German League club Borussia Dortmund is hoping to sign Urawa Reds and Japan midfielder Shinji Ono, along with Jubilo Iwata and Japan Olympic team striker Naohiro Takahara, a Dortmund official said Tuesday in Tokyo.

Horst Koeppel, a Dortmund scout and youth team coach, was visiting Tokyo to check the Japanese players and talk with their clubs. However, Takahara missed Saturday's game in Iwata due to a broken cheekbone.

Koeppel did see Ono's performance at Urawa on Sunday.

Koeppel said on Tuesday he will meet with Urawa president Shigeru Nakagawa and Ono sometime later this week.

"Ono is a very good player and needs more experience to improve his play," said the 52-year-old Koeppel, who picked up Ono for the Reds while he was managing Urawa in 1997. Ono started his pro career in 1998 after Koeppel was dismissed following the 1997 season.

Koeppel said, "Ono will have no problem playing in the German League. He needs to get used to the environment in Germany, which will be new to him. But football-wise, he plays like an European player. He's intelligent and passes the ball very well without taking too much time. I'd like to talk to him and his club to find out what they think about (our offer)."

Koeppel said he learned about Takahara when he attended some of Japan's matches at the Sydney Olympics. Koeppel added that he's also interested in Yokohama F. Marinos and Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura.

Dortmund is currently ranked fourth in the German League but has been hampered by many injuries.

Underachieving Reds

URAWA -- To the relief of their fans, the Urawa Reds clinched a spot in Division One of the J. League next season after beating Sagan Tosu in extra time on Sunday, the final day of Division Two action.

At the beginning of the season, Urawa was reckoned to be the strongest team in J2 and many expected its promotion campaign would be a breeze considering the standard of its players.

But the Reds wouldn't be the Reds without giving their frenzied supporters a few heart attacks along the way. The promotion campaign came down to the wire as they underachieved once again.

What made them struggle so much?

"We were short of training and lacked concentration," Urawa and former Kashima Antlers defender Ichiei Muroi pointed out. "We always seemed to be thinking that we would be all right if we could just win our next game." Once again, one of the factors that caused the Reds to struggle was the frequent absence of Shinji Ono due to injuries and national team commitments. The Reds' star midfielder, whose injury in an Olympic qualifier hurt the team last year, skipped a further 18 games out of 40 this season.

Urawa general manager Kenzo Yokoyama, who served as caretaker for the last seven games of this season, also pointed out that the team focused too much on its attacking game, which eventually allowed their opponents to counterattack by taking advantage of slip-ups in defense.

But more than that, many of the players lacked a sense of professionalism on and off the pitch. Muroi said: "The Antlers train harder, more often and with more variation. Also, they have an intensity in each game, knowing that they will lower their value as a player if they don't play well."

In an attempt to bring in more discipline to the team and improve the players' mental attitude, Yokoyama, who replaced Kazuo Saito, started staying at the players' dormitory.

Yokoyama encouraged the younger players to become stronger mentally and not to rely too much on the team's veterans. He also promoted second string goalkeeper Yohei Nishibe, 19, to the first team and left Masayuki Okano out of the squad after the forward was late for a training session.

The 57-year-old Yokoyama also brought in physical trainer Brazilian Flavio, formerly of Japan's national team.

Flavio helped the Urawa players improve their strength and endurance. The veteran trainer also introduced mental training, making the players aware of the significance of each play and working as a unit instead of as individuals. Yokoyama praised Flavio's contribution.

"Ninety-nine percent of this success came from him," he explained. "Thanks to him, our players maintained their stamina even after going down to 10 men against Tosu.

"We have to work on our game and raise our standards. If we don't, we will revert to giving away chances and losing games. I think our players realize that now."