It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 16 appearances in 35 say he has earned the hearing.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
Erison 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.
Marked 8.90 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.70 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Erison 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.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 33 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Erison 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Soma Kanda. 1‑0 against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 40 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The fee is $6.6M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Central Coast Mariners drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yuki Yamamoto and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.83 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vissel Kobe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yuki Yamamoto trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Kawasaki Frontale are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Erison. 3‑1 against Gamba Osaka, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.99 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Position 2, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Erison. 3‑1 against Kashima Antlers, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 9.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 9.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bathusi Aubaas and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 1 years.
“I did not go to Beitar Jerusalem to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kawasaki Frontale and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Soma Kanda could not do
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Kawasaki Frontale hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 5 appearances in 20 say he has earned the hearing.
Marked 8.53 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bathusi Aubaas and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Louis Yamaguchi: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 0 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 43 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 1 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch7 May 2029
Hiroto Noda is tired of being somebody else's player
“Another season, another badge, another dressing room to win over. I would like one pre-season at Kawasaki Frontale where somebody actually looks at me.” He belongs to Sanfrecce Hiroshima until the spell ends; the argument is with the club that owns him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Soma Kanda and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 5 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vissel Kobe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 49 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 0 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erison signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Marked 8.99 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 3 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to Kashiwa Reysol to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kawasaki Frontale and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I did not go to Vissel Kobe to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kawasaki Frontale and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Beitar Jerusalem runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yasuto Wakizaka and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.97 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Kawasaki Frontale moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Hotaru Doan, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Daichi Yamane is a Kawasaki Frontale player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Kawasaki Frontale game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vissel Kobe runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erison signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 2, 65 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
The fee is $5.3M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Shonan Bellmare drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The fee is $960.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Amkar drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
A new face in his position, and Yasuto Wakizaka suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Kawasaki Frontale have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Hiroto Yamada
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bathusi Aubaas is 33 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erison signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A new face in his position, and Soma Kanda suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Kawasaki Frontale have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The chase for Kenta Nemoto ended with $3.5M changing hands and Urawa Reds out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The chase for Gabriel Charpentier ended with $2.3M changing hands and Nagoya Grampus out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Masaki Ikeda and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 4 years.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from Urawa Reds for Marcinho was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Kawasaki Frontale have had the benefit of it.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Kawasaki Frontale will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
18 clean sheets across a season, and the one award on the pitch nobody else is eligible for. Most keepers get through a whole career without a year like it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kawasaki Frontale has to find a result from somewhere.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Kawasaki Frontale hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Shots: 15. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kento Tachibanada trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yuki Yamamoto trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Kawasaki Frontale hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 2, 65 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kawasaki Frontale has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Kawasaki Frontale pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Shots: 13. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Marked 8.74 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Svend Brodersen: 4 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 47 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Soma Kanda. 2‑0 against Vegalta Sendai, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; So Kawahara will call it something else in private.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Kawasaki Frontale, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Yuki Yamamoto.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Kawasaki Frontale lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
In brief
SquadThe team sheet said everything about Ren Kato
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 33 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 47 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Kashima Antlers are out and Kawasaki Frontale go through, 0‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kawasaki Frontale, and it is not being withdrawn.
The fee is $1.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Gamba Osaka drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
The phone has started ringing about Lazar Romanic again, and this time the name on the line is Sagan Tosu. Kawasaki Frontale are listening politely and promising nothing.
A 1‑0 win over Avispa Fukuoka, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.83 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Position 1, 38 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kawasaki Frontale is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Kawasaki Frontale hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.90 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 34 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesiel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Daiki Matsuoka 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kawasaki Frontale, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yasuto Wakizaka signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kawasaki Frontale, another week without a signature from Daiki Matsuoka.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 40 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Vegalta Sendai are out and Kawasaki Frontale go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 8.96 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Kawasaki Frontale are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yasuto Wakizaka signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Yasuto Wakizaka 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.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesiel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Marked 8.68 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Yasuto Wakizaka 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.
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Kawasaki Frontale will not try tonight.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yasuto Wakizaka signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kawasaki Frontale have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Erison
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.71 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Soma Kanda. 1‑0 against Yokohama F. Marinos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Kawasaki Frontale squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 37 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 31 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yasuto Wakizaka. 2‑0 against Albirex Niigata, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.01 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Kawasaki Frontale are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesiel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Kawasaki Frontale have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Daiki Matsuoka 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Kawasaki Frontale hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Soma Kanda and Kawasaki Frontale agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Marked 9.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
The shirt still fits. Takefusa Furuhashi is back at Kawasaki Frontale, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Akira Ueda is a Kawasaki Frontale player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Keisuke Minamino is a Kawasaki Frontale player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Kawasaki Frontale would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Svend Brodersen signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kawasaki Frontale, another week without a signature from Daiki Matsuoka.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kawasaki Frontale can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yasuto Wakizaka signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Marcinho has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of César Haydar has come up in conversations Kawasaki Frontale were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marcinho has his answer from Kawasaki Frontale; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A new face in his position, and Svend Brodersen suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Kawasaki Frontale have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Kawasaki Frontale will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Filip Uremovic has his answer from Kawasaki Frontale; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Kawasaki Frontale that is a harder question to answer.
A new face in his position, and Yasuto Wakizaka suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Kawasaki Frontale have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Kawasaki Frontale will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kawasaki Frontale know it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Svend Brodersen signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kawasaki Frontale know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The name of Soma Kanda has come up in conversations Kawasaki Frontale were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Kawasaki Frontale will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Kawasaki Frontale heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jesiel 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Svend Brodersen signs something — a contract at Kawasaki Frontale or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Tatsuya Ito 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kawasaki Frontale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.