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