Podcasts about Urawa

Soccer: Urawa Rises to Third in First Division of Japan's J-League

It's time for The Truth!Today, Sam and Dougie are looking at the Club World Cup, set to kick off just a couple of weeks after the European season ends. The tournament has divided fans and pundits alike, with some seeing it as a bizarre power play from FIFA to try and rival the riches of the Champions League, whilst others feel that it's an opportunity to spread the game's wealth on a more even keel globally. We examine the history of the tournament and where the concept originated from, before taking a look at how it matters differently to different areas of the globe - in some place, it's a real badge of honour; whilst in others, it's treated as a second-class trophy. Perhaps more importantly, there's a deep dive into the finances of the tournament and how it's going to work, as well as some thoughts on if we should really be adding more football into an already oversaturated calendar - whilst the concept of the CWC is a good one, generally; is there actually a real need for this given the amount of football players are already going through? So, is this global benevolence or a cash grab from the Federation? Are the big teams going to send shadow sides or are the megastars going to give it all they have? And to whom does this all matter most? Well, The Truth is somewhere in the middle... And remember, if you'd like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?

There were certainly many talking points from the weekend's top flight round, and we begin this episode with some positivity from Jon Steele after Yokohama FC moved out of the drop zone with an away win over Shonan on Saturday, as the sky blues continue to make a decent fist of their return to J1 (to 21:00). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben continue their roundup of Matchday 17, beginning with Kashima extending their advantage at the top of the table after they downed Shimizu, and Kashiwa lost at Machida. Next up is Kyoto, who piled on the misery for bottom club Yokohama F.Marinos with a fine away win, before we move on to events at Saitama Stadium, where Urawa claimed a controversy-laced home win over FC Tokyo (Ben's rant alert). Following that we review all of the other games, before finishing with a look ahead to midweek and weekend action.

Soccer: Urawa's Nishikawa Renews J1 Goalkeeper Appearance Record with 632 Games

Após 6 rodadas, o Kashima recebe o Urawa em um jogo difícil, que acabou em empate. No entanto, o time de Ibaraki segue firme na liderança.Deixe seu recado para o Hinomaru abaixo do vídeo ou participe pelo nosso e-mail hinomarupodcast@gmail.com

Jonny and Ben kick off this new episode with a good news/bad news ACL review (to 14:56), then they're joined by Jon Steele to chat about Yokohama FC's victory over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday, and the season so far for the Mitsuzawa outfit (to 41:02). Then we run through all of the other games from J1 Matchday 6, including Yokohama F.Marinos and Kobe notching first league wins of the season, Kashima making top flight history with their late leveler against Urawa, and Machida and Fukuoka continuing their upward trajectory, before we finish the episode with a look at the first round of the Levain Cup, and Japan's games against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as they look to seal qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Jonny and Ben are back to round up all eight games from J1 Matchday 5 played on the weekend, while they were also pleased to welcome Ralf Seidl back to the pod to discuss Urawa's first win of the season. After an ACL review dominated by Hiroshima's disastrous oversight in fielding an ineligible player in the first leg against Lion City of Singapore (to 12:00), Ralf returns to chat about Urawa 1-0 Okayama, and his thoughts on Reds' season so far (to 33:28), before your co-hosts review the rest of the games and look ahead to this weekend's Matchday 6.

We round up two full rounds of top flight fixtures (with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 4) in this week's episode, towards the end of which we're joined by Neil Debnam to chat about the early days of Shigetoshi Hasebe's reign at Kawasaki. We begin with the games involving the top three - new leaders Kashiwa, who climbed to the summit with a win away at Urawa, then Shonan's draw at Yokohama F.Marinos and Hiroshima's narrow win at home over Yokohama FC - before moving on to Kashima's win over FC Tokyo, and the battle between promoted sides Okayama and Shimizu, then away wins for Machida, Gamba Osaka and Fukuoka (their first of the season), before wrapping up Part 1 with the draw between Niigata and Cerezo Osaka (to 1:03:35). Then Neil joins us to discuss Kawasaki's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Kyoto - Sanga's first win of the year - and Frontale's prospects in the ACL Elite Round of 16 against Shanghai Shenhua, before we wrap up the episode with a look at the fixtures in J1 Matchday 5. Please check out Neil's Frontale Rabbit blog.

We have another bumper round of J1 previews for you this week, as we edge closer to the start of the new season. In Part 1 Jonny and Ben preview Hiroshima (to 21:20) and Kashiwa (to 48:25), before they're joined by three terrific guests. In Part 2 Daniel Hawkins chats about Fukuoka (to 1:13:17), then in Part 3 Ralf Seidl discusses Urawa (to 1:45:25), before James Taylor from J-Talk: Extra Time rounds out the pod in Part 4 looking ahead to Okayama's first-ever J1 campaign.

Kobe lifted the Emperor's Cup for the second time in their history after a 1-0 victory over Gamba Osaka in Saturday's final at the National Stadium, and Alan Gibson joined Jonny and Ben to recap a cagey game won by Taisei Miyashiro's 64th minute goal, and then chat about potential offseason personnel changes at both clubs (to 39:10). Then Alan shares some nuggets from his trip to Kashiwa on Sunday (to 45:15), we round up Urawa 1-1 Kawasaki, and look ahead to ACL and J1 Matchday 37 action on the horizon (to 1:00:30). Then in Part 2, Jonny and Ben hand out Player of the Season awards for Tosu, Sapporo, Iwata, Kashiwa, Niigata and Shonan. Please follow us on Bluesky!

Jonny and Ben welcomed Dan Orlowitz back to the pod to chat about Japan's World Cup qualifying victories over China and Indonesia, and how Hajime Moriyasu might approach more than a year of 'dead rubbers' after the Samurai Blue clinch qualification, which will almost certainly come in the next international break, in March (to 27:20), and also Peter Cklamovski's departure from FC Tokyo, after a year and a half in charge (to 39:35). Then in Part 2 we round up the two J1 games played last weekend, and look ahead to the resumption of Urawa v Kawasaki on Friday, and the big one: The Emperor's Cup Final between Gamba Osaka and Kobe, at the National Stadium on Saturday. If you are of the persuasion, follow us on Bluesky!

On this week's episode Ryo Nakagawara makes a very welcome return, to chat about the big games involving the top three teams in J1 in Matchday 36. We begin with Hiroshima's dirty Sunday afternoon at Saitama Stadium, where their title hopes took a massive blow as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat to hosts Urawa, then move on to Kobe's trip to Tokyo Verdy - the champions stunned by a late equalizer but actually pulling a further point clear of Sanfrecce. And finally with Ryo we do a deep dive on Machida 3-0 FC Tokyo at the National Stadium on Saturday (to 1:10:35). In Part 2 Jonny and Ben run through the other seven games, including some amazing late drama in the relegation dogfight. Check out Ryo's Shogun Soccer newsletter, and he's definitely worth a follow on Twitter if you aren't already.

This week on the Stoppage Time agenda: The curious case of the Macarthur Bulls, Southampton fall to a Leicester pea-roller, Tamaki AFC take on Donald Trump, and Mitch Langerak receives a fitting farewell in Japan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J1 returned with a bang after the international break, and on our new episode Jonny and Ben round up all the action from a drama-filled weekend. We begin at the top with the pulsating draw between Kashima and Hiroshima on Saturday night, a result that allowed Machida to return to the summit after they claimed a terrific away win over Fukuoka, with Kobe keeping pace after cruising past Cerezo Osaka on Friday night, though Gamba Osaka's title hopes were dealt a major blow as Maciej Skorza returned to the Urawa dugout and led Reds to a win at the Suita City Stadium (to 40:10). Next we shift our attention to the relegation dogfight, with Kyoto continuing their excellent recent form to maintain their gap above the bottom three, though Tosu and Sapporo both lost, to further dent their faint hopes of survival. Iwata stunned Kashiwa to move within a point of safety behind Shonan, who were never at the races in their loss at Niigata. We finish our Matchday 30 roundup at the National stadium (to 1:20:10), then wrap up the episode with a look at upcoming ACL and domestic fixtures, including an intriguing-looking J1 Matchday 31. You can get tickets for our live show as part of the Yokohama Football Film Festival here, we'd love to see you there on October 12th!

Soccer: J1 Urawa Midfielder Atsuki Ito Traded to Gent in Belgian Top League

Newcastle United kicked off their pre-season tour in Japan with an impressive 4-1 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds! In this comprehensive match review, we break down all the key moments, from early goals to standout player performances.

After another wonderfully chaotic J1 weekend, Jonny and Ben welcomed Tom Dallyn back to the pod for a chat about Sapporo, who returned to the winner's list for the first time in 10 league games with a tremendous victory away at Urawa on Saturday night (to 23:53). In Part 2 we round up the movement down in the relegation dogfight, then shift our attention to the top four (to 1:01:34), before finishing off the episode with the remainder of the top flight results.

Sean Carroll returns to the pod as we review the past two top flight matchdays (with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 21), and then piece together the Team of the (Half) Season. In Part 1 we review Machida's massive win at Gamba Osaka and Kobe seeing off Kashima in the other battle between top four teams (to 24:00), then chat about the good recent runs Cerezo Osaka and Fukuoka are enjoying (to 35:15), before discussing Hiroshima, and where they might improve after a couple more frustrating draws (to 41:30). Then in Part 2 its Team of the (Half) Season time (to 1:28:00), before we run through the other five games from the weekend, the changes in personnel at Urawa, what's going wrong at F.Marinos, and the Relegation Dogfight.

We reached the halfway mark of the J1 season on the weekend, and Fukuoka correspondent Daniel Hawkins joined Jonny and Ben in Part 1 to chat about Avispa's Matchday 19 draw away at leaders Machida, and his thoughts on his side's progress in the first half of the season (to 20:22). Then Part 2 begins with a pair of results for Yokohama F.Marinos and Hiroshima after they squared off in their game in hand last Wednesday (to 34:40), before we review the two big games on the slate: Gamba Osaka's gutsy win at home over Kobe in the Kansai Derby; and Urawa fighting back late to earn a draw at home against a Yuma Suzuki-inspired Kashima (to 59:20). Next we run through the other results (to 1:26:30), before looking ahead to the next two rounds of fixtures, each featuring a pair of clashes involving the top four teams in the league.

Alan Gibson from JSoccer Magazine and JSoccer.com guests in the first part of this week's episode, as we review the fourth round of the season. We begin with surprise leaders Machida, who won for the third straight game, away at Sapporo (to 8:05), before moving on to the game of the round on paper, Hiroshima's trip to Kobe, which finished goalless but still provided levels of intrigue (to 18:40). Then we round up a positive weekend for both halves of Osaka, as Cerezo and Gamba notched comfortable wins (to 40:25), before wrapping up Part 1 with events at the Sanga Stadium on Sunday, where Yokohama F.Marinos claimed victory in a wild and woolly game against Kyoto, and Alan gives us a sneak peak at whats coming in the next issue of JSoccer Magazine (to 55:20). Then in Part 2 we celebrate first wins of the new season for Nagoya and FC Tokyo (to 1:11:30), and round up the other three games, including the absolutely mental 4-4 draw fought out between Shonan and Urawa (to 1:34:10), before finishing the episode with thoughts on the Japan National Team squad for the two qualifiers against North Korea.

We're back with a full review of J1 Matchday 3. We begin in Hiroshima, where Sanfrecce went top on goal difference after putting Tosu to the sword (to 15:15), before moving on to the three teams who won for the first time this season over the weekend - Cerezo Osaka, Kyoto and Urawa (to 46:45). Then Machida and Kashiwa kept the good times rolling, and kept pace with Hiroshima (to 1:01:40), before finishing with wins for Kobe and Niigata, and the only draw of the matchday down in Fukuoka.

History was made, and repeated, in J1 Matchday 1, and Dan Orlowitz joined us to chat about some of the biggest games, and storylines, from the opening weekend of the new campaign. Dan guests in Part 1, and we begin with the two games he was at, starting with Tokyo Verdy's return to the big time on Sunday, and the Greens were very impressive even though Yokohama F.Marinos spoilt their party late on (to 19:00), before we move on to Hiroshima's 2-0 win over Urawa, as they officially christened their brand new stadium in style, with Yuki Ohashi the two-goal hero (to 34:40). We then move on to Gamba Osaka getting a 1-1 draw away at promoted Machida, with a discussion on the transportation/access issues that threaten to tarnish Zelvia's name with away supporters (to 57:35), before we finish with FC Tokyo's 2-2 draw away at Cerezo Osaka, with Ryotaro Araki stealing the show with two goals in his Tokyo debut (to 1:09:35). Then in Part 2 we round up the other six games, including Kashima's cruise away at Nagoya, before we finish with a look ahead to the best games on the Matchday 2 slate. If you haven't already, please check out Dan's new(ish) newsletter, The Hachi.

We're back with our next group of teams to wrap up our second week of previews. Ralf Seidl guests in Part 1 to chat about title contenders Urawa (to 37:05), before we shift our focus down the table and look at Kashiwa (to 56:00) and Niigata.

After Manchester City's win in the Club World Cup semi-finals against Urawa Red Diamonds, David Mooney is joined by The Athletic's Sam Lee to discuss some key performers, including Jack Grealish, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovačić and Oscar Bobb.www.lmtpod.comA longer version of this episode is available earlier and ad-free via subscription on Memberful.Email: hello@LMTpod.comWebsite: www.LMTpod.comTwitter: @LMTpodInstagram: @LMTpodTikTok: @LMT_pod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs are joined in the studio by 1500m World Champion Josh Kerr. Plus, co-creator of The Inbetweeners Iain Morris is on the pod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello listeners and welcome back to the City Report Podcast!On today's show, Amos, Joe and Andrew look back at City's Club World Cup match against Urawa Red Diamonds. If you enjoy the show please leave subscribe, leave a rating and a review!Follow us!https://www.youtube.com/@CityReportPodhttps://twitter.com/cityreportpodhttps://twitter.com/amosmurphy_https://twitter.com/andrewdettmerhttps://twitter.com/joebuttershttps://www.instagram.com/cityreportpod/https://www.tiktok.com/@cityreportpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kobe took another massive step towards their first J1 title on Sunday, but should their stoppage time winner at Saitama Stadium have stood? Jonny and Ben discuss the hugely contentious closing moments, from Shusaku Nishikawa's decision to go up for Urawa's set piece, to whether or not Yuya Osako's eagerness to collect Daiya Maekawa's punt upfield saw him stray offside, and whether or not the VAR crew checked the latter as thoroughly as they should have. After all that madness we wrap up a run-of-the-mill home win for Yokohama F.Marinos against Cerezo Osaka (to 33:10), before we're joined by Jon Steele to chat about Yokohama FC, and their prospects of making a great escape after their terrific 3-1 away win over Tosu on Saturday (to 1:03:40). Then we wrap up the rest of the relegation dogfight, and all of the other results from J1 Matchday 32.

Fukuoka broke the longest major trophy drought in J.League history at the National Stadium on Saturday, and Daniel Hawkins guests to revel in Avispa's 2-1 victory over Urawa in the Levain Cup final. After praising heroes Kazuya Konno, Hiroyuki Mae and Daiki Miya, among others, we chat about what this success means for the club going forward, and how it shapes expectations for coming campaigns. Finally, we wrap up the episode with a look ahead to the crunch clashes at both ends of the table in the weekend's J1 Matchday 32.

After a big weekend of action at both ends of the top flight table, Sean Carroll joined Jonny and Ben to round it all up. We begin at the National Stadium, where table toppers Kobe passed another huge test on their way to a maiden J1 title when they comfortably saw off Kashima on Saturday (to 30:50), while Yokohama F.Marinos stayed four points adrift with a home win over Sapporo (to 45:50). Next we link the top three to the relegation dogfight by chatting about Urawa's home win over Kashiwa on Friday night, then move on to massive wins for Reysol's fellow dogfighters Yokohama FC and Shonan (to 1:08:10), before rounding up the other four games and looking ahead to the ACL in midweek and next weekend's J1 Matchday 31.

The top two did the business in J1 Matchday 28, setting up an epic clash at the Nissan Stadium this Friday night, and on this episode we review all the action from the top flight weekend, beginning with Kobe's win in the Kansai Derby over Cerezo Osaka, and Yokohama F.Marinos's come-from-behind triumph at Kashima. Then it's 10-man Urawa assuming nearest challenger status after a terrific win at Gamba Osaka, while the rest of the title chasers stumbled. After that we move on to a disappointing weekend for all of our relegation dogfight combatants, before previewing the game of the season (from 1:18:00).

Sam makes a triumphant return to J-Talk to help Ben run through all of the games from a wild top flight weekend. We begin with the top two, Kobe taking advantage of Yokohama F.Marinos's latest wobble by returning to the summit with a 2-1 home win over Kyoto on Sunday night, with the picture looking very murky for F.Marinos after back-to-back defeats against lowly opponents and the rumoured move of Anderson Lopes to Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere Cerezo Osaka vaulted up to fourth and might just be the likeliest challengers to the top two after a third straight win, with Nagoya, Urawa and Kashima all drawing against bottom six opponents. Wins for Hiroshima, Fukuoka and, at long last, Sapporo, round out our J1 wrap, before we look ahead to Levain Cup quarters and two big games for the Samurai Blue.

Jonny Nicol is back to take you through another action-packed weekend of J1 football. In part 1 (start to 16:30), Jonny was joined by Neil Debnam to discuss Hiroshima against Kawasaki, and Frontale more generally.   In part 2 (16:30 to 30:05), Jonny reviews 4 games (Fukuoka v Niigata, Urawa v Nagoya, Kashima v Tosu, Gamba v Shonan) and reveals his Player of the Round.   Then, in part 3 (30:05 to end), Jonny looks at the remaining 4 games (Kyoto v Sapporo, Kobe v Kashiwa, Yokohama F. Marino v FC Tokyo, Yokohama FC v Cerezo), hands out his Under-23 Player of the Round, and previews the matchday 25 fixtures.   Thanks to Jonny for another excellent episode, and to Neil for his guest appearance this week. Thank you to everyone who downloads and listens, especially our Patreon subscribers for their support. Hope everyone enjoys the episode!  

With summer holidays in full swing, Jonny Nicol files solo this week to bring us a full review of last weekend's J1 action (Round 23 of the top-flight season). In Part 1 (Start to 12:38), Jonny reviews a trio of big games from the Round 23 slate (Kawasaki v Kobe, Yokohama Marinos v Gamba Osaka, and Nagoya v Kashima), as well as revealing his Under-23 Player of the Round. Then in Part 2 (12:38 to 19:53), Jonny casts his forensic Nicol-vision over three more matches (Kashiwa v Cerezo Osaka, Fukuoka v Yokohama FC, and Niigata v Shonan), and announces his overall Player of the Round. To finish things off in Part 3 (19:53 to Finish), Jonny talks about Hiroshima v Urawa, FC Tokyo v Kyoto, and Sapporo v Tosu, then gives us an in-depth preview of the forthcoming Round 24 fixtures. Hope everyone enjoys the pod - special thanks to Jonny for taking time out of his well-earned vacation to record this week!

After the short summer break, J1 was back with a vengeance last weekend, and guest host Jonny Nicol is on hand to run us through all of the key points from a busy (and very hot) Matchday 22 in the Japanese top flight. In Part 1 (Start to 08:45), Jonny reviews four of the weekend fixtures (Shonan v Hiroshima, Nagoya v Niigata, Kashima v Sapporo, and Cerezo Osaka v FC Tokyo), and reveals his pick for Player of the Round. Then in Part 2 (08:50 to 18:34), Jonny looks back at four more of the Matchday 22 games (Kawasaki v Gamba Osaka, Kyoto v Kashiwa, Tosu v Fukuoka, and Urawa v Yokohama Marinos). Jonny also hands out a gong for Under-23 Player of the Round (and it's a name that JTET listeners will also be familiar with). To conclude this week's pod, in Part 3 (18:38 to Finish) Jonny sat down for a chat with Jon Steele (nope, me neither). The boys discussed Yokohama FC's home game against Kobe from the weekend, answered a listener question or two, then worked together to preview the upcoming Matchday 23 slate (all games taking place this coming weekend). Hope everybody enjoys the show!

A matchday that promised so much left us with most of the big questions unanswered following stalemates in the crunch clashes at either end of the table, but still delivered plenty of cracking goals and talking points for us to chew on. We begin at the Toyota Stadium for the battle of the (then) top two, with both teams taking the lead but then pegged back, Yokohama F.Marinos maintaining their four point buffer over hosts Nagoya (to 14:20), but seeing their lead over (now) second-placed Kobe reduced to three points after Vissel won at Niigata on Friday night. We then round out the top four with Urawa's goalless draw at home against FC Tokyo (to 33:40), before shifting to the foot of the table and the Battle of the Bottom at Hitachidai, and then rounding up the rest of J1 Matchday 20 (to 1:08:05). We finish the episode with a look ahead to some of the intriguing battles on Wednesday's Emperor's Cup third round slate, and pick out some games to watch in the weekend's Matchday 21.

The J.League celebrated its 30 Year Anniversary on Monday, and Alan Gibson was the only guest we could call on to reminisce on the tremendous history of the professional game in Japan. In Part 1 we discuss how far the league has come in 30 years, and what could be done to take it forward in the years to come, before running through the winners of the 'J30 Best Awards' (to 46:22). Then we turn to matters on the pitch in Part 2. Alan chats about how Kobe have managed to turn things around after last season's struggles, and now top the table by five points after Saturday's win over Hiroshima, before turning to Gamba Osaka, who sunk to the foot of the table after Sunday's reverse at Urawa, before finishing with a state of the union address on J.League officiating (to 1:21:20). Then in Part 3 we roundup the other seven games from J1 Matchday 13, including the two showpiece games at the National Stadium, and Yokohama FC hauling themselves out of the cellar.

Oops, they did it again! Urawa claimed the third ACL title in their history with a 2-1 aggregate triumph in the Final over Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, and Ralf Seidl returns to the pod to give us a taste of the atmosphere of the second leg at a rollicking Saitama Stadium (to 23:50). Then we shift our attention to the eight games played in J1 Matchday 12 over the weekend, with several teams wrapping up a very 'Golden' Week. Others... not so much.

For the third time in their history, Urawa Red Diamonds are champions of Asia after a 2-1 aggregate victory of Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal. Follow Scott's journey from Tokyo to Saitama for the final where he is joined along the way by Michael Church and Sean Carroll. We also hear from a confident Al Hilal fan pre-game and get all the reaction from the jubilant Urawa players post game with Marius Hoibraten and Alexander Scholz.

Reds get the result they were after in Saudi Arabia, sleeping giants rouse from their slumber, movement in the top flight top four, and the rest of the J1 matchday - it's all in our new pod. We begin with Urawa's battling draw away at Al Hilal in the first leg of the ACL Final, leaving it all to play for at Saitama Stadium this Saturday night (to 10:00), then move on to convincing wins on Saturday - that took them both out of the bottom six - for Kashima and Kawasaki (to 27:35). Next its on to the top four, with Kobe still top of the pile, and Hiroshima now their closest challengers after the draw at the Nissan Stadium (to 45:00), before we finish with wins for FC Tokyo and Sapporo, and the draw between Kashiwa and Kyoto.

Just days out from this year's enormous AFC Champions League Final between Al Hilal and Urawa Reds, Alexander Scholz joined us on The Asian Game Podcast to preview this year's final. The Urawa defender speaks about his side's form going in, the turnaround under coach Maciej Skorza and why the ACL means so much to the club.

Goals galore, and some absolute humdingers amongst them, Saturday's top flight matchday had the lot, and Ralf Seidl guests in Part 1 to chat about Urawa's big win at home over Sapporo, Maciej Skorza hitting the ground running in the Saitama Stadium dugout (that he was finally able to sit in on Saturday), and the upcoming ACL Final vs Al Hilal (to 27:00). Then we cover Kobe's crushing of Kashima, and Nagoya and Hiroshima keeping pace with the leaders with away wins of their own (to 48:10), before we sweep through the rest of the round, and look ahead to the weekend's Matchday 9.

J1 returned after the international break with a brilliant round of matches stacked with talking points. Our first guest is Chris from J.League Journeys after he and his cohort Lolo headed up to Kashima to see Hiroshima stun Antlers in the last five minutes, and then hung with the Sanfrecce players in the convenience store for a while afterwards (to 20:25). Next we round up comfortable victories for Kobe, Nagoya and Urawa (to 36:35), before Yokohama FC correspondent Manny Padovan guests after the Sky Blues drew at home with Fukuoka (to 54:25). In Part 4 we run through the final four games, including that instant classic up at the Sapporo Dome, and Shuto Machino single-handedly putting Gamba Osaka and former teammate Kosei Tani to the sword.

Later than usual this week (due to school holidays - apologies!), the JTET team bring you up to date with another packed week of J2 and J3 action. In Part 1 (Start to 08:20), James Taylor looks back at all of the J2 action from last Saturday, when six of the Round 6 matches took place. He also casts his discerning gaze over Iwata's game against Sapporo in the Levain Cup. Then in Part 2 (08:20 to 22:00), Jon Steele covers the rest of the J2 games from Round 6 - three matches from Sunday (plus Urawa v Shimizu in the Levain Cup), and the two Wednesday night games (including a shock home defeat for Shimizu against an impressive Gunma). Jon also takes a brief look at the J2 games on the weekend slate for Round 7. As usual, Mike 'The Magic' Innes brings us home with 'J-Talk: Short Corner' (22:00 to Finish), reviewing all of the J3 talking points from a very busy Round 4, as well as previewing Round 5. No guest this week, due to spring holiday scheduling issues, but normal service (alright, as normal as it gets around here) will resume next episode!

Jonny Nicol returned to the pod for a full rundown of J1 Matchday 4, beginning with Gamba Osaka's heartbreaking late loss to Hiroshima, who notched their first win of the season. Then we move on to Sapporo and Cerezo Osaka, who also tasted victory for the first time in the new top flight campaign (to 32:25). Next Nagoya and Niigata continued their fine starts to the season, Urawa and Kyoto won for the second straight week, FC Tokyo bounced back from their miserable showing in Kyoto, and we finish with the lone draw on the Matchday 4 slate, a goalless affair up in Kashima.

J1 Matchday 3 wasn't quite as eventful as its two predecessors, but with two big derbies on the slate there was never going to be a shortage of talking points. In Part 1 of this episode (to 32:40) Alan Gibson from JSoccer Magazine joins to chat about Kobe maintaining their perfect start to the season as they swept to victory over Gamba Osaka in the Kansai Derby. In Part 2 we cover first victories of the season for Urawa, Kyoto and Tosu (to 51:45), then Kashima and Fukuoka making it two wins from three (to 1:05:25), before we chat about the three draws from the weekend, and look ahead to J1 Matchday 4.

The new top flight season kicked off on Friday night, and Stuart Woodward and Alex Bishop guest to help us round it all up. We begin with surprise leaders Shonan, who rode a Yuki Ohashi hat trick to a VAR-assisted 5-1 away thumping of Tosu (to 13:45), before Stuart hops on board to chat about Yokohama F.Marinos's victory in the battle of last season's top two (to 34:30). Then Alex joins to discuss FC Tokyo's victory over Urawa (to 49:50), before we wrap up wins for Kashima, Nagoya and Kobe (to 1:06:40) and finish with the three draws from Saturday, and look ahead to the Matchday 2 slate.

As we edge closer to the start of the new J1 season, we wrap up our third week of previews by discussing Nagoya and Hiroshima. Grampus are first cab off the rank in this episode: After an underwhelming first season in charge for Kenta Hasegawa, a lot hinges on loanee Kasper Junker's performance, fitness and attitude - could his goals spur Nagoya up the table, or will he clash with Hasegawa as he did with his former boss at Urawa (to 34:00)? Then Sanfrecce look to kick on after a stirring rise up the table under Michael Skibbe. With a seemingly settled, deep and versatile squad, can Hiroshima swat aside talk of regression and be genuine title contenders this season?

This week's five club preview is split into two separate pods, with two of the league's heaviest hitters featured first. In Part 1 Ralf Seidl guests to chat about Urawa's 2022 campaign, their ins and outs in the transfer market, and expectations for the new season under (yet another) new manager, Maciej Skorza, plus some ones to watch in 2023 (to 32:50). Then another giant, Kashima, the most successful club in the history of the J.League, are put under the microscope. After 2022 started so promisingly, the season petered out, so what can Daiki Iwamasa do to get Antlers back in title contention (leave, according to Sam!)? Check out Jonny's terrific J1 Predicted Lineups piece and stay tuned for three more previews coming soon in Part 2B.

Happy new year to you all, and welcome to a new season of 'big pod'! In our first episode of 2023, we welcomed Dan Orlowitz back to the podcast to chat about some of the big changes coming to the J.League in 2023 and 2024, and the possibility of the league switching to an autumn-to-spring season in the future (to 25:10. In Part 2 we reflected on Japan's showing at the World Cup, and the JFA's decision to extend manager Hajime Moriyasu's contract for a further four years, before teasing our season preview pods - that begin next week - with some of the biggest moves of the winter transfer window thus far (we did not have the Giakoumakīs to Urawa news at the time of recording).

Sean Carroll made a very welcome return to the podcast this week, guesting to chat about Urawa's decision to axe manager Ricardo Rodriguez after two seasons in charge (to 12:10), before we move on to chat about the J1 title race going to the final matchday after both Yokohama F.Marinos and Kawasaki won their home finales on Saturday (to 34:00). Then we get down and dirty in the #RelegationDogfight, where there was joy for Gamba Osaka, Shonan and Fukuoka after huge home wins, but more agony for Shimizu supporters, who now face a must-win final day trip to Sapporo (to 1:14:50). After we bid Sean adieu, Sam and Ben wrap up the final two games from Matchday 33, and hand out four more Player of the Season awards.