The Yokohama F. Marinos Courier
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
No sign of nerves from Jeremías Chavero at 20 — 7.95
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jeremías Chavero did not need any: 7.95, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match20 Feb 2027
9 unbeaten for Yokohama F. Marinos
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Yokohama F. Marinos did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Nobody could get near Daiya Tono
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Yokohama F. Marinos
Dean David was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Graduation day at Yokohama F. Marinos
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Rubén Blanco falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
Yokohama F. Marinos supporters have found a favourite in Riku Yamane
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Riku Yamane has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market22 Feb 2027
Hotaru Haraguchi steps up from the Yokohama F. Marinos academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hotaru Haraguchi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market22 Feb 2027
One of our own: Wataru Osako joins the Yokohama F. Marinos first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Wataru Osako is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Yokohama F. Marinos promote Maya Haraguchi from within
- Market Ritsu Haraguchi steps up from the Yokohama F. Marinos academy
- Match Yokohama F. Marinos make home a hard place to visit