10 Apr 2008(Thu)

April 8, 2008: For students of the art of defending, Kyoto Sanga FC put on a master class at Todoroki Stadium on Saturday.

Led by the 35-year-old Sidiclei, who had an outstanding game in the Sanga back three, Kyoto rejected everything Kawasaki could throw at them. Frontale huffed and puffed but could not blow the house down, and trudged off disconsolate from a 1-0 defeat.

It was Kyoto's first away win of the season on their return to J1, and much credit must go to manager Hisashi Kato.

His defence was so well-drilled, and his counter-attack so deadly, that a Japanese version of the old Italian "catenaccio" system came to mind. Let's call it Katonaccio.

This is not meant to be a criticism of Kyoto or of Kato in any way, as the catenaccio (meaning 'door bolt' in Italian) perfected by Argentine coach Helenio Herrera with Inter in the 1960s was the epitome of everything negative about the game.

Far from it; it is just to compliment the way they defended as a team against a dangerous opponent possessing pace (Juninho) and power (Chong) up front, width (Mori and Yamagishi), height (Terada) and midfield craft (Nakamura and Ohashi).

The Kyoto defenders stayed on their feet and watched the ball in the tackle; they did not dive in recklessly and take themselves out of the game. They also stayed goal side of the forward, providing a wall to block shots and crosses. It was absorbing to watch, and had a sting in the tail at the other end.

Sidiclei's work against Juninho was a lesson for all defenders, while Masushima on the right and Teshima on the left matched the veteran's discipline and concentration. When Teshima had to leave the field early in the second half, Morioka came off the bench and turned the clock back with a commanding performance in the centre, as Sidiclei moved to the left.

In the centre of midfield, Ataliba stayed deep but Yuto Sato was like a jack-in-a-box, jumping out to surprise the Frontale man in possession before returning to his lair.

And, in true "Katonaccio" style, Kyoto broke and grabbed a winner through Yanagisawa midway through the second half to complete the perfect "catenaccio" victory -- 1-0!

ends