If there was a certain inevitability about the way Kawasaki Frontale failed to win their first piece of major silverware last season, it did not go unnoticed by anyone at the Kanagawa club.
Looking to re-establish their one-point lead over Kashima Antlers with three league games left to play, Frontale somehow contrived to lose against Oita Trinita, a team that had been in shambles all season and had already had its relegation to J2 confirmed.
That defeat, which paved the way for Antlers to claim a third straight league title, came hot on the heels of November's 2-0 Nabisco Cup final loss to FC Tokyo and September's exit from the Asian Champions League at the hands of Nagoya Grampus.