After winning two straight J. League first division championships, Kawasaki Frontale was favored by many to become just the second team in the league's 26-year history to pull down a third.
The Kanagawa Prefecture club's quest to join Kashima Antlers in the history books got off to a slow start on Saturday with a scoreless draw against Tamagawa Clasico rival FC Tokyo at a sold-out Todoroki Stadium.
"It's disappointing that we couldn't win at home with such a big crowd," Frontale boss Toru Oniki said after the match. "It ended in a draw but it wouldn't have been unexpected for either team to win. We didn't play our way for as much time as we would have liked, so we need to move on to the next game."