Okubo on song as Kobe thrash the hapless Sanga

Vissel Kobe 4

Kyoto Sanga 1

 

On a warm Saturday evening in Kobe, about 20,000 Vissel fans descended on Home Stadium for a game which could make their season. A win could move Vissel Kobe as high as second place, and recent suspensions and injuries had finished. The opposition was Kyoto Purple Sanga another team with high aspirations this season. Kobe are the ultimate underachievers in the J-League, a team with huge financial backing and a large fan base in a city with no baseball team, Kobe were made for big things.

This magnificent ground was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and hosted three games. Since then its capacity has been reduced and name changed, but it remains a fine architectural wonder and a beautiful creation. Its bowl shape helps create an awesome atmosphere and sound is kept inside to spin around the park. The noise of the crowds was deafening before the teams even began to warm up. An ocean of flags and scarves and confetti had swept over the East end of the ground, while on the opposite side, a sea of Purple was heaving too.

 

The deadlock lasted only three minutes before the first of four goals was swept in for the home side. And it was fitting that the first goal I should see would be scored by the man called Yoshito Okubo.

 

The 26 year old captain and undisputed champion of Kobe came to the club two years ago from rivals Gamba Osaka. His move to the beef city was controversial; a great talent in his early days, the attacking midfielder’s career had slumped rapidly due to a case of what Fabio Capello once coined as Cassanata (a reference to Antonio Cassano, a player of very similar attributes). The move however turned sweet as the forward regained lost form and began terrorising J-League defenders once more. On Saturday the former Real Mallorca ace raced forward to latch onto a through ball to slot it past helpless Hirai in goals. A well timed team effort.

 

The eruption of the home crowd however did not take place. Unlike spectators in Europe, fans here keep a constant chant going for the full ninety minutes, and loud screaming and bellowing do not cease. So much so that when either team scores a goal, you barely notice. Japanese fans blame themselves if their team looses, citing their lack of adequate support as the problem. Never mind the underachieving players or the tinkering manager, if the fans don’t chant loud enough and long enough, all is lost.

 

a great talent in his early days, the attacking midfielder’s career had slumped rapidly due to a case of what Fabio Capello once coined as Cassanata (a reference to Antonio Cassano, a player of very similar attributes)

 

The match continued, in a fashion similar to that of a basketball game. Neither team managed to keep possession for any considerable length of time, so the game play shifted constantly from one end to the other. It may not have been technically advanced, but it was enthralling and exciting. Mainly because defending is a bit of a lost art here, so you get the feeling that a goal is only seconds away. The exception to the bad defending on the night though was the excellent Kunie Kitamoto, the Kobe number 4 who kept Kyoto’s forwards at bay through some brilliant well timed tackles, not conceding a single free kick in the process.

 

The next goal did not come until just before the break. Another well rehearsed team manoeuvre, masterminded by Okubo. The captain seemed to be everywhere, and has clearly been given a free role to roam by his manager. Always dropping back slightly from the two other forwards, the player held a strong line in an advanced role throughout the game, flanked by Yoshida and Park. Yoshida collected the ball on the left, rounding the defender he swerved a pass to Okubo who placed a deft air ball straight to the head of advancing defender Toshihiko Uchiyama who powered the ball past Hirai. Again the moment of elation and emotional explosion by the home fans did not transpire.

 

Half-time came and there was a pleasant mix of fans around the beer stands. Kyoto’s large and loud travelling contingent who made the gruelling thirty minute trip on Japan’s space age train system were in high spirits, their team wasn’t playing too badly, and you sensed that a goal would come for them before long. The socialising of fans, consuming large amounts of alcohol without the slightest sign of trouble or violence, is a credit to Japanese football and its followers, and puts no small amount of shame on Europeans, and our unique ability to get carried away with a sport.

 

Six minutes into the second half and Kyoto were thrown a lifeline. Some bad defending by the Kobe right back allowed a cross that came sweetly into the box, for Yutaka Tahara to head home. It was a harsh goal to concede, and even more so for Enomoto the resident Santiago Cañizares between the posts. The bleach haired Tokyo native had kept everything out with some acrobatic skill. The noise from the away fans was deafening, and drowned out the beat of the large home crowd. It was well and truly game-on now, and with a probable climb to second place in the table for the winners, the game became a tense affair. The idea of a Kyoto resurgence was almost realised when Teruaki Kobayashi was sent off for the home side after a second yellow card for retaliation.

 

But any hopes for Kyoto were diminished by a wonder strike from well outside the edge of the box by the Brazilian striker Leandro. The former São Paulo man collected from a pass by Park to hit a screamer past a keeper who didn’t even see it coming. But the Kobe number 9 should never have been given as much space by the Kyoto defence. Less than two minutes later, Kyoto were finished off and put to rest by an individual effort from that man again Okubo, who raced into the box and, as if there were no goalkeeper, coolly slotted the ball home to end the affair.

 

He was naturally granted man of the match, much to the elation of the home side who all seem to have his number 13 on every piece of memorabilia they wear. Every team needs its hero, and since this boy’s brief stint in the Spanish Primera Liga was unsuccessful, it is unlikely any European clubs will try and steal him away again.

 

The crowds filed out after 90 minutes of entertaining football that, although lacking in technical quality, was high on intensity and excitement. There was no major police presence, no segregation, the Kyoto fans simply shrugged their shoulders, picked up their numerous flags and got the train home. There was also no litter and rubbish to be found anywhere, and walking around the stadium after the crowds had dispersed, it was hard to believe there had been a game here at all. Law and order, and respect are attributes of Japanese society, and this is shown in the excellent conduct of its football fans. Perhaps instead of attempting to curb Ultra activity and improve security, the Italian Serie A should just move here.

 

by Philip Farrell