with Albirex fans), and all the pomp and circumstance involving the new mascot and suchlike… but then the game starts and he only has to face Albirex Niigata.  Granted, it’s not like they’re playing Montedio Yamagata, but they’re not throwing him to the wolves of Kashima or Urawa.  That comes next week.

Critical to stopping Albirex’s attack will be containing forward Hideo Oshima, who transferred in the offseason from Yokohama FM.  This task will likely fall to Moniwa and he’ll have ample backup from Hiramatsu should things go pear-shaped.

On offense, FC Tokyo will need to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.  The sooner FCT can get a goal or two on the board, the faster Gonda will get some confidence and once he asserts himself on the field it’s likely a done deal.

Predictions

Albirex’s mascot may be the swan but from what I’ve seen they’re little more than a paper crane.  Though Tokyo isn’t going into the game at full-strength and Shiota’s presence will be missed, a strong supporter presence and Cabore’s influence on team morale should make up for that.  Gonda will inevitably concede a goal through a stupid rookie mistake but that won’t get in the way of a Tokyo victory, after which the team can begin preparing for its pivotal match against Urawa in Week 2.