Sun 27 Jul, J1 Game 19

Omiya Ardija 0-0 Shimizu S-Pulse

GK Ezumi (7)
DF Murayama (4.5)
DF Leandro (6.5)
DF Kataoka (5.5)
DF Hato (5)
MF Daigo Kobayashi (6) (Hashimoto 87')
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (5)
MF Saeki (6.5)
MF Fujimoto (6) (Lavric 80') (6)
FW Kota Yoshihara (4) (Morita 59') (7.5)
FW Denis Marques (4.5)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Tanaka
MF Saito
MF Kanazawa

Cards

Y Yoshiyuki Kobayashi 4'

Ninety minutes. Ninety minutes of wet terror. Ninety godawful minutes of pain and suffering and waiting for something to happen. Ninety minutes.

In a battle of teams struggling to stay afloat, Shimizu S-Pulse and Omiya squared off in a rather chippy affair. Shimizu came in off a 3-0 pasting of Albirex Niigata, the third orange brother in J1. Three of their younger players, including newly appointed starter Kaito Yamamoto, were off on U23 duty so the less-than-full-strength squad was ripe for the taking.

Thins nearly went badly off the rails early on, however, when the human stomach muscle - stand-in central defender Yosuke Kataoka - mishit a clearance off the back of a team-mate and put it in a perilous position. This would happen a few times during the game. But tragedy did strike for the visitors in the fourth minute when Yoshiyuki Kobayashi badly mistimed his tackle on a slick pitch and fractured the ankle of sometime national team midfielder Jungo Fujimoto. Early reports are that Fujito has a fractured fibula and is probably done for the rest of the season.

Outside of a Yoshiyuki Kobayashi blast from long range and a couple of S-Pulse shots, there was a ton of back passing and handbags from both squads. Most guilty of killing offensive momentum were the tandem of Squirrels right back Yusuke Murayama and goalshy front man Kota Yoshihara who hesitated and quit on plays......again. On two open chances, Yoshihara managed to play himself offside on a breakaway with Chikara Fujimoto and then absolutely muff a wide open shot.

The second half was more of the same as Omiya came out to a deluge of Shimizu pressure. Naoya Saeki, Leandro and keeper Koji Ezumi were excellent in cleaning up messes, although at one point Leandro cleared a ball precariously close to edging in for an S-Pulse goal.

The most surprising performance was put in by substitute Hiroshi Morita, who immediately changed the game with his hustle and fight (words I thought I never would utter ). His finest moment was a tussle with Shimizu defender Kazumichi Takagi, in which Morita got his leg up high and flicked the ball to wide open Denis Marques. Unfortunately Denis misplayed the ball and ended up softly rolling it to Shimizu keeper Yohei Nishibe.

Slovenian striker Klemen Lavric was the next to come in and his presence was felt when he earned a free kick deep in opposition territiory. Shimizu treated the giant forward like a jungle gym, climbing over and grabbing onto him at will. His one moment of freedom produced a well-timed pass to the waiting Morita (now perched on the wing) who deposited it home for a goal.

But wait! Offside for the second time in two home matches against Shizuoka teams. S-Pulse capitalized on the quick call and pushed the ball up against the still-celebrating Omiya side. Only a nice save by Ezumi stopped what could have been disaster. Shimizu were then able to earn a couple of dangerous corners, which resulted in a fantastic clearance by Morita and a lucky bounce off the post. 0-0 at the end and one single point for the month of July. The break couldn't come soon enough.

Shimizu S-Pulse visit Omiya Park on Sunday evening for the last in a series of six J1 matches that have been little short of disastrous for Omiya Ardija. Coming out of the long break at the end of June, Yasuhiro Higuchi's men were riding high in seventh place in the standings, just a handful of points off the top spot and having picked up a number of surprising - if occasionally somewhat undeserved - wins along the way.

But now, such is the close nature of the J-League's top division that four consecutive defeats have left the Squirrels in a far more familiar position: on the edge of the relegation zone and glancing nervously over their shoulders. If Ardija fans had a dream that, following the arrival from Yamagata of Higuchi, their team had suddenly been transformed into a truly competitive J1 outfit, that dream must surely by now have been shattered.

The reality is that Omiya struggled desperately throughout 2007 and with an almost identical team this year look set to be involved once more in a fight to avoid the drop. As has been documented on this site over recent weeks, there are simply too many under-performers in the side for this not to be the case. And to add to the concerns of an already nervy Squirrel Nation, midfielder Chikara Fujimoto confessed in midweek that team spirit had taken a major blow in the crushing 4-0 loss to Nagoya Grampus, with players arguing amongst themselves and blaming each other for mistakes instead of adopting a supportive approach to a difficult situation.

So with this less-than-encouraging backdrop to arguably the most important fixture of the season against an S-Pulse side immediately below Ardija in the table, the suggestion in the footballing press is that Higuchi would appear to have reverted to bringing toothless forward Kota Yoshihara back into the starting line-up alongside the Squirrels' key performer Denis Marques. Defender Daisuke Tomita is unavailable through suspension - remarkably, Omiya's first of the year - with Yosuke Kataoka likely to step in and partner Leandro in the middle of the back four.

Neither of these are a pieces of news that will put a spring in the step of Omiya supporters in the countdown to kick-off. But right now, praying for an S-Pulse off-day and for a piece of Denis Marques magic looks to be about the Squirrels' most realistic chance of success.

After having ended up on the receiving end of some of the JFA's more eccentric ideas about where to stage Emperor's Cup matches in recent seasons, in 2008 Ardija are scheduled to play at Omiya Park in the Fourth Round of the competition. The exact date has yet to be finalised, although it will be on either Sun 02 or Mon 03 November, with the most likely opposition being J2 promotion chasers Cerezo Osaka. Win that tie and the Squirrels will again be at home in the Fifth Round, the seeded fixture grid suggesting that Nagoya Grampus may well be making a return trip to Saitama.

Friendly, Mon 21 Jul

Omiya Ardija 6-1 Meiji University

1st Omiya goal - Sakurai 13'
Meiji goal unknown
2-1 Niwa 52'
3-1 Kawanabe 54'
4-1 Imai 69'
5-1 Tsukamoto 79'
6-1 Tokita 89'

GK Shimizu (Nobuhisa Kobayashi 45')
DF Tsubouchi (Higuchi 45')
DF Kawahara
DF Niwa
DF Tsukamoto
MF Aoki
MF Kawanabe
MF Tokita
MF Kawagishi (Arai 45')
FW Sakurai (Imai 45')
FW Ichikawa

Mon 21 Jul, J1 Game 18

Nagoya Grampus 4-0 Omiya Ardija

1-0 Yoshimura 16'
2-0 Magnum 28'
3-0 Johnsen 48'
4-0 Sugimoto 88'

GK Ezumi (5)
DF Murayama (5)
DF Leandro (5)
DF Tomita (5)
DF Hato (5)
MF Saeki (5)
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (5)
MF Kataoka (5) (Saito 45')
MF Fujimoto (5) (Hashimoto 76')
FW Daigo Kobayashi (5) (Lavric 45')
FW Denis Marques (5)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Tanaka
FW Morita
FW Yoshihara

Cards

Y Murayama 27'
Y Tomita 44'

Yasuhiro Higuchi finally rang the changes and dropped under-performing forward Kota Yoshihara for Sunday's J1 match at Nagoya Grampus, fielding Daigo Kobayashi up front with a Denis Marques returning from a bout of ill-health. But despite the modification, Omiya Ardija were well and truly hammered by an impressive Nagoya team that to all intents and purposes looked to be in a division higher than the Squirrels, such was the difference in quality on view.

Although Higuchi's side were able to create some opportunities, they as usual squandered them. The closest Ardija came to finding the net was through a long-range strike from central midfielder Yosuke Kataoka in the first half and a Denis Marques shot that hit Whales net minder Seigo Narazaki in the second, while Grampus were clinical in front of goal. Keiji Yoshimura scored the first, curling in a shot from just outside the box just after the quarter-hour mark, and key midfielder Magnum made it 2-0 after Koji Ezumi fumbled a cross.

Trailing once again at half time, the Omiya coach replace Yosuke Kataoka and Daigo with Masato Saito and Klemen Lavric respectively - but just three minutes after the re-start, Norwegian striker Frode Johnsen struck home the killer third with Ardija's defence all at sea. Keita Sugimoto rounded off the scoring near the end to highlight the disparity between the teams.

There can be few worse fixtures for Omiya Ardija to be playing than Nagoya Grampus this holiday Monday evening. Since the re-start of the J1 season at the end of June, the Squirrels have - after a Denis Marques-inspired defeat of Tokyo Verdy - lost three consecutive matches to drop six places down the standings, being to a great extent outplayed by Vissel Kobe and Jubilo Iwata. Thursday saw a gutsier display at high-flying Kashiwa, but the Squirrels' lily-livered attack could not make up for one defensive slip-up that allowed Franca in to notch the only score of the game for Reysol.

With just one goal in 270 minutes of football, then, this is hardly the time for question marks to be hanging over the future at the club of Omiya's star performer this year. Denis Marques has made by far the most significant individual contribution to the team in 2008 - certainly of the out-field players, at any rate - but mysteriously did not figure at all against the Sun Kings.

Whatever the reality of the circumstances surrounding his absence, it is definitely true to say that the 27-year-old brings to the Squirrels' play a much-needed sense of imagination, flair and unpredictability. Given the extent to which Daigo Kobayashi and, arguably to a lesser extent, Chikara Fujimoto have underperformed, these are characteristics that Omiya can ill do without.

Last year, then-coach Satoru Sakuma's Ardija were fighting for their J1 survival when they travelled to Nagoya to take on the Red Whales - and were crushed 5-0, in one of the most disastrous performances by an Omiya side since the club gained promotion in 2004. Now, new Grampus boss Dragan Stojkovic has been successful in leading his team to the fringes of the title race and it must be that Yasuhiro Higuchi is up against it, if the Squirrels are to break their losing streak.

Thu 17 Jul, J1 Game 17

Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 Omiya Ardija

1-0 Franca 78'

GK Ezumi (6)
DF Murayama (6)
DF Leandro (7)
DF Tomita (6)
DF Hato (6)
MF Saeki (6) (Hashimoto 81')
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (6)
MF Kataoka (6)
MF Fujimoto (7) (Kanazawa 73')
FW Daigo Kobayashi (6)
FW Kota Yoshihara (5) (Lavric 61') (6)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Tanaka
MF Saito
FW Morita

Cards

Y Murayama 58'
Y Leandro 86'

The Mighty Squirrels suffered a monumentally disappointing result in Chiba on Thursday night - their first ever loss to Kashiwa Reysol. With Yusuke Murayama restored to right back in favour of Terukazu Tanaka and Daigo Kobayashi starting up front, Ardija dominated the majority of the possession and really should have come away with a comfortable win rather than a 1-0 defeat.

The responsibility for the fact that this happy outcome did not take place mainly rests on the shoulders of one man - those of Kota Yoshihara, who had several opportunities to score but blew them all and ultimately Omiya's chances of getting anything from the game. The former Gamba Osaka man, who has netted just twice all season despite consistently being awarded a place in the starting line-up, had two great chances near the end of the first half.

One he put wide after being set up brilliantly by Daigo and the other ended up being struck straight at Sun Kings keeper Takanori Sugeno after Yoshihara was put clean through by an interception from Yosuke Kataoka. Daigo also created a good opportunity for Naoya Saeki in the early stages of the second half, but with no-one near him in the goal area the dog-owning midfielder skewed horribly wide when it seemed easier to score what would have been Saeki's first-ever Ardija goal.

But as the missed Omiya chances came thick and fast - Chikara Fujimoto almost lobbed Sugeno in the first half and substitute Hayato Hashimoto blasted one over from a Klemen Lavric knockdown near the end - sure enough, at the other end Franca stole in to chip a flat-footed Koji Ezumi and when that went in it was all over.

Many Squirrels fans commented that it was hard to believe that Reysol are now third in the table, but even so while Yasuhiro Higuchi's team should have steadied the ship by coming away with all the points, instead they are are now looking nervously over their shoulders.

Ardija make the short journey to Chiba on Thursday for a night game with the Sun Kings of Kashiwa Reysol. And the two teams will be approaching the fixture in contrasting form, for although Reysol went down 1-0 to Nagoya Grampus at the weekend, their recent results have been excellent: they were previously undefeated for nine matches, their last loss coming at home to Shimizu S-Pulse at the end of April.

The Squirrels, on the other hand, have been beaten in their two most recent games - against Vissel Kobe and Jubilo Iwata - a common denominator of both being a woeful first-half display. Earlier in the season Ardija proved themselves good at coming from behind to take the points, as at Gamba Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale, but constantly having to chase the game is a dangerous situation to be in for a team such as Omiya with relatively limited attacking options and a midfield that seems always to find it hard to create chances and support the strikers.

That said, new signing Klemen Lavric is the kind of figure who potentially can have a major impact upon the Squirrels' fortunes. The Slovenian international came within an ace of grabbing a somewhat undeserved point against Jubilo Iwata, as his towering header in the dying seconds was checked off for a questionable offside. Ardija have to learn how to support such a player and make the most of his characteristics, but a superbly accurate free kick delivery from Hayato Hashimoto was a step in the right direction - especially when one remembers how few chances Omiya have created this year from set pieces.

Who might step aside to make room for Lavric in the starting line-up as an interesting question. It is difficult to imagine star performer Denis Marques being dropped at present and coach Yasuhiro Higuchi persists with Kota Yoshihara up front - although many fans are now arguing that his pacy running style would better serve the team on the wing rather than occupying one of the main striker roles.

In midfield, Daigo Kobayashi has already been omitted by Higuchi as he seeks to recover the form that two years ago got him onto the fringes of the international set-up - but now, sadly for the player and for the team, seems long gone. There are currently questions being asked of the attitude of ex-skipper Chikara Fujimoto, who was booked against Vissel Kobe and has drawn the wrath of Ardija supporters as a consequence of what is perceived as an unsatisfactory explanation; Kobe fans, too, expressed their disappointment that a former Vissel hero can have behaved so poorly.

But given that the replacement of any of these players with Lavric would mean a serious modification of the Squirrels' tactical approach, Higuchi has a serious decision ahead of him. Central defender Masahiro Koga will be missing for Kashiwa, after being sent off against his former team Nagoya; will the physical threat presented by Omiya's new star be given the opportunity to exploit any uncertainty in Koga's absence?

Ardija midfielder Naoya Saeki's hound is here. What is it with footballers and absolutely ghastly-looking dogs?

Friendly, Sat 12 Jul

Omiya Ardija 1-2 Tsukuba University

Omiya goal - Kuwata 5'
Tsukuba goals unknown

GK Nobuhisa Kobayashi
DF Aoki
DF Kawahara
DF Niwa
DF Tsukamoto
MF Kawanabe
MF Kanazawa
MF Kuwata (Tsubouchi 45')
MF Ichikawa
FW Sakurai (Arai 45')
FW Morita (Kuwata 64')

Sat 12 Jul, J1 Game 16

Omiya Ardija 1-2 Jubilo Iwata

0-1 Cullen 10'
0-2 Gilsinho 52'
1-2 Tomita 55'

GK Ezumi
DF Tanaka
DF Leandro
DF Tomita
DF Hato
MF Daigo Kobayashi (Tokita 73')
MF Yoshiyuki Kobayashi
MF Saeki
MF Fujimoto (Lavric 57')
FW Yoshihara (Hashimoto 80')
FW Denis Marques

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Murayama
MF Kataoka
MF Saito

Cards

None again

Omiya Ardija's attempts to turn their superb new home stadium into a fortress again turned sour on Saturday. Another underwhelming display against a spirited Jubilo Iwata side added weight to the view of those fans who have grown to believe that a trip to Omiya Park must seem about as threatening for away teams as an afternoon stop-off at Cozy Corner.

Jubilo have emerged as something of a bogey team for the Squirrels, for whom Daigo and Yoshiyuki Kobayashi both returned to the starting line-up, while The Offside King - a.k.a. Kota Yoshihara - could perhaps consider himself lucky to retain a place after his recent displays. New signing Klemen Lavric was on the bench and seems at first glance to have demoted Hiroshi Morita in the pecking order.

Just ten minutes in and Ardija were a goal down, after a header from Ryoichi Maeda fell perfectly for Robert Cullen to slide past Koji Ezumi from close range. Despite the jolt of conceding an early goal for the second consecutive week, Omiya apparently spent the rest of the first half in a daze and were constantly tormented by Gilsinho, by far the best player on the pitch. Iwata's new Brazilian midfielder actually seemed to have scored at the end of the half only for the the assistant referee to disallow it for offside - an action he was to repeat 45 minutes later.

The Squirrels started more brightly after the interval, but nevertheless went 2-0 down in the 52nd minute when Gilsinho stroked home from inside the 18-yard box. Almost instantaneously, however, central defender Daisuke Tomita showed an agile touch from Ezumi's massive kick and smashed a right foot effort past the despairing hands of Yoshi Kawaguchi to throw Ardija a lifeline.

The crowd came alive after this but although Omiya had the occasional chance, there seemed little hope of grabbing an equaliser - until the 89th minute, that is. Hayato Hashimoto, on as a substitute for his first taste of J1 action this year and looking desperate to impress, placed a perfect free kick for fellow sub Lavric to head past Kawaguchi. The crowd went crazy and then turned angry after the Slovenian's effort was contentiously disallowed for offside; a cruel call, although in truth Omiya didn't really deserve anything after the performance that had gone before.

Photos to follow

10 May was the date of the last league match to be played at Omiya Park - a gloomy 2-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Consadole Sapporo - and Saturday evening's game against Jubilo Iwata provides an opportunity for the Mighty Squirrels to turn around the poor results that they have generally achieved at their revamped home stadium. The last win was at the beginning of April when Oita Trinita were sent back to Kyushu having been beaten 2-0 and, since moving back home, Ardija have broadly speaking struggled to turn the place into the kind of venue where opposing teams fear to play.

One possible source of optimism for Omiya supporters is the arrival in Saitama of giant Slovenian forward Klemen Lavric, who participated in an experimental training match on Friday, being paired with both Denis Marques and Kota Yoshihara at different times. Fans will be hoping that the newcomer plays a part against a Jubilo side whose poor recent results have seen them slip into the relegation play-off spot.

Ardija were at their most infuriatingly inconsistent last Saturday, Chikara Fujimoto pronouncing himself "ashamed" at their level of performance in the 1-0 loss at Vissel Kobe, while substitute Hayato Hashimoto confessed that the team's improved second half performance that day was to a great extent a result of coach Jun Nakamura venting his anger during the interval.

It is the midfield that seemingly is the main problem area at present for Omiya, as Daigo Kobayashi's form continues to implode - it is difficult to remember the last time that the former Tokyo Verdy man made a telling contribution, or delivered a good quality set piece - while the likes of Shin Kanazawa and rookie Kohei Tokita have in all honesty displayed the quality required to make an impact at J1 level only in fits and starts. Jubilo at home is surely the opportunity to turn over a new leaf.

Midfielder Tomoya Uchida did in his left knee during the satellite league game at Vegalta Sendai at the end of June and is expected to be out for a month. Ouch!

Friendly, Sun 06 Jul

Omiya Ardija 2-1 Toyo University

1st Omiya goal - Hashimoto 55'
2nd Omiya goal - Kawahara 89'

GK Shimizu
DF Murayama
DF Niwa
DF Kataoka
DF Tsukamoto
MF Kanazawa (Kawanabe 69')
MF Aoki
MF Kawanabe (Kawahara 45')
MF Hashimoto
FW Lavric (Morita 45')
FW Sakurai (Ichikawa 45')



Klemen Lavric with Hayato Hashimoto

Sat 02 Jul, J1 Game 15

Vissel Kobe 1-0 Omiya Ardija

1-0 Leandro 9'

GK Ezumi (8)
DF Tanaka (6)
DF Leandro (5)
DF Tomita (6)
DF Hato (6)
MF Tokita (5)
MF Saito (5) (Yoshiyuki Kobayashi 56') (5)
MF Saeki (5) (Daigo Kobayashi 72')
MF Fujimoto (5) (Morita 78')
FW Yoshihara (5)
FW Denis Marques (6)

Subs not used

GK Aratani
DF Murayama
MF Kataoka
MF Hashimoto

Cards

Y Fujimoto 9'
Y Tokita 69'



Typical. Absolutely typical

Yasuhiro Higuchi's inconsistent Ardija team were stretches of the game at Vissel Kobe on Saturday evening and it has to be said on the balance of play the Squirrels deserved to lose. An Ardija side from which Daigo Kobayashi was dropped from the starting line-up - skipper Yoshiyuki Kobayashi also took his place on the subs' bench - lacked incision, Kota Yoshihara was caught offside more often than not and with Denis Marques shackled by a resolute Kobe defence, Omiya were always going to be up against it.

Naturally and entirely predictably it was ex-Squirrel Leandro who landed the killer blow, but what a finish it was. He picked up the ball at least 25 yards out from goal and lashed a vicious, perfectly-placed curling shot into Koji Ezumi's top left corner, leaving Ardija's custodian with absolutely no chance at all. 1-0 down after only nine minutes, Omiya didn't have a worthy opportunity to speak of in the first half, the main action from an Ardija standpoint being Chikara Fujimoto receiving an elbow to the face and subsequently a yellow card for his trouble.

The second period was a little better, although Ezumi was the busier of the two keepers and made some great saves. The best came in the final minute when saving with his legs, although his tip over from Yoshito Okubo mid-way through the half was also impressive. Denis had Ardija's best chance and should have really scored, but his free header from Terukazu Tanaka's cross went wide.

Central defender Leandro could have equalised his namesake's goal too, but for the intervention of a Kobe defender when he was about to slide in a cross. Vissel edged it although left a sour taste in the mouth with their time-wasting towards the end of the game. Higuchi has a home game with the almost equally unpredictable Jubilo Iwata next week to get Omiya's 2008 campaign back on track and with new signing Klemen Lavric potentially standing by for his debut in orange, it's a match which is taking on some significance.

Omiya Ardija's summer schedule of six J1 matches continues on Saturday evening with an away fixture at Vissel Kobe, which must surely be regarded as a further opportunity for the Squirrels to climb yet higher up the rankings. Last weekend's 2-0 defeat of a lacklustre Tokyo Verdy saw Ardija reach seventh place - a mere four points off the leaders, in what is proving to be a particularly close-fought championship.

In contrast, Kobe have tumbled to sixteenth and are without a win in six league games, although it should be acknowledged that even so they are still only six points behind Yasuhiro Higuchi's team. Former Squirrel Leandro has returned to the Vissel starting line-up after missing eight matches through injury and will no doubt be eager to add to his tally of three goals this year against the club that at the end of 2005 adjudged him to be not good enough for J1 football.

But while the Leandro / Yoshito Okubo partnership will doubtless cause some problems for the Omiya defence, orange fans will be hoping for a first glimpse of their shock new signing Klemen Lavric, the giant striker snapped up from Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg to replace departed youngster Pedro Junior. The league season in Germany finished in mid-May and so it is possible that Lavric's match fitness may be lacking, but given that the club have seemingly made attempts stretching back over the past year to buy a big, aggressive European-style centre forward, it will be fascinating to see the impact that the Slovenian international has on Ardija's front line.

Certainly he gives further options to coach Higuchi, who has had to rely to a great extent on the trickery of Pedro and Denis Marques and the speed of Kota Yoshihara when it comes to goal-getting. That said, the quality of ball into the box will have to improve if Omiya are to get the best out of Lavric, as the delivery of set pieces from the likes of Daigo Kobayashi and Chikara Fujimoto (not to mention overlapping right back Yosuke Murayama) has been one of the least impressive aspects of the Squirrels' play during 2008.

Just a flag to Bill Turianski's excellent site, Bill's Sports Maps, which here features an interesting and informative (and aesthetically pleasing) map of J1 teams, plus a handy collection of stats and data.

GGOA has been carrying out a little research following the shock arrival in Saitama of Slovenian international striker Klemen Lavric: given that Omiya have in recent seasons at least made a habit of buying Brazilian when it comes to their foreign squad members, just who was the last European to wear the orange shirt? And the answer to that question is none other than Fuat Usta, a midfielder of Dutch / Turkish origins, who played for Ardija during the latter half of the 2002 season, when the club were coached by Henk Duut.

Usta was born in Turkey and was thirty when he came to Japan, having enjoyed an extensive playing career with Fortuna Sittard - the club from which the legendary figure of Pim Verbeek joined Ardija - Cambuur Leeuwarden, Sparta Rotterdam and MVV Maastricht, as well as spells in Finland and at Turkish giants Besiktas. He played sixteen times in the league for Ardija, leaving at the end of 2002 in order to return to MVV.



The man himself

Recent rumours surrounding the status of Ardija forward Pedro Junior have been confirmed and the 21-year-old has departed Japan at least until the end of the year: he has signed until then for the Vila Nova club in his native Brazil, having scored twice in nine J1 appearances this season.

However, Ardija have acted quickly to bring in a replacement, in the shape of Klemen Lavric, a Slovenian international who has moved to Saitama from German side MSV Duisburg. Lavric is 27 and has spent three seasons at Duisburg. Previously he was at Dynamo Dresden and as this video clip shows, Lavric won the German Goal of the Season award in 2004, thanks to a spectacular overhead effort against Rot-Weiss Erfurt.

A bulky 190cm tall, he has scored six times in 24 internationals for his country and - in contrast with the similarity between Pedro and Denis Marques - looks likely to bring something very different to the Omiya squad. Lavric's contract is until the end of December, while Denis' deal with the Squirrels has also been extended to the same date.



Klemen Lavric in action for Slovenia

Highlights from the Ardija reserve team's 3-0 win over Tokyo Verdy back in May - including a delicious free kick from Taishi Tsukamoto - can now be seen on Youtube, here.