5 Mar 2009(Thu)

March 3, 2009: It's not only Kashima Antlers who are benefiting from the coaching of Oswaldo Oliveira.

JEF United Chiba should profit, too, with the astute signing of Masaki Chugo.

Along with the likes of Tashiro and Koroki in attack, and Inoha in defence, Chugo really blossomed at Kashima under Oswaldo; so much so that JEF snapped him up in the close season to give their midfield a bit of bite.

Chiba-born Chugo is not new to the JEF set-up, of course, as he played for the club at junior youth and youth levels in their days as JEF United Ichihara, before moving on to Komazawa University and then Kashima.

He proved himself to be a solid all-rounder and dependable squad member with Antlers, playing mainly as a holding midfielder but also at the back, alongside the centre half or at right back in Kashima's tried and trusted 4-2-2-2 formation.

JEF boss Alex Miller hopes he will bring some stability and rhythm to the midfield engine room, alongside Shimomura, and allow more attack-minded players such as Kudo to push forward and concentrate on creating rather than defending in the middle of the park. Kudo, who has a Hanyu-style buzz about him, was one of the few bright spots in last season's struggle, and he should be even more effective this time in a more advanced role.

Between them, Chugo and Shimomura will be able to keep the team ticking over and enable them to take a grasp on the midfield, which JEF were unable to do on many occasions last season, even with the mid-season addition of Toda.

Another good signing by JEF is the versatile Brazilian Alex from local rivals Reysol.

I thought Alex was under-used by Kashiwa last season, as he is always lively and dangerous and has a great left peg. He proved himself to be a regular scorer with Avispa Fukuoka in J2 but never really established himself last year at Reysol. He will give Miller more options on the left in defence, midfield and even in attack.

Both Chugo and Alex are safe and steady additions to the JEF squad, and will add a bit of experience and knowhow to the team.

ends