Transfer update:
In:
Thiago | 4,400,000 pounds | Sao Paulo
William | 500,000 pounds | Kyoto Sanga F.C.
Diego | 500,000 pounds | River
Abe, Yuki | 5,750,000 pounds | Urawa Reds
Kim, Jin-Kyoo | 400,000 pounds | Seoul
Out:
Sogahata, Hitoshi | 2,500,000 pounds | F.C. Tokyo
Tashiro, Yuzo | 5,500,000 pounds | Kashiwa Reysol
Iwamasa, Daiki | 7,500,000 pounds | Shimizu S-Pulse
Sato, Hisato | 5,750,000 pounds | Nagoya Grampus
I made some key signings to replace the outgoing Iwamasa and Tashiro. To be honest, the offers were too good to turn down and I made a cool 3,000,000 pound profit from Sato who was starting to go bad. Tiago turned out to be worth the transfer fee and William was a good back up at defensive mid.
Matches:
1st leg
This match turned out better than I expected. I used Thiago because Hisato could not score the past couple of games. It turned out to be a good decision after Thiago scored to late goals that helped secure a needed away win.
This match came down to the wire. After a Tashiro goal, my team looked like it was crusing towards a win, but in the 88th minute Gilsinho scored and brought the team back to Earth. Fortunately for us, we had Sato who instantly replied and helped us into the Final.
Final
The final could not have started out worse for the team. A Yuki Abe goal put Urawa on top. By half time I was starting to feel the pressure. But Marquinhos came to the rescue! After a good Kagawa shot the hit the bar, Marquinhos pounced on the rebound and drew us level. After that the match was a see-saw battle going back and forth between the two teams. In the 86th minute, Kagawa found some space and placed a nice through ball to Ogasawara who blasted a shot into the net from a tight angle. That was the goal that won the match and Ogasawara took home MVP honors. It was an amazing game for the players and one of the best comebacks I have ever seen.
Stay tuned for my coverage of the Nabisco cup group stages!
