15 Dec 2005(Thu)

December 11, 2005: It was a shame either Reysol or Ventforet would not be playing in J1 next season.

I say this mainly because of the fans, as the atmosphere at both play-off games was, well, "fan-tastic."

At Kose Sports Park, where Reysol, remember, actually took the lead with a fine header from Reinaldo, the away fans showed their loyalty by stripping down to their jeans (I must point out it was only the male fans who took their shirts off, although the Press Seats were a long way away and I could not see clearly, especially when the floodlights went out).

Anyway, this was a remarkable show of spirit from the Reysol faithful, as it was a pretty chilly night in Yamanashi Prefecture. The home fans knew better, and bunched together very tightly on the "Curva Kofu".

The Kofu fans went crazy at the end, following their 2-1 victory, even though it was only "half-time" in the play-off.

The scenes, and the atmosphere, reminded me very much of the old days in the English FA Cup first round, when a non-league club would beat a team from the lower divisions of the professional league.

There'd be butchers and bakers and maybe even candlestick-makers playing for the non-league team (meaning, in this case, non-Football League, as it was before the Premiership when all four divisions belonged to the same professional national league), and they would pull off a giant-killing act over their well-paid, well-groomed rivals.

For the second leg, now in the winter sunshine of Chiba Prefecture, the Kofu fans were out in force, packed behind the goal and looking like FC Tokyo supporters in their blue and red.

The big centre forward, Bare, formerly of Omiya Ardija, had given the slow Reysol defence a lot of problems in the first leg, but this time he was out of control.

He scored an incredible six times, and could have had 10, as he romped through the Reysol defence. Some of them were great finishers, too, notably the first, with a delicate chip past Minami after showing good close control, and the third into the roof of the net in full stride. I really did not think it was a penalty for the second goal, though, but that is not Bare's problem.

I love that Reysol banner "No Reysol No Life" followed by the words "Without Reysol Where We Go?"

Without wanting to sound like an English teacher, I think someone has missed the word "do" from that sentence. "Without Reysol Where Do We Go?" would be better, but that's the last thing on the minds of Reysol fans and Hitachi money men at the moment.

They go, as we all know, to J2, while Kofu come up to J1.

As well as the castle ruins and Takeda Shrine, there will be another good reason to visit Kofu City in 2006.

ends