It has been a few years since Kashima Antlers could rightly be described as the team to beat in the J. League, but this season's early form suggests the seven-time champions are fast recovering their old aura.
Antlers lead the table after six games of the season, with Sunday's 2-0 win over Gamba Osaka giving Toninho Cerezo's side a record of five wins and one defeat with 14 goals scored and three conceded. It wasn't until the fourth weekend that Kashima even let in a goal let alone dropped a point, and it is little wonder that Cerezo's recent postgame press conferences have been so heavily punctuated by laughs and smiles.
Antlers' early form has been all the more surprising given the relative inexperience of their lineup. Veterans such as Mitsuo Ogasawara and Takeshi Aoki are still present, but Cerezo has plunged headfirst into refreshing an aging team's profile with immediate and startling results.