
J. League Feb 26, 2021
Frontale opens title defense with win as Akihiro Ienaga scores twice
Marinos manager Ange Postecoglou bemoaned his team's poor performance as the Kanagawa Derby kicked off the J. League first-division season on Friday night.
Dan Orlowitz is a sports writer for the Japan Times, focusing primarily on the J. League, Samurai Blue, and everything there is to print about Japanese soccer. A Philadelphia native and graduate of Simon's Rock College, he moved to Japan at the end of 2006 and fell in love with the beautiful game from behind the FC Tokyo goal. His words, photos, voice, and occasionally visage have appeared online, in print, and over the airwaves for numerous outlets in several languages since 2011.
For Dan Orlowitz's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Marinos manager Ange Postecoglou bemoaned his team's poor performance as the Kanagawa Derby kicked off the J. League first-division season on Friday night.
Japanese soccer's top flight will feature its largest-ever relegation zone as the league aims to rebalance its divisions following last year's pandemic-struck campaign.
As the seconds ticked down to a seemingly inevitable penalty shootout, Kobayashi saved the day for the reigning double champion.
Kikuko Okajima is pleased that the now-former Tokyo 2020 president brought attention to the issue of gender equality in Japan.
Both leagues hope to hasten the integration of dozens of players and coaches who are waiting to enter the country and join their teams ahead of their respective seasons.
As a number of players and even managers wait to get into Japan due to travel restrictions, the league is considering its options on ticket sales for next month's Super Cup.
Mitsuru Murai believes that keeping in regular contact with reporters helped him stay on track during the novel coronavirus-struck 2020 season.
Mitsuru Murai sees 2018 World Cup champion France's squad, which plays club soccer mostly outside its home country, as a model for Japan's young stars.
Adailton's second-half decider gave Kenta Hasegawa's men their first major title in nine years in front of over 24,000 fans at Tokyo's National Stadium.
In an extensive interview with The Japan Times, J. League chairman Mitsuru looked back on how the league has navigated the turbulent 2020 campaign.