Less is more

Lukas Podolski, Jô, Andrés Iniesta, David Villa. But also, investments on Andrew Nabbout, Gabriel Xavier, Victor Ibarbo, Leandro Damião and many possible new arrivals from the other side of the ocean. It’s a gold moment for J. League, especially because these newcomers are raising the attention towards the league. The maxi-deal signed for a decade with DAZN let Japanese clubs make a big splash on the transfer market.

With MLS being the only rising championship on the same pattern (China’s economic growth is slowing down and we don’t know how much Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar will keep the pace w/o winning any major tournament), J. League has taken a different deviation than the one in the 90s. Rather than attracting only players at the end of their careers, the Japanese top tier is doing something even harder.

Watch out though, because too much of this might put a stable and rising league like the J1 – with all the adjustments to make, nonetheless – on a strange path. Chasing stardom at all costs isn’t so wise in the medium or long-term. China is an example on this, but even J1 in its beginnings would state the same case. And so… what do you have to do to grow properly?

You might want to take a look to the Best XI of the 2010s in J. League.

Unexpected chances

Even when you have great resources – like Japanese clubs in this day and age –, you should spend carefully. Not only because you have to do that, but also because you CAN do that. If you look at the last 10 Best XI – from 2009 to 2018 –, no particular big stars have risen. To do a simple example, Lukas Podolski has been in Kobe for 18 months, but in neither those two season has gone even closely to Best XI. Jô featured in those eleven, but Nagoya Grampus’ lunatic path in the league hindered his chances of being the MVP.

Instead, the likes of less advertised-names featured in this special XI. Leandro Domingues wasn’t exactly having the time of his life with Vitoria (despite a good 2009 season, before joining Reysol); Douglas had to go through Tokushima Vortis before shining in Hiroshima. Elsinho had a bunch of loans in Brazil, while Márcio Richardes found his perfect fit in Niigata with Albirex. Same goes for Léo Silva, who today is a senator at Kashima Antlers.

All examples quoted here are Brazilian, but I could name many non-Brazilian players who found a home in Japan. At the same time, some clubs anchored their history to them: Mihael Mikić has been an institution at Sanfrecce, Krzysztof Kamiński is still the starter goalkeeper for Jubilo Iwata and Jay Bothroyd found new life in Japan. Not to mention Joshua Kennedy becoming a cult hero in Nagoya or the strange Slovenian enclave – Zlatan Ljubijankić, Milivoje Novaković – which almost let us see Omiya Ardija winning a title.

In the end, it seems easier, smarter and less expensive to pick up a star from Chanathip Songkrasin or Hwang Ui-jo rather than from Cacau or Diego Forlán. So how to move on the transfer market?

Five possible chances in free agency

We’re no fortune-tellers. And we’re not in place to predict a good or bad season by Vissel Kobe’s stars or Leandro Damião (who started well, scoring the winner in the Japanese Super Cup). Given though this last decade, you would say that finding the missing piece for Japanese clubs is easier to do with raw and undiscovered material.

The limit of foreigners has been raised from this season: I’m not totally against it (look how prohibitions didn’t work in China), but at the same it would have been interesting to watch a “3+2” formula, with three players from all over the world and two mandatory elements from AFC-nations. That would have stimulated the relationships with other countries and at the same time with the world.

JFA opted for a different proceeding: we’ll see if it’ll work. I’ve my doubts, but I’ll be pleased to be refuted. Personally, I’d take what Dan Orlowitz (@aishterutokyo on Twitter) said once in a nice piece of Copa90 around Japanese football: “You’ll start seeing Japan not just as a retirement payday like it was in the 90s, but as a mid-career alternative, where older players with still a lot of gas in the tank can still come and make an impact”.

Meanwhile, here there are five suggestions for Japanese club on the free market.

• Yohan Cabaye

To think he was playing a UEFA Euro Championship just three years ago… time flies by. But he has been re-offered a contract by Palace and he didn’t take the bait, so maybe he could take a leap and try a new adventure Far East. If you think about it, his adventure in UAE lasted just some months before leaving the country.

• Emmanuel Emenike

The Nigerian forward hasn’t scored a league goal in three years, but some reports indicate how may be ready to come onto the pitch. Why not trying then a Japanese experience, even in J2, to start over?

• Jo Inge Berget

Strange career he had. When he was with Malmo, he was even able to decide UEFA Champions League play-off matches, scoring a brace against Celtic. While he found solid fortune in Norway and Sweden, things didn’t go as well in England and USA. Berget was just released by New York City FC after mutual decision.

He was tipped to go back to Scandinavia, but the move didn’t happen and so there might be space for something else. Who knows, a nice trip to the North?

• Giorgi Chanturia

The Georgian winger has something to offer and he’s still young (25 years old). He was in the orbit of Vitesse for so long, even playing one season in Serie A with Hellas Verona. After a couple of years with Ural Yekaterinburg, he’s a free agent. He could be a chance for someone, even in second division.

• Obafemi Martins

What a better globe-footballer than the Nigerian striker? Former Inter Milan and Newcastle, Martins then opted to go around the world, even playing in Russia, USA (where he was a known figure in Seattle) and China. He’s 34, but maybe he has a couple of seasons still to impress. Peter Utaka could give some advices about the life in Japan.