At the beginning of July, we took a look at some of the major attractions of the J-League after the reopening of the International Transfer Window, and before the window closes (September 2), many J-League clubs are still making their last-ditch efforts to strengthen their lineups, so today we'll be updating you with some of the key transfers that each of them will be making in the coming two months.
Mariners, Sanfrecce, Antlers seek change in title chase
The top of the J-League is in disarray, with Kawasaki Frontale back on top after a midweek bye, but Yokohama Marinos, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kashima Antlers are coming in closer. Although the competition for the top spot is tight, the transfer operations of the four teams are very different.
Kawasaki Striker, who has been living in the first place for a while, has been fighting for the title defense in the past two months with an unchanged attitude. Not only they have no new recruits, but they have also sent their two back-ups Takahide Tsukagawa and Hideto Tanabe to FC Tokyo and Chiba Ichihara respectively, and the supervisor, Tatsuya Onigata, seems to be very confident in the current lineup.
The Yokohama Mariners have been relatively quiet on the transfer front, with back-up midfielder Azunosuke Kiriyama loaned out to J.B. club Yamagata Yamagami, and the signing of winger Enmatos from Brazilian League One club Pomeranian. Nematos had played for Portuguese club Morillens on loan before joining the team and has a lot of experience, but he has not played for Yokohama Mariners since joining the team in August, so he is not likely to take the blame for the time being.
Currently third-ranked Sanfrecce Hiroshima, led by Skippy, has been transformed this season, and in order to compete for the championship, they decided to step up their firepower by bringing in Cypriot goal scorer Soudilio in mid-August. Although Cyprus is not a strong soccer nation, Sudilio has already made a name for himself at Bulgarian powerhouse Ludogorets before joining the team, and even started his career with a bang against Cerezo Osaka last week, so it seems that Sanfrecce has made the right purchase this time around.
The Kashima Antlers, who are relatively passive in the bidding situation, have made considerable changes this summer. In addition to the departure of top scorer Eishi Ueda to Europe, the Swiss supervisor Weiner was relieved of his duties at the beginning of August, and one of the club's celebrities, Iwamasa Daiki, is now in charge of the club, in order to ensure that all of them will be able to do their best to make a success of the game. In terms of players, Brazilian midfielder Zuan Ailanu was sold to Osaka Flyers, but there is also Nigerian center forward Eric Ericsson from the Belgian club Biszczot VA to join, and to see if he has the ability to improve the front line of Kashima Antlers scoring ability lah!
Mid-table teams have their own ambitions
As for the mid-tier teams, their transfer preferences for this summer are different. With Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka not making any major moves, and Urawa Red Diamonds not making any moves after bringing in Fijiano-like winger Ryan Lanson in June, it seems that Rodriguez is not looking to make any changes to his recently in-form army.
FC Tokyo, which has a chance of competing for the top four, has made a lot of changes this summer, sending away two veterans, Kenzo Nagai and Yojiro Takahagi, and terminating the contract of Brazilian midfielder Bono Uvini, who has been injured too much the other day. As for the new players, Takahide Tsukawa joined the team from Kawasaki Striker, and Brazilian center forward Rex Felipe joined the team on loan from Pottinger. The 28-year-old shot-stopper also played for Greek club Kirit on loan for half a season before the summer vacation, and has already scored eight goals. He also scored an opener in last week's win over Kashiwa Reysol, and seems to be getting along well with his new teammates in FC Tokyo.
The Nagoya Whale, who have been relatively disappointing to their fans this season, have made some major changes to their squad this summer, but there are a few puzzling aspects to the move. In addition to Gaku Saito, who was sold to Korean club Suwon Bluewings at the end of June, two veteran players, Hiroyuki Abe and Yumeshi Kanazaki, have also been sent away. The former has been loaned out to Shonan Bima, while Yumeshi Kanazaki has been terminated from his contract with the team, and his destination is unknown for the time being. Although not many veterans have been sent away, the new reinforcements are not young players. Rota Nagi, who was borrowed by Shonan Bima, and Kenzo Nagai, who returned from FC Tokyo, are both over 30 years old, and 27-year-old midfielder Joyce Shigehiro, who was transferred from Fukuoka Hornets, is relatively young, and the only one who seems to be able to catch this is the supervisor, Kenta Hasegawa.
Shimizu S Pulse's performance has slowly improved after a change in supervision at the beginning of June. In addition to the return of Kitagawa Koya, who returned from Europe in June, the team has also received some great additions since then. Former international soccer player Kensuke Qian, who had a bad breakup with Sakura Osaka, joined Shimizu Heartbeat as a free agent at the end of July. Kensuke had been playing for Okayama Midoriyama in the Japanese second division before joining the team, and he quickly integrated into the Shimizu Heartbeat lineup and scored his first goal since joining the team in last week's match against Kyoto Budoki, making it look like he hasn't aged well yet. In addition, Shimizu Heartbeat also bought wing forward Yegor from Barclays Premier League club Fortaleza at the end of July. The short-footed tiger, nicknamed Bicacio, has been selected for five consecutive matches, and is believed to be one of the mainstays of the team in the upcoming season.
Downstate teams step up firepower in bid to protect relegation
Apart from the tight situation, the relegation situation in the JLF is also confusing. Fukuoka Hornets, who are currently in 12th place, are only six points away from Iwata Yamaiba, who are at the bottom of the table, so it is clear that the relegation situation is very confusing. In order to keep their place in the JLF, all the downstream teams are focusing on strengthening their front line in the summer, in order to get to the top of the table as soon as possible.
The traditional congress Osaka Athletic has not been performing well this season, their defense is not stable and their front line is not sharp.
Manchester City football club
Two wingers, Ryotaro Hosono of Kashima Antlers and Joan Aranu of Kashima Antlers, have joined the team to support Lee Anders Penrina and Andersen Batlle in the front line. Osaka Flyers have won 2 and lost 2 of their last 4 matches and scored 5 goals, which seems to have an immediate effect.
Gonzaga Sapporo of Hokkaido have lost a lot of firepower after the loss of Cherating, which has a direct impact on the team's performance, but being caught in the relegation whirlpool is a little bit unexpected. In order to strengthen their attacking force, they signed a tall center forward Kim Kin Hee from Suwon Samsung. The 27-year-old Kim, who has represented the South Korean national team three times and stands at 1.86 meters tall, is believed to have the ability to strengthen Sapporo's attacking force in the front line.
Kyoto Budapest, who had a surprising performance at the beginning of the season, have already lost their shape before the halfway point of the league, and Peter Udaka, although his goal-scoring ability is not bad, is still too old to play in the J-League. This summer, Kyoto Budapest signed two Brazilian midfielder Alencarrios and striker Priano Paua to join the team. Alencarrios, who played in the Saudi Arabian League before joining the team, has scored eight goals in the whole season, which is believed to have the ability to improve Kyoto Budapest's attacking power.
The billion-dollar Kobe Victory ship is still in the bottom two at this moment. Although their front line is luxurious, it is not playing at the level it should be, therefore At the end of June, Incheon United bought a Montenegrin center forward, Stephan Mugosha, to increase the level of the attack. In August, they also borrowed 23-year-old Mafiokona from Brazilian Bundesliga club FALINMINCO in a bid to stabilize the back line with the 23-year-old, who had been loaned out to Ligue 1 side Montpellier. In addition, Kobe Victory also from the Korean professional football club FC Kangwon to recruit former Japan national team midfielder Yuki Kobayashi to join, 30-year-old although his performance in recent years is far less than when playing in the Netherlands Eredivisie club Heerenveen's period, but with his grade I believe that it is capable of filling in the Hashimoto boxer's departure from the team after the vacancies, and Yuki Kobayashi In the previous AFC Champions League knockout matches have also had a part of the battlefield, showing that there are not wrong form, I believe that Kobe Victory ship for the role of positive. I'm sure he'll play a positive role for Kobe Victory.
As you can see from the above, a lot of teams have been actively recruiting this summer in order to improve their results, and the situation in the J-League is quite chaotic this season, both in terms of competing for the top spot and relegation protection, so after a lot of reinforcements, there will be a lot of changes in the league standings, so J-League fans should remember to keep a close eye on the progress of the remaining matches of the season!
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
September 2, 6:30 p.m. Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga vs. Osaka Sakura Cable TV 601/661
September 3, 6:00 PM FC Tokyo vs. Yokohama Marinos Cable TV 601/661
September 3, 6:00 PM Xiangnan Bima vs Kawasaki Frontier Cable TV 602/662
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
September 4, 5:00 p.m. Tochigi SC vs Gunma Kusatsu Onsen Cable TV 601/661
September 4, 6:00 p.m. Kumamoto Royals vs. Omiya Squirrels Cable 602/662
