4 Jan 2007(Thu)

January 2, 2007: There was a happy ending to Guido Buchwald's three-year reign as Urawa Reds manager when his team completed the league and cup double on New Year’s Day.

It was an incredible finish, wasn't it, when Nagai poked home the winning goal from Ya-jin's low cross from the right in the 88th minute for the only goal of the game against Gamba.　

I thought Gamba had been on top for much of the second half, and looked the more likely to score. Indeed, Tsune missed a wonderful chance to write his own happy ending when he failed to connect with a near-post header from a Yamaguchi cross, and Reds keeper Tsuzuki pulled off some fine saves to deny his former club.

This is what cup finals are all about, and Reds were able to win it with a team that was far from full strength at the end of a long campaign. Personally, I thought both teams looked jaded, as if the Emperor's Cup was one tournament too many。Surely didn't the season end when Reds beat Gamba at Saitama Stadium to win the league championship a month ago?　

I have said before that Japanese football has outgrown the Emperor's Cup and the JFA competition should be restructured to give it more prestige. For a start I think the Emperor's Cup should be restricted to J1, J2 and

JFL teams only. No high schools. No universities. The 18 J1 teams could enter at the second round and be joined by 14 teams from J2 and the JFL who have won through the first round.

This would give 32 teams in the second round, 16 in the third and then the quarter-finals, semis and final.

If the Nabisco Cup could finish in the summer, the Emperor’s Cup could start around September and the rounds could be slotted in the J1 schedule. This would mean all teams would play with their strongest members, rather than foreign players going home and the season-long reserves taking over, which is the case now.

Also, no neutral venues except the semi-finals and final. Each new round could be drawn at JFA House on a Monday afternoon, with the first team out of the hat playing at home.

This would give the surviving JFL and J2 teams the chance to be drawn at home to a big club such as Urawa. An unseeded draw would be much more attractive than the current format, where tired teams and their patient fans have to trail huge distances to play at a neutral venue.

I still think the Emperor’s Cup has its place, but it needs drastic changes to bring it into the modern Japanese football era.

ends