Cerezo Osaka in J2 2007 predictions

Here is more than you will ever need to know
about Cerezo Osaka's chances in the Japanese
J2 division this season, thanks to our friends
at the Rising Sun website
As I do every year, I am trying to decide if
I will shell out 15000 yen for a season ticket
of misery.

"Cerezo Osaka are faced with a very crucial campaign
in 2007 -- one which could determine the team's
prospects for the next three to five years, or possibly
even longer. Just a little over a year ago, this team
came within two minutes of injury time of claiming
the J1 title. Today, the same team has been humbled
by relegation, and damaged by both the loss of key
personnel and the blow to fan morale caused by this
past year's humiliation. At the heart of Cerezo's woes
is a poor front office organization that has failed
to capitalize either financially or organizationally
on the team's strong support base in southern Osaka,
repeatedly blundered in signing foreign players, and
done a very poor job of selecting a coaching staff.

There is still enough left of the core squad that
made a title run in 2005 to provide hope of a quick
reterun to the J1. If Cerezo can rebound immediately,
then the promising younger players like Kazuya Maeda,
Takeshi Hamada, Kenjiro Ezoe and Takyua Kokeguchi
will probably stick with the team, allowing it to
rebuild as an effective J1 organization (barring
further blunders by the front office). On the other
hand, if Cerezo fails to win promotion in 2007, you
can be reasonably sure that captain Hiroaki Morishima
will retire at the end of the year, and that most of
the truly talented younger players will jump ship as
well. That would leave Cerezo in the same condition
that teams like Consadole Sapporo, Vegalta Sendai and
Shonan Bellmare face today -- never strong enough either
financially or in terms of personnel to rise into the
upper ranks of the J2, much less regain their former
status as J1 clubs.

Unfortunately for the Flaming Pinks, this season will
be one of the most competitive in J2 history, and it
remains to be seen whether Cerezo have the depth to
compete over a 48-match season and finish in the top
three. We expect the team to make a strong bid, since
they must realise that their backs are to the wall.
However, at the moment we would say that the odds
are only about 50:50 for a return to the J1 in 2008.

2006 Finish: 17th Place (J1)
2007 Forecast: 2nd-4th Place

Como Mexico no hay dos....Mi Padre, Presente!

I was able to pull an ESPN2 feed on my
computer 8 minutes into the friendly
between the USA Mens National Team and
the Mexico selection and for the rest of
the match it was a real emotional roller
coaster. In the back of my mind I thought
about my father and how we would argue
about my support for the USA (him, Mexico
to the death) if we were to watch the
match together. Then the USA scored 52
minutes into the second half on a corner
from glamor boy Landon Donovan that spun
in the air perfectly like Darth Vader's
Death Star before finding Jimmy Conrad's
head and hurtling into the net. 'Chinga
tu Madre!' an obscene way of saying
'In your face!' but that's what came out.
And my shouts could be heard across the
Pacific when Donovan added the insurance goal
in extra time.

Over 50,000 humbled Mexican fans left the
stadium in Phoenix, on the American side,
but apparently my father's soul was walking
with them, one last time. A few minutes
later my brother called from San Diego to tell
me that he had found my father on the floor
of this bedroom, passed on. I'll be flying to
Southern California today to deal with the
messy aftermath and see what I can do for his
legacy. He did not die a happy man, he had
issues, but he felt he deserved better from
America and maybe he did. Roger Robles Serrano,
1922-2007, Rest in Peace.

This morning I was watching news of the
Catania -Palermo match violence where
a copper went down (firebomb hit the
windshield while the idjit was trying
to ram Palermo away supporters outside
the stadium in a Range Rover) I discovered
for the first time that this song, "Theme
from Sparta FC" by Mark E. Smith and the
Fall, exists. Enjoy it here with Czech
Jan Svankmyer animation. come to think of
it I was actually in a bit of Sparta FC
fan vs. police agro in Prague once, but
that's another story.

Kick yourself amidships

A week of nuggets, some significant, some not.

The LA Riot Squad supporters group annouced
that they have purchased a season ticket in
their section 138 at the Home Depot Center
for the exclusive use of Mrs Beckam this season.
In the event she does not exercise her option
her seat (blocked off with a velvet rope) will
be allocated to any member willing to wear a
Posh wig, a Spice Girls T-shirt, and a Victoria'
Secret armored brassiere.

Arsenal book a spot in the League Cup Final by
disposing of North London rivals Tottenham
3-1 in extra time at Emirates Stadium.

#1 USA defender Oguchi Ognewu moves to Newcastle
United on loan from Belgian club Standard Liege
with an eye to signing a contract if it all
goes well.

Since signing Beckham it has been hit and miss
at the MLS. Ronaldo never considered a similar
offer from the New York Red Bulls, a stadium
deal for Real Salt Lake (yes that is the name)
fell through because of political bickering
leaving that team in temporary limbo, while
two new stadiums in Denver and Toronto are
opening soon with the new Canadian team already
claiming 11,000 season tickets sold. The Canadian
has one loony supporters group - the Toronto
Stalinists.

Here in Japan the USA under 23s, the Olympic
squad, will play Japan's youth team on February
21, all the way down in Kumamoto Kyushu.

And on Feb 7 USMNT will square off against
regional rivals Mexico in Phoenix Arizona
in a telling friendly which will probably
see 50,000 Mexican supporters swamp maybe
less than 10,000 American supporters. On
American soil. I sent an e-mail to ranting
anti-immigration populist Lou Dobbs at CNN
and dared him to send a camera crew to the
match, in hopes he'll get hit by a zip lock
bag urine bomb.