Japan's J-League pays its respects as new season begins

The J-League's two divisions eventually restarted on April 23. Vegalta, never normally more than also-rans, were able to draw strength from adversity. Suddenly everyone's second-favourite team, they were among the early-season leaders, alongside another couple of surprise packages, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and newly-promoted Kashiwa Reysol.



As the season progressed, comparative minnows Kashiwa Reysol proceeded to confound commentators and fans alike with a series of exciting performances inspired by attacking midfielder Leandro Domingues, whereas many bigger teams struggled to keep their form. Nagoya Grampus couldn't make up their sluggish start and eventually ended the year in second, and Urawa Reds spent a proportion of the season in the relegation zone.

Japan's most successful club, Kashima, won a stripped-down version of the J1-only Nabisco Cup but were mediocre in the league. Their longstanding coach Oswaldo de Oliveira subsequently left to take over at Botafogo. Down Osaka way, Akira Nishino's failure to solve the problem of the dodgy Gamba defence meant that they finished no higher than third. - http://www.wsc.co.uk/

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