How to line up in 2012

I know that the year is still young, but it's never too early to imagine. So with that in mind, I thought I'd have a go and imagine how the Reds will line up come the start of the season. Between now and the the start of the season, there are things I haven't accounted for (ie. new signings or injuries), but if the season was to start to day...I would go with one of the following (I wasn't able to decide on or the other).

Formation: 3-6-1
--------------------Kato---------------------
-------Spira---Nagata---Makino-------
--Takahashi--------------------Ugajin--
--------------------Keita--------------------
--------Kashiwagi-------Naoki---------
------------------Richardes---------------
--------------------Genki-------------------

Petrovic 2.0 was known to run the 3-6-1 formation at Hiroshima. If that was to continue this year, I think we'd look like the above. This allows for us to play a back three of Spiranovic-Nagata-Makino, we would play mainly through the middle of the park, with Takahashi and Ugajin running the flanks and Genki upfront. Keeping the ball on the ground would be the primary focus here, with the arial attack would be from one of the back three pushing up. 

Formation: 4-3-3
-------------------Kato---------------------
Takahashi--Spira--Makino--Ugajin
-------------------Keita--------------------
--------Kashiwagi----Naoki------------
-----------------------------------------------
---Umesaki-----Ranko-------Genki---

This looks more familiar with how we lined up last year, but having Umesaki and Genki on the wing we looked potent in 2011. I know senior management would want to find a place for Richardes, so that might mean either Naoki or Umesaki will be coming off the bench. Also, either Spiranovic, Makino or Nagata will sit on the bench alongside Hamada, which would still be a solid CB combination (no more Tsuboi or Nobu Yamada at CB?!). Not 100% confident with Ranko upfront, but I'd rather him then Popo.

On to some transfer news; the media still can't make up it's mind whether Yuki Abe is returning or not. If Abe does return, does our team captain lead from the bench or will Petrovic 2.0 install a new captain?

The need for a striker

As I have been saying over and over; we need a striker who can produce goals. For a while now, it's been our biggest need, there has been attempts to fill that need but we're still looking. The big question though is who can we bring in or is there anyone from within who can feel that need? Well lets have a look.

Firstly, lets have a look at who we have from within our current squad.

Tatsuya Tanaka has been hit by injuries the last couple of years and even when healthy hasn't produced goals on a consistant basis. Tanaka is more of a winger rather then an out and out striker though, and lacks the size to be a "target" up front.

Sergio Escudero has been around for a while but is still only 23 years old. For all the promise he has shown throughout the years, there has been as much disappointment. A goal scorer though he hasn't been. Sergio has always been on the fringe of the starting XI but just hasn't been able to stake his claim. Maybe this year with a lack of striker, could be the year for Sergio to shine?

Genki Haraguchi was our top scorer in 2011 but wasn't deployed as our primary striker, rather playing on the wing. Can he play more central to be the primary target? Does he lack the size? Think Lionel Messi. I don't want to compare Genki with Leo (Leo is smaller then Genki) but just to give you an idea of the possibilities. Genki was our "x-factor" in 2011 and wouldn't be surprised if nothing changes in 2012. I do believe that Genki will one day be our "number 9", but is 2012 too soon?

Ranko Despotovic was brought into the fold only 6 months ago and hasn't delivered the goals. The signs has shown that he is capable and has the ideal size. Ranko was the top scorer in the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, where he scored 4 goals in 5 appearance. So Ranko can score goals and if he can bring his league cup form into the J-League all this need for a new striker will be over. The biggest question is can he?

Finally there's Adilson Ferreira de Souza (Popo). As I have mentioned before I don't know if we brought him in to score goals or to be Richardes "teddy bear". I have no doubt he will be given the opportunity but whether he will deliver is the biggest question. Do I see Popo scoring 10 goals for us in 2012? No, but hopefully I'm proven wrong because if I am there would be alot of happy people in Red.

So are the above players the answer? If they aren't who can we bring in? We've tried to lure Kazuma Wantanabe, Mike Havenaar and Tadanari Lee; but they all rejected us. So who else is left? One of the biggest "circumstance" we have to consider is that the striker has to be a local player. We already have the 3+1 internationals, ironically 2 of them are strikers. So lets see who's out there? (Please note that more then likely the following players are contacted to their current clubs and have zero to no chance of joining the Reds).

Yohei Toyoda was the top scorer for the J2 in 2011 with Sagan Tosu. But then again Hiroyuki Takasaki was J2's top scorer in 2009 with Mito Hollyhock and the proceeding two years only scored 3 goals for us. Was it due to the lack of opportunity or something else? Toyoda is a less likely option as he is moving to the J1 with Sagan Tosu. (Update: Only fully transfered to Sagan Tosu this off season)

Kensuke Nagai is the third option up front at Nagoya; behind Kennedy and Tamada. To get more J1 opportunities, would Nagoya consider loaning Nagai to the Reds?

So what are our chances for claiming a striker or should we expect to go with who we have? We all know that Petrovic 2.0 wanted Tadanari Lee, so does that mean he's not happy with our current crop of strikers? Will Popo be more then just Richardes' teddy bear? There are many questions regarding our strikers, but only time will tell how it pans out.

For me personally, I'd like to see how Genki pans out has our target up front. How about you?

Not sure about this one

As I have been continually saying this off season, we need a stiker, and now that we have signed Adilson Ferreira de Souza (Popo) from Vissel Kobe, I will continue to state our need for a striker. Popo, at best, is a mediocre striker.

To be honest, I'm not sure whether we brought Popo in to score goals or to keeps Marcio Richardes happy. Both Richardes and Popo are from Andradina, Brazil (a city in Sao Paulo) and are childhood friends. It's no secret that Richardes didn't perform well for the Reds in 2011, so would bringing in someone to keep him "happy" off the field improve his performance on it? Popo could be a name for a teddy bear right?

I do hope that I'm proven wrong regarding Popo because we need a goal scorer, but to see Popo score 10 goals this year, now that would be a miracle!

On to other transfer news; Kazuki Hara has been loaned out to Kyoto Sanga FC for the season and the return of Yuki Abe is still in the balance. Depending on where you read, Yuki Abes return would be finalised over the next few days, or Abe has no idea regarding the move. Let's see what happens...

Welcome aboard: Makino

So it is official; the Reds have signed Tomoaki Makino on loan for one year from 1FC Koln (Link). A defender isn't our primary need, but with Petrovic 2.0 known to run a 3-6-1 formation and Makino familiar with Petrovic, I couldn't be a bad thing. As I have stated numerous times a back three of Spiranovic-Nagata-Makino would be a solid foundation for the Reds.

This signing also shows that Petrovic 2.0 is having a say on his squad make up for this year. So lets see who else from the "checklist" is brought in, but so far we know that Tadanari Lee is joining Southampton, on the condition his visa gets approved and Abe seems less likely to return to the Reds.

On other transfer news, Shunsuke Tsutsumi has joined Avispa Fukuoka (Link) and it appears that Popo will officially sign with the Reds (Link). I really hope that this isn't the case as I don't think Popo is who we need.

The start of something new?

Happy new year Reds fans; I know it's a bit late but I wanted my first blog of 2012 to include our first signing of the year. Alas, 11 days into 2012 and we're still waiting! There has been rumours galore, both good and bad, but still nothing.

It's been reported that every player the Reds have approached has declined with the exception of Popo and Takahara. Yes, Mr No-Goal Takahara returning to the Reds and 35 year old Popo are our reinforcements? I know these two guys have consistently scored against us this past few years, but I can't imagine them scoring for us. Takahara has proved that in the past!

Strikers Tadanari Lee and Mike Havenaar has moved to Europe, joining Southampton and Vitesse respectively, which doesn't give us much of an option for fresh striker. Is Ranko going to be the answer? Only if he brings is "cup" form to every game.

The latest  rumour has been Tomoaki Makino joining the Reds on a year long loan. Makino joining the Reds have been on and off over the last couple of weeks, but according to 1.FC Koln manager says that the loan is almost official (Link). But is another defender what we need? With Petrovic 2.0 known for playing a 3-6-1 formation, having a back three of Spiranovic-Nagata-Makino wouldn't be a bad thing, plus we still have Hamada.

Who else have we been linked to? Yuki Abe. Having his presence in the midfield will be good for the Reds, but the possibility of Abe returning very slim. Wouldn't you rather see Abe in the Premier League?

Moving in the other direction; Mazola's year long loan has ended (so he's back at Sao Paulo), Hiroyuki Takasaki has gone to Ventforet Kofu in the J2 (possibly to replace Havenaar?), Satoshi Horinouchi has been released (reported to be going to Consadole Sapporo) and Shunsuke Tsutsumi has also been released.

Of the four, losing Mazola and Takasaki would be the biggest. By saying that though, neither of the two impressed me that much in 2011. Mazola started well, but for some reason didn't make it on the field as often as I would have expected an "import" and Takasaki, J2's top scorer in 2010 couldn't deliver consistently in the J1 (the reason he's returning to the J2?).

Besides waiting for our first signing, I'm also waiting for the Reds 2012 jersey. Well here's a look at my Reds jersey collection (5 years in the making...). Only thing I'm missing is my two goalkeeper jerseys.

So the next time I blog hopefully I will be reporting on our first signing. Until then...

Introducing... A new striker in town & My jersey

There's a new striker in town (link); and his name is Ranko Despotovic. He comes from Girona FC, who plays in the Spanish Second Division, last season he scored 18 goals in 34 matches, has good size for a striker (185cm/75kg) and he's still in his prime at 28 years old. 

I'm glad that we didn't get a washed up player past his prime from Brazil that could have been. But do I think he's a good addition to the Reds? Well only time will tell. The more immediate question is can he ever replace Edmilson? If he can score goals more consistently then Edmilson has this year, which isn't to hard, then yeah. I'm just glad that they didn't issue him Urawa's number 9; that's something that needs to be earned. (He's been given jersey 31)

Finally; those who follow my on twitter (@urdblog) knows that my Urawa Reds 2011 jersey has arrived. It's slightly delayed, but it's not an easy task to source a J-League jersey outside of Japan, as many may already know. There's been a common question everyone is asking which I'll answer here, why Spiranovic? The answer is simple; I'm an Aussie, so it was the obvious choice. Enough yapping from me, here it is: 

Winning is winning

Right now I don't really care if it was against a JFL team, but winning is winning and I'm believing that this victory against Fukuoka will be what gets our season back on track. We just needed a win to get our confidence back, but not too much were we get a head of ourselves, like our first win of the season against Nagoya. Interesting point is our two victories this season has come at both extremes. Our first victory was against the defending champions and second is against the cellar dwellers of this season; so does this means we can defeats the top team and the bottom team, but nothing in between?

Either way, the 3-0 victory against Fukuoka was a relief more then anything. Say we didn't win the game, it would have spelt trouble for us. Not that I'm saying we're in the clear yet; we're equal on points with the 16th placed team. The only thing keeping us up at the moment is our goal difference.

One thing that has impressed me about this game is the direction of the team. To often in the past we appear to continue the course which tends to lead to distruction. There was something about change that just seemed to scare the managers. Did they not want to bench the player that is being paid alot of money but not performing, or are there pressures from above to keep the underperforming star playing? Why haven't we in the past given one of the "youngsters" a fair go at it?

When we did give our youngsters a fair go at it, it would appear to have worked out well; there have been Genki, Naoki, Ugajin and now it seems Kojima could join the list. Kojima's first appearance for the Reds was positive and maybe following in the footsteps of Naoki, minus the injuries of cause. Maybe it's just me and my bias views, but if it wasn't for his injury (see below), I do think Naoki would be what I consider a star or at least be a regular for the team. Just a reminder that Naoki's original injury happened when he was playing for the National Team in an Asian Cup Qualifer. Now I just hope that the injuries are now behind him and he's given a chance to shine.  

Another person given a chance in the Fukuoka game was Mazola, who partnered Tatsuya upfront. Mazola up to now have been mainly used as an "impact" player coming off the bench, and doing a good job at it, so it was good seeing him in the starting XI. I still would like to see a "three-pronged" attack with Haraguchi and Mazola on either side of; well a new striker.

It's been reported that Edmilson is on his way to Qatar and the Fukuoka game could very well have been his farewell match. Coming on in the 71min to replace Mazola, Eji ended his tenure with the Reds on a good note, firstly setting up the second goal for Richardes and scoring the Reds third goal in injury time. It was a good gesture from Petrovic to put Eji on and give him the chance to "redeem" his season.

Overall we showed signs of life and appear to be headed in the right direction (so I've continued to say). Like past few weeks (minus the Shimizu game), Spiranovic and Nagata has anchored our solid backline and the "shutout" is further proof of that. Since replacing Yamaguchi, Kato is showing more signs that he is a J-1 level keeper and had another impressive showing between the post.

Unlike the past few games, we were able to score and score when it counted. Keita had what we call in cricketing terms a "captains knock" and really started it all for us in the 53min, setting up and scoring the first goal. What impressed me the most though was that we played with conviction and as a team.

This is how we lined up against Fukuoka

GK: Kato
DF: Takahasi; Spiranovic; Nagata; Hirakawa
MF: Keita; Kojima, Naoki; Richardes
FW: Mazola; Tatsuya

Subs
67min Keita > No. Yamada
71min Mazola > Edmilson
79min Tatsuya > Kashiwagi

Now we need to step it up a gear as our next game is against Nagoya on Saturday and then Gamba Osaka after that. This is were it gets interesting!

Reds' new signing - Mazola

The Reds' has announced that they've signed Marcelino Junior Lopes Arruda or also known as Mazola to a one year loan deal. Mazola, who comes courtesy of Sao Paulo FC, is a 21 year old Brazilian who's capable of either playing striker or left winger. 

So with Mazola's signing the Reds have filled all their foreign spots with another Brazilian (3 international + 1 AFC player). The big question though is how does Mazola fit into the grand scheme of things. Is he going to partner Eji up front, be his back up or be pushed wide. Did the Reds' really need another striker, or an attacking player in general?m The way I'm picturing the squad taking shape, I'd see us employ a 4-2-3-1 formation; but more on that another time.

The big plus with signing Mazola is that he wants to be with the Reds. He has even stated that his prefered destination has always been Japan and with the Reds, especially after what Washington (former Urawa stiker) told him about Japan and Urawa (link). One thing is for sure, this sweet talker has already won some fans over; hopefully his action will speak louder then his words.

The start is near

With Urawa's disastrous 2010 season well and truly behind us and the 2011 campaign starting up in a few days (20th January to be exact), I thought now would be a good time to update everyone on the happening and changes during the off-season so far and what to expect from season 2011.

The biggest change from 2010 to 2011 would have to be the removal of Volke Finke as team manager. In the 2 seasons with the Reds, Finke has steered the Reds towards the right direction, but it was evident that the Reds needed something more and Finke wasn't the person to deliver it. The one thing that Finke did bring to the Reds was giving the younger players a chance to shine. Players like Genki Haraguchi, Naoki Yamada, Shunki Takahashi, Tomoya Ugajin and Takuya Okamoto would not have made it on the field in the previous regime, but under Finke's turtalege were able to find their feet and was given the opportunity. But what Finke lacked was the X-Factor, the ability to find the winner; in my opinion I think Finke at times went for the safer option. 

With Finke gone, the Reds has named Zeljko Petrovic, an ex-Urawa player (1997 -2000), as the new team manager to replace Finke. Petrovic most recently was the assistant manager to Avram Grant at Premier League side West Ham United but previously has managed Dutch side RKC Waalwijk and holds a Dutch coaching licence. So what does this all mean? For me hopefully it will mean attacking football which will equate to more victory and at least a top 3 finish in the league. But only time will tell.

In terms of player movements, this off-season has seen plenty of movements for the Reds. More then what we've seen over the past few seasons at least anyways.

The following players are no longer with the Reds.

• Robson Ponte (Released)
• Wilfred Sanou (Loan-return to FC. Koln)
• Hajime Hosogai (Bayer Leverkusen > FC Augsburg [Loan])
• Ryota Tsuzuki (Released)
• Masahito Hashimoto (Released)
• Yusuke Hayashi (Thespa Kusatsu)
• Yoshiya Nishizawa (Tochigi S.C)

The players that will be most sorely missed from the above list have got to be Ponte and Hosogai; for two completely different reason. Firstly Ponte would have to be accredited for his part in bringing Urawa's first and only J-1 title in 2006 as well as the ACL title the following year. The sentimental side of me wished that he would be with the Reds until he retired and he deserved his place in the starting 11, but his performances in 2010 hasn't warranted it. Ponte isn't the player he once was and is entering the twilight of his career. I guess the same could be said for Tsuzuki; but his performance hasn't been up to scratch to that of a few years ago. Rather then having Tsuzuki warming the Reds bench for another season, it was time for him to go too.

On the other hand Hosogai is just entering the prime of his career and could have easily have been Urawa's captain for years to come. Instead he is going abroad to try his luck in Germany. It reminds me of when Hasabe left; and hopefully Hosogai will blossom in Germany as well. Hosogai has signed with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen but is being loaned out to Bundesliga2 side FC Augsburg for the remainder of the season. In my opinion this a good move for Hosogai, as it gives him a chance to find his feet in Germany.

Another player going to Germany is Sanou, but he is returning to FC Koln as his loan period has expired. Sanou was only ever really added depth to Urawa's squad and really didn't do much to cement his place in the squad. To some, Sanou was just a "waste" of a foreign spot in Urawa's squad; for me though he had his moments, but really didn't do enough. The remaining departures are Reds juniors who, in a sense, didn't make the cut.

The following players have signed with the Reds;

• Matthew Spiranovic (FC Nuremburg [Full Transfer])
• Marcio Ricardes (Albirex Niigata)
• Mitsuru Nagata (Albirex Niigata)
• Kazuki Hara (Shimizi S-Pulse)
• Jun Aoyama (Tokushima Vortis)
• Shuto Kojima (Maebashi Ikuei H.S)
• Rintaro Yajima (Urawa Reds Youth)

After a successful loan spell, the Reds picked up the option of a full transfer and have signed Spiranovic on a one year deal. To complement this move the Reds have also signed Mitsuru Nagata from Albirex Niigata to partner Spiranovic in the centre of the Reds defense. This is as good of a combination as we have had for a few seasons and also means that hopefully Tsuboi will not be starting. I'm sure this is good news for all Reds fans.

The Red's has obviously signed Ricardes as Ponte's "replacement" (using the word loosely). The expectation is for Ricardes to form a deadly combination with Edmilson, like in the days when both played for Niigata. I know some are expecting to much for Ricardes to deliver as Ponte did; but if Ricardes could, that would be a dream come true!

Hara was brought in as back-up for Edmilson and I really don't know what to expect. With S-Pa he has shown flashes of brilliance, but really hasn't delivered on consistently. I see Hara competing with Takasaki to be Edmilson's understudy and not much more then that. I am fascinated though by the signing of Aoyama. Even though Aoyama was injured for most of 2010, the 23 year old defensive midfielder has represented Japan in under-20's and has the potential to anchor the Red's midfield.

Kojima and Yajima are still young and will be interesting to see how they both develop. Kojima, a midfielder, has shown potential whilst playing for his H.S side. Yajima, an attacking midfielder, was called up to the Reds' senior squad in late 2010 and has made an appearance on the Reds' bench. The Reds' have made it known that they are still on the look out for a player to fill the final foreign spot.

I will give a more in-depth look at the squad once it has been finalised.