Japanese in Europe: Kagawa & Uchida play well in otherwise quiet weekend

With Eredivisie off for the weekend and many players in other countries resigned to watching from the bench, few Japanese were given a chance to shine in European play



In a rather quiet Easter weekend for the Japanese contingent across Europe‚ Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa's play wasn't spectacular but he still contributed to the away 3-1 win against Wolfsburg as it was his defence-splitting pass which was instrumental for his side's opener in the 22nd minute.

The 23-year-old saw a sitter go just wide in the 73rd minute and was substituted with 10 minutes to go. The champions go into the midweek clash against Bayern still keeping their three points advantage.After a poor game the week before and watching the end of his team's Europa League campaign from the bench in the midweek encounter with Spain's Athletic Bilbao‚ Schalke'sAtsuto Uchida found himself in the starting formation in the convincing 3-0 home win against Hannover on Sunday.The right-back put on a lively game‚ defending solidly and running forward on numerous occasions‚ even drawing fouls in dangerous positions. All three goals by the Knappen were created on the right side‚ and Uchida played a crucial role in the making of the third. Schalke boss Huub Stevens replaced him with fit-again German international Benedikt Howedes in the 83rd minute‚ but the Japanese earned the plaudits and leaves the Dutch manager with a difficult decision in regards to the starting formation for the match away to Nurnberg on Wednesday.

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Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa looks forward to crucial Wednesday fixture against surging Bayern Munich

The Japanese star will have a big role to play this week as Bundesliga leaders Dortmund face their two closest title contenders in a grueling four-day span

After a mixed effort in Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 win at Wolfsburg on Saturday, Shinji Kagawa was already looking ahead to two crucial fixtures in the upcoming week that could make or break his team's hopes of earning a second straight title. Dortmund host second-placed Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in a highly-awaited match-up, before travelling to third-placed rivals Schalke for a Saturday afternoon fixture with as much significance to the table.


"If we can beat Bayern and Schalke it would be huge for us," Kagawa said after the match. "The next match (against Bayern) will have a huge influence on the championship race so I want us to enjoy that pressure. "A good result would be fantastic. I'm looking forward to it."

The Samurai Blue midfielder also admitted seeing shades of last week's 4-4 shoot-out against Stuttgart after Mario Mandzukic pulled Wolfsburg to within one goal on Saturday.

"Last week our 2-0 lead turned into a draw," Kagawa reflected. "We were somewhat concerned. "Wolfsburg focused on the long ball so something could have happened at any time, and they had the advantage of playing at home. It's good for us that we didn't give up another goal."

The 23-year-old was ready to critique his own performance as well, after failing to extend his league scoring streak to four.

"I didn't quite have good timing with my team-mates," Kagawa said. "[Wolfsburg's] back line was defending high and compact, so our usual sense of distance got compressed and it became somewhat difficult to manage. "But if I could have gotten the ball in better circumstances I think I could have done better."

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Coyle looking to protect Miyaichi from fatigue at Bolton

The Japanese midfielder has made a big impression since making his loan move from Arsenal but the Trotters manager is keen to ensure that his long-term prospects are not damaged

Bolton manager Owen Coyle has expressed his determination to protect on-loan Arsenal youngster Ryo Miyaichi from injuries. The 19-year-old Japanese has impressed since his move to Reebok Stadium in January, scoring one goal and grabbing two assists in eight appearances, but the Trotters manager believes that he saw signs of fatigue at the end of last Saturday's 3-2 win over fellow relegation-battlers Wolves.


"For Ryo's part, there has been an awful lot asked of the kid, with the amount of games he's had," Coyle told reporters. "I thought he was feeling it a little bit in his legs at the end of the [Wolves] game. We will need to get him rested up as best as we can to make sure he's ready to play a part this weekend."

The Scot also insisted that he will look to protect all of his young players in order to give them a chance to continue their growth as footballers. He added: "I look at Ryo and young Mark Davies, and when they come bursting into the game, as a football lover that's exactly what I want to see. I'd pay money to go and see that type of player.

"They glide by tackles and get themselves into the box, try to get a shot away, draw challenges. It's exciting to see. "What is important is that my younger players are getting better."

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Ryo Miyaichi will be a regular at Arsenal next season, says

Theo Walcott Theo Walcott says full-backs around the Premier League won't want to play against the Japanese teenager next season when he returns to the Gunners



Arsenal's Japanese winger Ryo Miyaichi will be a regular for the Gunners next season, striking fear into full-backs around the Premier League according to Theo Walcott.Miyaichi, 19, is currently on loan at Bolton where he's enjoyed a successful spell and Walcott believes that's a sign of his development which should see him become a Gunners regular next season.

“Ryo has done very well at Bolton,” Walcott said on the Arsenal website.Walcott added: “The way he is playing, there are full backs out there now who are thinking, ‘I don’t want to play against him this week’.”Miyaichi, who made two cameos off the bench for Arsenal before joining Bolton in January, has since made eight appearances for the Trotters, providing two assists and scoring one goal.Walcott continued that he had been impressed by the way Miyaichi handled the recent episode which saw his Bolton team-mate Fabrice Muamba collapse on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest.“It is hard for such a young kid to go there and do what he is doing, showing no fear with everything that happened at Tottenham [with Fabrice Muamba]. It is hard and it has probably hit him definitely," he said.“He will be a better person for it, a better player and I can see him coming back here next year and playing a lot more regularly."

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New Gamba Osaka boss Masanobu Matsunami wants goals in AFC Champions League

The newly-appointed coach says they can still progress in the continental competition despite their poor start, pointing to a focus on scoring goals







Newly-appointed Gamba Osaka coach Masanobu Matsunami is demanding goals from his side against Bunyodkor on Tuesday after their poor start to the 2012 AFC Champions League.Gamba, the 2008 Asian champions, started the continental competition with 3-0 and 2-0 defeats to Pohang Steelers and Adelaide United respectively, to be sitting bottom of their group. The poor results, combined with ordinary J-League form, led to coach Jose Carlos Serrao's dismissal and Matsunami's appointment and the new boss believes they can still claw their way back in the group with scoring goals his main focus.



"Since I arrived, I have been telling the players to concentrate more on scoring. Whoever we play, we should play our style to break down our opponents," Matsunami told reporters."We want to score more goals to improve our goal difference, but our priority is to win three points."We had better possession at the weekend (in the 1-1 draw with Albirex Niigata, their first result of the season) and passed the ball well. If we can work more on the attacking element then we can improve our chances."



He added: "We haven't started well in the AFC Champions League this year, but we are at home this time and we will do our best to collect three points."Meanwhile, Bunyodkor boss Mirjalol Qosimov admitted he didn't know what to expect from Gamba despite their poor start to the competition."Gamba have lost the first two games in the AFC Champions League, but you never know what they will be like until you play them as they have a new manager," Qosimov said.

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Japanese in Europe: Kagawa and Sakai excel in thrilling 4-4 draw

The weekend highlight for Japanese players in Europe was clearly Dortmund's goal-filled affair with Stuttgart, which featured two of the country's most-anticipated young players



In Germany‚ Bundesliga matchday started in Dortmund with the reigning champions hosting Stuttgart for the Friday night game. In what turned out to become one of the most memorable matches of the season‚ Shinji Kagawa had his first say in the second minute when he shot wide from outside the box.

After being denied an effort in the fifth minute‚ it was the 23-year-old's third attempt which finally found the net after the half hour when he smashed home a nice ball headed to him by skipper Sebastian Kehl. The goal not only marked the attacker's fourth strike in three matches but also his 12th league goal this season - a feat accomplished for the first time by a Japanese player in Europe.

Dortmund went on to double their lead after the break but the visitors staged an amazing comeback hitting three goals before Kagawa was subbed off in the 81st minute. The Swabians, for whom Gotoku Sakai started, fell behind again before grabbing the equaliser deep into injury time‚ ending the game a spectacular 4-4 draw.

The Japanese-German youngster, who played another full match as Stuttgart's right full-back, once again proved his worth as he emerged the player with the most ball touches of either team‚ showed some spirited moves forward‚ and last but not least‚ contributed with his long feed‚ eventually leading to his side's third in the 79th minute.

In Italy‚ Takayuki Morimoto scored his fourth goal of the season in Novara's 5-2 loss to Roma. After coming off the bench at the hour mark‚ he found himself unmarked on the left side of the goal just two minutes later. After taking Andrea Caracciolo's through pass‚ Morimoto calmly handled the one-on-one with the goalkeeper and settled the goal with his right foot. It was the 23-year-old's first goal since January 15.

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J-League Review: Vegalta take league lead with sweeping win over Cerezo

Roaring winds and driving rain across eastern Japan lead to several surprising results, reminding observers that as always there's no such thing as a sure leader in the J-League

The nearly 10,000 fans that braved the rain at Osaka's Nagai Stadium were in for a treat, with Cerezo hosting high-flying Vegalta Sendai. Both teams had surrendered just one goal going into this weekend, but the home team found themselves at a disadvantage after having to give two defenders, Tatsuya Yamashita and Masato Kurogi, their first start of the season.


Cerezo's first solid chance came in the 16th minute when Hiroshi Kiyotake's volley deflected off a defender before hitting the crossbar. Vegalta responded minutes later as Yoshiaki Ota forced a fine save by Kim Jin-Hyon. The visitors finally broke the deadlock in the 34th minute on the counter when Brazilian attacker Wilson stuffed in a rebound for his first J1 goal. Cerezo attempted to spur on a second-half comeback by bringing on super-sub Ryuji Bando and switching to two upfront. But Vegalta doubled their lead after Ota again broke down the opposition, sending a cross past Kim to a waiting Shingo Akamine who headed the ball in.

The hosts pressed the attack and Bando even took back a late goal to make it 2-1, but despite five minutes of extra time Vegalta's defence did not falter and the northern club would end the day alone at the top of the league table.

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