Sakka Densetsu (The Soccer Legend)

Nice results man.

A better month. At least you didn't score an own goal (Or did you, can't remember)

Just started reading but..
nice results and hope you can get promoted but 2 own goals in one game O_O
anyway, keep it up it is epic:)

With the season in full swing, things are in a lull. Of course, the team and I are incredibly busy with training, but there's not much to report, sadly.

May 19, 2013
Sendai Sasuke FC 4 - 2 Sendai Nakata

Mitsugu Oda works his hat trick magic once again! Sendai pulled it back to 2-2, but goals from Oda and Nagata sealed the victory.
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)



It really is true. I'm enjoying watching these games. I didn't think I'd enjoy watching this level of soccer, but direct play done right is a beauty, and Oda and Nagata are wizards.

May 26, 2013
Iwaki Furukawa 3 - 6 Sendai Sasuke FC

It was a heavyweight battle of a match as both teams seemed like they could score goals at will, but it was Sendai Sasuke FC, with the hat trick of Shohei Nagata, who pulled away and got the decisive 3 points!
Player of the Match: Shohei Nagata (Sendai Sasuke FC)

I was so proud of Nagata, and Oda too, as while Oda may not have had the hat trick this time, he actually managed to get us viral on Youtube with this goal! It actually managed to make a highlight on Keith Olbermann's show on ESPN!


Another Oda highlight, as he won the Goal of the Month award!

I congratulated him on it. Oda was really nonchalant about it, "Yeah, I've scored better goals in the past, but I still love winning awards!"

June 2, 2013
Sendai Sasuke FC 5 - 1 Soma SC

Mitsugu Oda's amazing run continues, with an amazing four-goal performance, and not only that, he's earned the full monty - a full 10.0 rating!
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)



There was also a bit of bad news I had to break:

He is a very important part of the team, but I'm confident Ryosuke Nagatomo can take over in the interim, and do very well for us in Nagata's absence.

Oda, and the league in general, have gotten some attention from the Japanese media, due to how goal-friendly it is. There should be a boost in attendance with these games being a cheap way to watch some magnificent soccer!

And with that, here's the table after Round 9 of 18:

League Table

Unfortunately, the table means the end to another wonderful episode of Sakka Densetsu! Tune in next week, or Oda will destroy your goals!

Fantastic start to the season! Keep it up

Very nice eb, looks like you could be getting promoted quick and fast!

18 game league...this is one strange-ass division... But doing great to get 1st place anyway, long may it last!

Great update you are doing very well
ODA IS A BEAST!

"I was so proud of Nagata, and Oda too, as while Oda may not have had the hat trick this time, he actually managed to get us viral on Youtube with this goal! It actually managed to make a highlight on Keith Olbermann's show on ESPN!"


Best part of the update

Love the presentation. Fantasy story keep up the good work

Love the update Eb, like I always do.

The players and I were really excited to be facing Nakaniida SC this week and get revenge on them for our previous match. There will be goals, alright. Nakaniida's nets will be bulging!

Good news for us, as 2nd place Meli lost 0-1 to 3rd place Scheinen, giving us a great opportunity to open things up with another win!

June 9, 2013
Sendai Sasuke FC 2 - 0 Nakaniida SC

Oda's goalscoring streak was snapped at 9 matches, but it wasn't for a lack of trying, he just missed his chances. Nagatomo picked things up with a goal, and Yohei Hirata picked one up too. It wasn't as good of an offensive performance, but our defensive performance wasn't offensive either and Uchino picked up a clean sheet!
Player of the Match: Yohei Hirata (Sendai Sasuke FC)

Unfortunately, we picked up another injury:


Next up, another team I couldn't wait to beat, Scheinen, because they're the only team to beat us so far this season.

In training, the injury struggles continued:

June 16, 2013
Scheinen 1 - 1 Sendai Sasuke FC

The players seemed motivated to take revenge on Scheinen, but a bad team talk where I told them they were unlucky (because they had good chances miss) was reacted to badly, and they were complacent in the second half. Still, Nagatomo took the lead, and it looked to be the only goal needed thanks to Uchino's goalkeeping, but we were denied by a late goal.
Player of the Match: Kazuhito Ushinohama (Scheinen)

Striker Kazuhiro Sakurai will miss 3-4 weeks with a gashed leg. Sadly, with better medical resources he could be back in days, but it's really bad and we don't have the resources of bigger clubs.

- Left midfielder Hikaru Urakami has been signed, he has good pace and determination, he will help with the depth and fill out reserve teams, plus possibly get some first team action if things break right.

We have an textended break before our next match, which is greatly appreciated. Shohei Nagata should be ready and in excellent condition, and other players will have an opportunity to heal up, too.

July 7, 2013
Sendai Sasuke FC 1 - 1 Marysol

Shohei Nagata scored a goal in his return from injury, but the rest of the team struggled to score. Oda was shut out again. Marysol had a penalty in the first half but Kubo put it into row Z. Marysol scored late to deny Sasuke a win.
Player of the Match: Shohei Nagata (Sendai Sasuke FC)

Just as it seemed like Sasuke would destroy every opponent, the flow of goals have slowed to a trickle.

And with that, here's the table after Round 12 of 18:

League Table

Things are not as easy as they seemed, and now we will have to work even harder to ensure victory!

And thus, another episode of Sakka Densetsu has concluded! Now stay tuned for scenes from next week's episode that don't exist because I haven't gotten there yet! XD

Top of the table, very very pleased!

Not a bad month good too see you in first still.

After two draws, and poor goalscoring, the team seemed restless. I had to calm them down and reassure them that things are going great. "We've had tough times of it recently, but we have a great chance to reassure our dominance against Meli and show why we are the best in the league!" The players showed their approval with a hearty cheer.

July 21, 2013
Meli 2 - 4 Sendai Sasuke FC

At one point, Meli were up 2-1, and had proficiency in corner kicks. However, when Shohei Nagata was injured and had to be subbed off, Nagamoto picked up the slack. He scored two goals, one of which is on video below, and the other when Oda played a ball into the corridor of uncertainty that only Nagatomo could get to.
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)

Thankfully, Shohei Nagata's injury is not as bad as it could have been, a bruised rib, he'll be out 11-14 days.

Here's a video of the Nagatamo goal that got uploaded to Sasuke FC's Youtube account:

The next game is against Parafrente, and even though they're hosting, we're still heavily favored. Still, I remind my players to keep things up and not get complacent.

July 28, 2013
Parafrente 0 - 6 Sendai Sasuke FC

Parafrente were doomed when their goalkeeper was sent off, forcing them to make an early sub for their second goalkeeper and play with only 10 men. Mitsugu Oda dominated as usual with another hat trick.
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)

Here's the rest of the matchday's scores:
Scheinen faced a tough Iwaki Furukawa team, but managed to outscore them 6-4 and thus Sasuke are still only ahead by two points. Meanwhile, Meli lost again and are all but out of the chase.

The season takes a weird turn, as there are almost two matches between season fixtures. However, the Emperor's Cup is starting, and for our first match we have to travel to Chino in Nagano Prefecture to face FC Abies, who are on the same league tier as us but in a different league. They are next to last in their league so this should be simple!

Kyohei Ikeda told me that he had gotten us a new main kit sponsor. The sponsorship is for 2 years, and the company will pay us $14,000 a year. Every source of income helps, so I'm happy.

In addition, Shohei Nagata scored the goal of the month!

August 18, 2013 - Emperor's Cup First Qualifying Round
FC Abies 1 - 6 Sendai Sasuke FC

FC Abies took the early lead with the first goal of the match, but Sasuke stormed over them, with FM not being able to praise Mitsugu Oda's play and his hat trick nearly enough. Shohei Nagata came back from injury to score a brace, and the goalscoring was topped off with help from FC Abies as they scored an own goal.
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)

The draw for our next tournament match was the day after. Our next matchup sees us hosting Vanraure Hachinohe, who is in the same regional system as us, but in the first level. We'll have to do our best to knock them off!

August 25, 2013 - Emperor's Cup Second Qualifying Round
Sendai Sasuke FC 2 - 1 Vanraure Hachinohe after extra time

Would an early penalty and lack of attack consign Sasuke FC to defeat? No! Mitsugu Oda scored a magical direct free kick goal in the 89th minute to send the game to extra time. A tired Sasuke team were still able to bring it, and Oda scored in the first half of extra time to send Sasuke FC on to the next round! 53 people were lucky enough to watch Sasuke's amazing comeback!
Player of the Match: Mitsugu Oda (Sendai Sasuke FC)

The matches keep getting tougher as in the next round, we play against Honda FC, who plays in the Japan Football League (3rd tier league). Yes, they are backed by Honda Motor Company. An interesting tidbit, is that even though they constantly do well in the Japan Football League, being promoted to the J-League would require loss of their corporate backing. Therefore, Honda FC refuse to be promoted, and they usually fill up one of the JFL's promotion slots, therefore this team is nicknamed J's Gatekeeper. (The Gatekeeper of J-League)

That is, they are no pushover. And things will be even more difficult with Mitsugu Oda's status for this game being in doubt to a minor injury he sustained in the Vanraure match. The good news is, the match is supposed to sell out. A whole 100 people are going to attend the game!

August 31, 2013 - Emperor's Cup First Round
Sendai Sasuke FC 1 - 3 Honda FC

Unfortunately, dreams do die, even though we tried to keep them alive for as long as possible. The game was close for much of it, but Honda's 3-5-2 allowed them to retain possession of the ball and we couldn't catch them on the break. The second goal off that corner kick dashed the dreams, and the third put them far out of reach. We scored a goal, but it was too little, too late.
Player of the Match: Tatsuya Saito (Honda FC)

We have two weeks before the next match, so the players will have another opportunity to rest up and become healthy before the home stretch.

September 15, 2013
Sendai Sasuke FC 4 - 0 Takuyu Club

Mitsugu Oda had to leave the game in the 3rd minute with a gashed leg. Big problem, right? No problem at all! Kazuhiro Sakurai took his place and scored a hat trick of his own. The towering Deiji Nishida scored his first goal off a corner kick and Takuyu Club really had no chance here.
Player of the Match: Kazuhiro Sakurai (Sendai Sasuke FC)

Unfortunately, Oda will miss 3-4 weeks with the gashed leg, and that hurts us as we make our final push for the championship, but if Sakurai can keep up, we'll be fine.

And with that, here's the table after Round 15 of 18:

League Table

We have a pretty good cushion of 5 points heading into the final three games, and look at that goalscoring record!

That's it for this week's episode of Sakka Densetsu! Stay tuned for the season finale!