Which Way From Here?

J1 Game 20/34, Sat 11 Aug

Omiya Ardija 1-2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima

0-1 own goal 24'

1-1 Ljubijankic 38' (PK)

1-2 Shimizu 49'

GK Ezumi

DF Watabe

DF Kataoka

DF Kikuchi

DF Shimohira 

MF Watanabe

MF Aoki

MF Kanazawa (Ueda 81')

MF Cho (Novakovic 79')

FW Hasegawa

FW Ljubijankic (Kanakubo 65')

Subs not used:

GK Kitano

DF Fukaya

DF Suzuki

MF Hashimoto

Cards:

Y Kanazawa 47'

Y Aoki 56'

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Losing A Must-Not-Lose Game

J1 Game 20/34, Sat 04 Aug

Gamba Osaka 3-1 Omiya Ardija

0-1 Hasegawa 52'

1-1 Leandro 64'

2-1 Leandro 65'

3-1 Kurata 71'

GK Ezumi

DF Watabe

DF Fukaya

DF Kataoka

DF Shimohira 

MF Kanazawa

MF Aoki

MF Carlinhos (Ljubijankic 66')

MF Watanabe (Kanakubo 82')

MF Cho

FW Hasegawa 

Subs not used:

GK Kitano

DF Tsubouchi

DF Suzuki

MF Ueda

MF Hashimoto

Cards:

Y Carlinhos 38'

Y Ezumi 62'

Y Hasegawa 64'

Y Ljubijankic 72'

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Gamba Preview

All in all another extraordinary week to report on at Omiya Ardija, ahead of what is shaping up to be a crucial match on Saturday evening at Gamba Osaka. It's an encounter which, while very important to both teams' hopes of staying in J1, is also very difficult to predict. Approaching the business end of a disastrous season Gamba are running out of time if they are to battle their way out of the relegation places, but have re-signed a proven J-League goalscorer in Leandro.

Meanwhile Omiya's form is up one moment and down the next, as exemplified by last weekend's thrashing at Kawasaki Frontale. And in Zlatan Ljubijankic and Milivoje Novakovic the Squirrels have signed forwards of their own, as they seek to secure their place in the top division for another season. But Ljubijankic went off after a mysteriously brief 20-minute cameo in a training match on Sunday and his fitness ahead of the trip to Osaka is unclear.

Newcomer Novakovic had his first training session as an Omiya player on Friday. A veteran of 33, his scoring record at both club and international level is better than of his fellow Slovenian Ljubijankic, alongside whom he has played for the national team: Novakovic boasts a resume that includes nineteen goals for Slovenia more than seventy for 1FC Koln in Germany. Impressive enough, and stats that suggest he could be a very dangerous weapon in the J-League, but Ardija fans will likely have to wait before it becomes apparent how Zdenko Verdenik plans to deploy his new assets.

They may choose to spend some of that time pondering the fragility of the Squirrels' defence - demonstrated with terrifying clarity during the second half at Frontale - and the fact that Verdenik has not yet done anything to strengthen this part of the squad. Indeed, given that Kim Young Gwon has left and not been replaced, there are now fewer options than earlier in the year. At times under their new coach Omiya have looked strong and resolute defensively, but on other occasions the discipline of the back four has disappeared completely.

No combination of players seems to convince on a consistent basis: Kosuke Kikuchi might usually be the lynchpin and decision-maker, but when such a key member of the team is so prone to lapses in concentration that expose his colleagues, it is hard to have confidence in Ardija's rearguard. It is also worth noting that the one defender Omiya have been linked with in the transfer market, Mito Hollyhock starlet Tsukasa Shiotani, this week joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Are we really stuck with what we've got? Is what we've got really good enough to survive another Ardija relegation scrap? The Gamba match counts as a must-not-lose fixture, as a victory for the Blue and Blacks will close the gap between the teams to three points. Can the Squirrels defence keep out a fired up and desperate Leandro, Yasuhito Endo and co? Has Zlatan Ljubijankic succumbed to injury almost before his Omiya career has started? All in all, Ardija once again go into a key game with more unanswered questions hanging over their heads.

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Zlatan Interview Clip

There's a short English-language interview with Zlatan Ljubijankic starting at 3m 18s of this clip from the Ole Ardija TV show.

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Trialists And Tribulations

Friendly, Sun 29 Jul

Omiya Ardija 1-3 Kansai University

0-1 scorer unknown 2'

1-1 Ueda 69'

1-2 scorer unknown 74'

1-3 scorer unknown 79'

GK Kitano (K Shimizu HT)

DF Kanazawa

DF Tsubouchi (coach Otsuka 58')

DF trialist

DF Suzuki

MF Ueda

MF Hashimoto

MF trialist

MF Kanakubo (trialist HT)

FW Ichikawa

FW Ljubijankic (trialist 20')

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GGOA Coach Survey: The Result

Fresh out of the worst result since he took over at NACK5, Zdenko Verdenik has received what amounts to a tentative thumbs up from Omiya supporters. The Squirrels went down 4-1 at Kawasaki Frontale, but a slim majority of readers voting in the most recent GGOA survey here on GGOA have indicated that they're happy that the Slovenian is in charge at Ardija.

60% of participants voted to the effect that Verdenik has done well - even though the Frontale result means that he has picked up only five points from six league games. In contrast, no voters at all said that they wishes that former coach Jun Suzuki was still in charge. Full results are as follows: 

Who should be Omiya coach?

1. Verdenik - he's doing a great job 60%

2. We should have got someone else 40%

3. I wish Suzuki was still there 0%

Thanks to all who voted.

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Second Half Slump Stuns Squirrels

J1 Game 19/34, Sat 28 Jul

Kawasaki Frontale 4-1 Omiya Ardija

0-1 Hasegawa 19'

1-1 Nakamura 45+4'

2-1 Kobayashi 47' (PK)

3-1 Kusukami 69'

4-1 Renato 71'

GK Ezumi

DF Kataoka (Kanakubo 83')

DF Fukaya

DF Kikuchi

DF Shimohira 

MF Aoki

MF Carlinhos (Ueda 77')

MF Watanabe

MF Watabe 

FW Hasegawa (Ljubijankic 73')

FW Cho

Subs not used:

GK K Shimizu

DF Suzuki

MF Kanazawa

FW Ichikawa

Cards:

Y Cho 33'

Y Kikuchi 46'

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Kawasaki Preview

There might not have been any actual matches to enjoy, but that doesn't mean Squirrels fans haven't had an interesting time of it since the 2-2 draw with Vissel Kobe at NACK5 a couple of weeks ago. And both the main events during that period could act as inspiration to Omiya ahead of Saturday's game at Kawasaki Frontale.

Transfer speculation has gone into overload since the departure from Ardija of Rafael and Kim Young Gwon, but Rafa's replacement is now confirmed and available for selection. It's anticipated that Zlatan Ljubijankic, signed from Belgian side Gent, will start on the substitutes' bench against Frontale. While it would be asking a lot of Ljubijankic to make an immediate impact - for one thing, he hadn't completed preseason training in Belgium - Omiya supporters will be forgiven for being desperate to see the Slovenian international in action.

It's been clear throughout the season that we need a new approach to getting goals and Ljubijankic represents Zdenko Verdenik's means of delivering a sharper Ardija attack. The big question will be who Verdenik will in due course select to play alongside the newcomer and the favourite at the moment would seem to be - and this was pretty much unthinkable at the start of the year - teenage striker Shintaro Shimizu.

After picking up an injury in training on Thursday it isn't clear whether Shimizu will be available to play against Kawasaki, but the youngster must be bursting to stake his claim for a permanent slot ahead of Yu Hasegawa, Masahiko Ichikawa and even the disappointing Cho Young Cheol. At Frontale, in the meantime, depending on Shimizu's fitness Hasegawa and Cho look the most likely partnership to start.

As well as the arrival of Ljubijankic, the other source of encouragement for Omiya came from a top quality performance by midfielder Keigo Higashi in Japan's sensational Olympic victory against Spain on Friday. Higashi put aside his poor league form to show discipline and creativity when matched up with a strong Spanish team, bringing one excellent save from David De Gea and setting up chance after chance for his team-mates. More broadly it was a display that underlined the high standard of football on offer in the J-League and Ardija's player was at the very heart of the Japanese team. 

Zdenko Verdenik meanwhile needs to get points on the board for Omiya and Kawasaki's recent bad run of results suggests that, with or without Higashi, Saturday's match is a winnable one. Like Shintaro Shimizu Carlinhos was injured in training in midweek but indications are that he may be fit enough to play. Zlatan Ljubijankic may be the longer-term solution but the immediate question is still, Where will the goals come from? 

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Higashi On Target As Olympics Near

Omiya midfielder Keigo Higashi is surely playing himself into the starting line-up for Japan's bid for 2012 Olympic glory. The Squirrels starlet added to his assist from the midweek friendly win over Belarus by opening the scoring in the first minute against Mexico on Saturday. If only he had done the same for Ardija even once this season. But never mind. It'll come, I'm sure. Anyway, the Young Samurai went on to win their last pre-tournament practice game 2-1.

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Kanazawa Nets In, Er, "Friendly" Win

Friendly, Sat 21 Jul
Omiya Ardija 1-0 Urawa Reds

1-0 Kanazawa 27'

GK Ezumi (K Shimizu HT)

DF Tsubouchi (Yamazaki 60')

DF Fukaya (Kataoka HT)

DF Kikuchi (Koinuma HT)

DF Shimohira (Suzuki HT)

MF Kanazawa (Oyama 60')

MF Ueda (Hashimoto HT)

MF Watanabe (trialist 60')

MF Watabe (Kanakubo HT)

FW Hasegawa (Cho HT)

FW S Shimizu (Ichikawa HT)

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