10 Nov 2008(Mon)

November 7, 2008: The gap between J1 and J2 never looked wider than when Kawasaki Frontale entertained Montedio Yamagata in the Emperor's Cup fourth round at Todoroki on Monday afternoon.

Although the visitors took an early lead, they were quickly put in their place by Frontale and ended up losing 3-1. No disgrace in that, but Frontale were operating in cruise control for the last third of the game when victory was already assured.

Among the crowd was Omiya manager Yasuhiro Higuchi, and his notebook must have been pretty full as he prepared for Frontale's visit to NACK5 on Saturday.

With four games to go in the J1 season, Frontale played with an authority and a fluidity to suggest they are perfectly capable of winning their first title, despite being two points off the pace in third place.

After Saturday's game at Omiya they then have consecutive home matches against Gamba Osaka and Vissel Kobe, and finish away to Verdy. All four are very winnable for Frontale, especially with their abundance of riches up front.

Due to the fact that Chong Tese was born in Japan, in Aichi Prefecture, Frontale can field a four-strong foreign strikeforce, with the burly North Korean centre forward leading the line and supported by the pace and power of Renatinho on the right and Juninho on the left. Their third Brazilian, Vitor Junior, is listed as a midfield player, but he buzzes around the top three with no defensive responsibilities at all thanks to the central midfield tandem of "Captain Kengo" and Taniguchi.

Their formation is more 4-2-4 than 4-3-3, and is full of goals from all angles; not just from the strikers but from the late runs of Taniguchi into the box, the shooting quality of Nakamura and from the heading ability of the big defenders at set pieces.

Against Yamagata they were relentless if not quite ruthless, and Higuchi must have left the stadium wondering where to start on trying to stop this attacking machine when the two sides meet at Omiya on Saturday afternoon.

And if Frontale look impressive at the moment, just think how strong they could be next season when the "3 plus 1" rule comes into effect; three foreign players, plus a fourth provided he is from an Asian country. For Frontale read "4 plus 1" -- three Brazilians and a North Korean, plus, perhaps, a South Korean or Australian?

And, if they retain everyone from this season, still with Ganaha and Kurotsu on the bench...

ends