A former Kashima Antler’s insights

Gary Koh
info@sleague.com

Before joining Tampines Rovers this season, Seiji Kaneko spent a decade with J-League champions Kashima Antlers alongside the likes of Mitsuo Ogasawara and Masashi Motoyama.

With the inside knowledge, the 28-year-old defender reckons the most successful Japanese club will give S.League champions Singapore Armed Forces (SAFFC) their longest night when the two sides meet at Jalan Besar for their AFC Champions League Group G clash on Tuesday.

Even with many former and current Japanese internationals in the Antlers’ books, he attributes the intense competitiveness behind the ascendancy of his former club in domestic and continental football where they won back-to-back domestic titles and reached the quarter-finals of the top-tier Asian club competition last year.

“For every position, there are at least two players fighting for that spot. Thus the first-choice cannot take his place for granted,” he said.

Kaneko explains the meritocracy in the selection of the starting eleven as reputation will not save the star players from the axe should they underperform.

“If he suffers even a slight dip in form or performance, there will be somebody who is capable of doing the same job well in his place.

“If the key player is benched, he will be very fired up eager to prove a point when he comes on later in the game.”

The Stag believes the Antlers will deploy a 4-4-2 formation with their short-passing and high pressure attacking game and reckons SAFFC will have a lot to learn.

“In the J-League, the standard is pretty high and the tempo of passing and movement is very fast. All the teams at this level play similarly to one another.”

He singles out key Brazilian forward Marquinhos as the main man in making the Antlers’ successful system tick.

He noted: “Marquinhos is a very good, powerful player who knows where the net is and also sets up unselfishly for his teammates in the box.”

According to him, the other key players to watch are seasoned Japanese veteran international midfielders Ogasawara and Motoyama.

In two-time J-League Manager of the Year Oswaldo de Oliveira, Kashima have the ideal man who knows how to bring out the best in everyone.

Kaneko revealed: “He has an exceptional coach who knows how to motivate his players to play to his exacting standards and focuses much on the mentality to win in training.”

He also believes that the Antlers will leave nothing to chance whether they are facing strong or weak opponents with their thorough preparation and attention to detail.

He sees these qualities will help see off any challenge they have along the way and SAFFC have to brace themselves for the professional onslaught thrown at them.

“Before every game, the players and entire coaching staff will sit out and examine the videos of the opponents thoroughly so that they will understand the kind of opposition they will be facing.

“From there, I believe they will play their usual brand of football, with minor adjustments to cater to the opponents at hand.”

Kaneko is still in touch with his former Kashima colleagues and eagerly looking forward to a brief reunion with them when they are in town for the SAFFC assignment.

Just who he will support is anybody’s guess.