Comments: If the rumours linking Shinji Kagawa with a return to Cerezo are true then I'd expect them to sometimes operate in a 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-1-1 system with Kagawa playing just behind the main forward. Biggest Loss: Yuji Takahashi – With the departures of fellow defenders, Takumi Kamijima (Marinos) and Takuma Ominami (Kawasaki) eating up many column inches, Yuji Takahashi taking the plunge down to J2 along with new employers Shimizu may have passed many observers by. One to Watch: Koya Yuruki – Having started his Vissel career as a winger in a team that didn't play with any wingers, a system change midway through 2022 afforded him an opportunity that he grasped with both hands. Does he opt for the best eleven players, or the system he's more comfortable with? In 21 year-old Montedio Yamagata and Japan Under-21 right back Riku Handa, it appears they've struck gold. Arai kei knock up game of thrones. A stand out for Omiya in 2019, his performances have meandered downwards since. However, as we all know, Japanese football has a habit of turning round and biting you just when you least expect it, so please forgive my unease at feeling so positive about Shonan. There may be exciting replacements in attack for Reds, but there must also surely be a number of their fans lamenting the loss of a maverick such as Esaka. Why the hell would they remove the ability to knock up multiple people? One to Watch: Atsuki Ito – Fast becoming Mr. Urawa, Ito has improved year on year since turning pro and with doubts surrounding how well suited fellow midfielders Ken Iwao, Kai Shibato or Yuichi Hirano are to a title challenge, a lot of pressure will come to rest on his young shoulders as he seeks to provide a reliable link between Urawa's extremely impressive back and forward lines.
I snowball a target and the enemy grouped up as 5 with low HP, I went in expecting at least a triple kill with her AoE Q + HoB. One to Watch: Paulinho – A seemingly spur-of-the-moment loan pickup from Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv, out of match practice, the Brazilian didn't feature a whole lot in Kyoto's nervy run-in last season. As you might expect from a statistical stud like Kawahara, who dominated both J2 offensive and defensive numbers last term, he's made the smart move of beginning his ascent to the summit of Japan's top flight with perennially under the radar Tosu, giving him room to breathe as he finds his feet in the rarefied air of J1.
Also, who prevails in the Higashiguchi vs Tani battle is still anyone's guess. Thuler's capture represents an extremely shrewd piece of business by Kobe. Probably more of the same to be honest. I'm guessing these are the kind of choices that might generate the greatest debate, so please cut me some slack, I like to use stats, but several players below have made the grade based largely on gut instinct developed over a decade watching the J. Nakano debuted at right wing-back as a special designated player in the 0-0 draw with Tosu in round 1 last season, though he can also operate as as centre-back, which is where he and fellow varsity recruit Taichi Yamasaki (Juntendo University) may ultimately end up as Michael Skibbe seeks to reduce some of the burden on the ageing Sho Sasaki and Tsukasa Shiotani. They've stocked their attack largely with quantity rather than quality, which, in fairness, is a criticism that can also be levelled at a number of their rivals. Arai kei knock-up game. Kosei Tani may be gone after 3 generally excellent years down on the Kanagawa coast, but in Song, the Seasiders have as good a replacement as they realistically could have wished for. Any fans of the excellent Japanese website Football Lab will be aware that Arai was the king of their 'Chance Building Point' metric in early 2022, delivering numbers that were frankly off the charts for someone not starting every week. Just how deep that feeling continues to run very much depends on how Yonemoto, Nagasawa and Yamada do in plugging the Silva shaped whole at the heart of the Grampus engine room. The midfield may be set up with Inagaki sitting and 2 players ahead of him and a front 2 rather than the 3 illustrated above. Will Taisei Miyashiro and Shin Yamada hit the ground running right from the off and is Takuma Ominami about to silence the naysayers by stepping into Taniguchi's enormous boots with aplomb? 2021 and 2022 Stats.
If they can find some razzmatazz up front, then allied to a solid backline they may surprise a few people, though realistically we're unlikely to see them threaten the dizzy heights of the top half. Marcos Junior is still nipping away at his heels for a starting berth and chances to play centre-forward may lie ahead in the wake of Léo Ceará's departure. Best Signing: Shuto Nakano – Captained Toin Yokohama to success in the All Japan University Football Championship on New Year's Day and arrives at Hiroshima primed to start from the very first matchday. Basically, it illustrates who played, scored, assisted etc., and how often, during the 2022 league campaign. Fans may lament his loss and reminisce about the good times, but it's hard to argue against the notion that the Brazilian's best days are behind him. Truth be told, while there are a number of talented youngsters in their ranks who'll surely have visiting scouts purring, a lack of depth at centre-back and centre-forward allied to a general dearth of top flight experience across the board could prove to be their achilles heel. Secondly, if Marinos really wanted Ceará, he'd still be there.
I have done a great deal of research to get these lineups as accurate as I can to the best of my knowledge, but full disclosure, I've also acted on a few hunches and taken a punt on some lesser known talents (I guess there wouldn't be much point reading this article if I just stated the obvious). Notes: Under-achievers in 2021, over-achievers last year, somewhere between 7th and 15th seems about right in 2023, though the J League never operates in anything like a predictable manner, so best not all rush to back Reysol for 11th just yet. 7 goals in his first 6 J1 games back in 2021 had opposition defences cowering in fear, but his career in Saitama never really went according to script in the 18 months that followed. Calm and composed on the ball with a keen eye for a pass, measuring up at 185cm, 83kg, he's more than able to mix it up physically also. 20 goals and 12 assists during his time in the Tokyo suburbs mean he's more than earned a crack at the big time and the ability to slot in anywhere across Niigata's front 4 means playing minutes won't be hard to come by. Now, let me balance out that rather provocative negative comment by saying, there is an absolute ton of talent throughout this side. Though if you're a Sapporo fan, the fact Takamine has headed to a divisional rival that finished a mere 3 places above you in J1 last season must sting a fair bit. Biggest Loss: Tomoya Fujii – J1's sprint king revelled in new German kantoku Skibbe's gegenpressing system before injury curtailed his season. Shot out of the blocks 12 months ago with 6 goals and 6 assists in the opening 15 games, but could only follow that up with 1+3 in the remainder of the campaign.
S-Pulse's 191cm centre-back Yugo Tatsuta moves in the opposite direction and while he's younger and outdoes Takahashi in height and physicality, a large part of me senses that it's the Shizuoka side who've got the better half of that particular trade. One to Watch: Takuma Nishimura – From unheralded arrival to genuine league MVP contender in the space of less than 12 months, 2022 was quite the ride for Takuma Nishimura. Jean Patric was the Cherry Blossoms' hero with his brilliant last minute winner away to Gamba in the Osaka Derby last summer, but in reality, and I swear this isn't sour grapes, given he was a regular in Portugal's top flight prior to heading to Osaka, his overall contribution could be viewed as underwhelming. Notes: New coach Maciej Skorża is on board for 2023 and has an accomplished looking group of talent under his wings. This is a new feature in the pre-season post, but versions of it have been a staple of my Gamba match previews for several years. One to Watch: Takashi Usami – Losing Usami to an achilles injury in round 3 last term ripped the heart out of Gamba, while his return, though unspectacular, had a real soothing affect on those around him. Peter Utaka would have been the hands down winner any time up until late summer last year, while Takuya Ogiwara, now back with parent club Urawa, will also be a hard act to follow. A pacy, skillful and clever player, Consadole supporters and fans of the league in general are well within their rights to expect more from Kaneko in the months that lie ahead.
Another new feature for 2023, this one is very much as it says on the tin, an at-a-glance look at your favourite side's schedule for the upcoming year. Finding the back of the net has been an issue for the Wasps since they returned to the top flight in 2021, so credit to the front office for pulling off quite the coup by re-patriating the highly touted Sato amid stiff competition. Notes: How they manage the changing of the guard in attack and defence will surely determine their fate in 2023. Able to operate on either flank or in the number 10 role, he delivered an impressive 80 goals + assists in 203 J2 appearances across 2 stints with Zelvia and if Sanga get anything like that kind of return then they'll have a real gem on their hands. I was quite bullish about their chances twelve months back and they rather underwhelmed. This shows another table that long-term readers will be familiar with and the colour code to assist you in understanding it can be seen below. In cases where numerous players may see significant minutes in a certain position I've listed alternatives below the main choice (players may appear as alternatives for more than one role). Notes: If the bottom 3 all had to contend with relegation in 2023 then Kyoto would be a team with a fair bit to worry about. He's since followed that up with a decent return of 11 strikes for Vegalta in J2 last time out. Please note the figures in the '#' column are per 90 minutes with the exception of xG for and against per shot. It's also possible for Skibbe to set up with Notsuda holding in midfield, Morishima and Mitsuta further forward and Sotiriou partnered by Ben Khalifa in attack.
Is a slip back from the heights of last season inevitable or do they have a realistic shot of moving a couple of rungs up the ladder? One to Watch: Pieros Sotiriou – With Morishima and Mitsuta riding shotgun either side of him, is Sotiriou destined to be the angel upon the Christmas tree for Skibbe as he seeks to deliver a first J1 title to the Edion Stadium since 2015? Notes: After a couple of dismal years by their standards, Gamba seek to rise again under the guidance of former Tokushima boss Dani Poyatos. Let's start with a quick rundown of the general layout of this post. Shinozuka saw a shoulder injury restrict him to just 14 appearances during his loan spell from Kashiwa. His side need him to make headlines for the right reasons in 2023. It's not that hard to do, and indeed it appears that the Cerezo front office have turned that dream into a reality this off-season by bringing the duo to the Yodoko Sakura Stadium. Anyway, no matter whether this is your first time hearing about this blog or your 100th visit, thanks so much for supporting my work and I hope you enjoy what lies ahead. Best Signing: So Kawahara – After blasting through J3 and J2 with Takeshi Oki's impressive Roasso Kumamoto side, So Kawahara is now ready to take J1 by storm. Ball playing, youth product Yuki Kobayashi was often a figure of stability at the back for Vissel during the early part of 2022 when it seemed that all around him was burning to the ground. Best Signing: Seiya Baba – Comfortable on the ball and capable of playing centrally or out wide in defence or midfield, Japan Under-21 international Baba is made to order for Mischa Petrović's side.
Notes: Albert Puig is about to begin his second season at the helm, and after a solid, if unspectacular 2022, what can we realistically expect in the coming months? Notes: Vissel supporters have a right to feel a tad puzzled by their club's recent transfer strategy. His 13 efforts in 2022 incredibly saw him finish just 1 behind the league's overall top scorer, though it was a large overperformance versus his xG tally. Comments: Approaching 39, Andrés Iniesta may be relegated to bench duty more often than not, meaning the side could set up in a 4-3-3 system. Biggest Loss: Takaaki Shichi – Following a stuttering start to his professional career, Shichi has been on a sharp upward trajectory throughout the past 4 seasons. Does the 28 year-old Brazilian have enough fire in his belly to prove people like me wrong?
Comments: 4-4-2 / 4-2-3-1 with Shiihashi partnering Takamine in the middle and Mitsumaru dropping out of the above eleven is also a possibility. Seemingly more focused on assists than scoring himself these days, mature enough to don the captain's armband and enough of a club legend already to become the successor to Yasuhito Endo in the number 7 shirt, Nerazzurri fans can't wait to see Usami link up with Issam Jebali, Juan Alano, Naohiro Sugiyama and the host of other attacking options at the club.