17 Mar 2005(Thu)

TOKYO (March 16): It was like stepping back in time at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Behind the scenes, old Verdy favourites Ramos and Kitazawa were there, and the extrovert Paraguayan keeper, Chilavert, was watching the action from an executive lounge high in the sky.

Chilavert, now retired, of course, would have been happy to see both keepers keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw.

But maybe he would have been disappointed with their attacking contribution, as neither keeper moved up to take a free kick at the other end.

Zico's assistant and brother Edu, plus his goalkeeper coach Cantarele, were also there, and I thought that Verdy's brightly coloured keeper Takagi impressed again.

With Kawaguchi out injured, Zico needed a third keeper for the national squad, behind Narazaki and Doi (or should the order be Doi and Narazaki?).

Maybe Takagi would get the call on Monday.

Silly me. Of course he picked Sogahata of Kashima Antlers, but surely Takagi's chance cannot be far away.

With his pink top, black shorts and pink socks, plus white gloves and boots, he looks more like a jockey in his racing silks...albeit quite a large jockey. What else can he do to catch Zico's eye?

The defences were on top in general, particularly S-Pulse's four-man back line.

Shimizu's new manager, Kenta Hasegawa, has plenty of experience in defence, with Ichikawa on the right, Saito and Morioka in the middle and Yamanishi, from Jubilo Iwata, on the left.

Saito and Morioka kept the dangerous Washington under control, but it wasn't easy.

"He's very tall and strong," said Ryuzo, whose post-match outfit suggested he was on his way to a rap concert--to sing, not to watch.

"He uses his body to protect the ball. It's difficult to put in a challenge when he turns because you can't get near the ball."

Fortunately for S-Pulse, Washington's shooting was off target, and when he had a clear header near the end he directed it straight into the arms of Nishibe.

S-Pulse, in fact, had the better chances, notably when Cho headed wide in the first half.

One small point worth noting from the second half.

As Verdy pushed for a goal, the ball went out of play in front of the S-Pulse bench.

The person who gathered the ball hesitated rather than throwing it directly to the Verdy player waiting to take the throw-in. When he did decide to release it he only threw it halfway.

Kenta, standing near the touchline, finished off the job by throwing the ball to the Verdy player, before turning to his bench and suggesting this is what the other person should have done in the first place, instead of messing about and delaying the play.

An honest and hard-working centre forward in his playing days, Kenta displayed the kind of sportsmanship the game needs the world over.

As I said at the beginning, it was like stepping back in time, because this kind of sportsmanship used to be normal practice. Now it's so rare you notice it.

ends