15 Mar 2004(Mon)

In the last few weeks I've asked several players and coaches who they think will challenge for the J.League championship this season.

All the answers included Yokohama F Marinos, Jubilo Iwata and Kashima Antlers.

This is no surprise.

But they all included one more team: Urawa Reds.

There is a feeling around the clubs that this could be the year when Urawa finally gets it right, and the fans get the trophy they deserve.

A lot of money has been spent during the winter, especially at Urawa with the signing of Alessandro Santos.

They also have Sakai to bolster the center of midfield, the impressive Tulio at the back, plus the new German coaching team of Guido Buchwald and Gert Engels.

Buchwald, of course, was a hero of the Reds fans from 1994 to 1997, and rode a white horse around Komaba after his final match.

His assistant, Engels, knows Japanese football better than any other foreign coach after his years of experience with Flugels, JEF United and Kyoto.

With Emerson up front, the national squad quartet of Tsuzuki, Yamada, Tsuboi and Santos, and the Olympic team quartet of Tulio, Suzuki, Yamase and Tanaka....surely this is strong enough to win the championship this season.

There is no doubt Buchwald is happy to be back in Japan, to take up his first position as head coach.

"I have a very good feeling because this is my second home," he said recently.

"I missed it sometimes when I was in Stuttgart.

"When Urawa offered me the job of head coach I was surprised, and also very happy. Now I am very excited and cannot wait for the start."

Saturday's Marinos-Reds match promises to be an early-season classic, and some 51,000 tickets had been sold by Friday lunchtime.

Buchwald describes the quality of the players as much better than in his playing days. This is not a criticism of his old teammates, just a comment about the rapid progress being made throughout Japanese football.

"In my opinion all the teams are getting better and stronger in the J.League. The level has come up," he said.

The problem facing Urawa, and several other teams, is can they overcome the absence of players on national team duty?

This will play a big part in a busy season.

ends