What does a club do when it has just won the second division at a canter and has been crowned national Cup champions for the first time in its history? Sign a new coach, if that club is FC Tokyo. The capital outfit celebrated beating Kyoto Sanga 4-2 in the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day by officially announcing Serb tactician Ranko Popovic as its new coach barely a day later. Popovic takes over after leading third-tier neighbours Machida Zelvia into J2, with former FC Tokyo Kiyoshi Okuma coach moving back to an administrative role within the club. Popovic has some experience at this level. He arrived in Japan as an assistant to compatriot Mihailo Petrovic at Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2006, before taking over the doomed Oita Trinita after their relegation from J1 had been all but confirmed in 2009. When the Kyushu side couldn't afford to retain his services, Popovic moved to western Tokyo to take charge of the upwardly Machida Zelvia. Now he's has made the short hop over to Chofu to take on an FC Tokyo squad rippling with talent. Japan international and fan-favourite Yasuyuki Konno may have moved to Gamba Osaka, but 'the Gasmen' still have plenty of strikepower on their books. Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, winger Naohiro Ishikawa and towering striker Sota Hirayama are often on the fringes of national team selection, while the gritty Masato Morishige, veteran striker Lucas Severino and youngster Takuji Yonemoto - who is looking to re-establish himself after a couple of injury-riddled campaigns - would force their way into most top-flight squads. Equally impressive is the fact the Gasmen have strengthened their squad with a couple of impressive signings. Bustling striker Kazuma Watanabe and Iranian-Japanese midfielder Aria Jasuru Hasegawa have both joined from nearby Yokohama F. Marinos after struggling to make an impact at the Tricolore last season. Both offer versatility and will increase the battle for squad places, as does youngster Hiroki Kawano, who joins from stadium co-tenants Tokyo Verdy. Add to that the fact Yohei Otake and Kentaro Shigematsu both enjoyed top-flight football on loan last season and the capital club should prove a formidable force on their return to the top flight. But while FC Tokyo are looking to build on the performances of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Cerezo Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol before them - who all qualified for the AFC Champions League just a season after promotion, the latter as J1 champions - the Gasmen already have Champions League football to contend with. They've been drawn in Group F of the Champions League alongside A-League champions Brisbane Roar, South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai and Chinese powerhouses Beijing Guoan, courtesy of winning the Emperor's Cup. And with the Champions League group stage once again jammed up against a packed J. League fixture list, rumours have already surfaced Popovic will field a second-string line-up for continental fixtures and play his first team in the league. Whatever happens over the early rounds of the 2012 J. League season, the phrase "too good to go down" will reappear any time FC Tokyo take to the pitch. The club from the western outskirts of Tokyo city may only have a League Cup and now an Emperor's Cup trophy to show for their efforts, but they remain one of the more popular and better resourced outfits in the division. Yet such sentiment hasn't spared them before. They went down in 2010 despite being tipped as one of the favourites to win J1, and they'll hope history doesn't repeat itself when top-flight football makes a welcome return to Ajinomoto Stadium in March. Tags Euro 2012 football

What has numerous stadia, 35 million people and two struggling football teams? You're wrong if you answered Qatar - it barely has any of those - but closer to the mark if you answered Tokyo; that megalopolis of neon lights, dense alleyways and comic kitsch so often associated with the less serious side of Japan. In the same week Japan's bid to host the 2022 World Cup ground to a predictable halt, so too did top flight football in the capital, courtesy of a pair of extraordinary results on the final day of the 2010 J. League season. Going into their last league game of the season away at Kyoto Sanga, FC Tokyo held a one-point advantage over sixteenth placed Vissel Kobe. That meant the capital club needed to win to guarantee themselves a place in J1 next season, or hope Vissel Kobe lost to Urawa Reds. As fate would have it, neither occurred, with FC Tokyo surrendering meekly to Kyoto in a 2-0 defeat on the road, while Vissel Kobe thumped a lifeless Urawa Reds 4-0 in front of a stunned crowd at Saitama Stadium. That means both of Tokyo's professional clubs will languish in J2 next season, with FC Tokyo joining Ajinomoto Stadium co-tenants Tokyo Verdy in the second tier of the Japanese game. FC Tokyo's fall from grace is a surprising one given that some critics tipped them as dark horses for the title this season. In coach Hiroshi Jofuku, they had an attacking tactician not afraid to hand youth a chance, while names like Yasuyuki Konno, Naohiro Ishikawa and the mercurial Sota Hirayama suggested the capital club should have had enough talent to finish in the top half of the table. But fresh from winning the 2009 League Cup title, FC Tokyo simply never got started in the 2010 league campaign, and with the club struggling in the lower reaches for most of the season, Jofuku was dismissed to make way for Kiyoshi Okuma to steady the ship. Okuma was in charge when FC Tokyo made its top flight debut in 2000, but the former player failed to steer the Chofu-based outfit to safety, leaving one of Japan's best supported clubs to scrap it out in the second division next season. FC Tokyo's despair is in stark contrast to Vissel Kobe's joy, as the Kansai side went on a seven-game unbeaten run to salvage their J1 status at the death. Vissel also sacked coach Toshiya Miura late in the campaign, but his replacement Masahiro Wada came up trumps to steer the much-maligned outfit to safety. Vissel's regional rivals Nagoya Grampus had already wrapped up the title weeks ago, and with Gamba Osaka and Cerezo Osaka edging out Kashima Antlers for the remaining two AFC Champions League places, the balance of power could be shifting west in Japanese football. The Kanto plain has long been a J. League stronghold, but with Kashima failing to win a fourth straight title and the likes of Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos and Urawa Reds struggling to make much of an impact, it's the traditionally baseball-mad western region currently celebrating football success. Kashiwa Reysol coast to J2 title It's not all bad news for Kanto football fans after Kashiwa Reysol coasted to the J2 title, finishing ten points ahead of second placed Ventforet Kofu. The pair will be joined in the top flight next season by Kyushu side Avispa Fukuoka, who ended a three-year spell in the second tier by comfortably securing a promotion place. 'King Kazu' strikes again He's almost old enough for a walking stick, but in a land that venerates experience, Kazu Miura shows no signs of slowing down. The ageing veteran broke his own J2 goalscoring record on the final day of the season, scoring for Yokohama FC in a 2-2 draw away at Oita Trinita. Copyright © Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

FC Tokyo have been crowned 2009 Yamazaki Nabisco League Cup champions after beating Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in the final in Tokyo on November 3. Before a sell-out crowd of 44,308 fans at a packed National Stadium, teenage midfielder Takeuji Yonemoto opened the scoring with a swerving long-range drive that appeared to catch Kawasaki goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima off-guard. Yonemoto had been honoured with the competition's "New Hero" award on the eve of the match, and he added the Man Of The Match crown for good measure thanks to a commanding midfield display. The languid midfield anchorman kept Kawasaki playmaker Kengo Nakamura well shackled throughout, and by the time FC Tokyo added a second goal through towering striker Sota Hirayama just before the hour mark, the trophy was destined to stay in the capital. Defeat leaves Kawasaki still searching for their first major title and marks the second time in three seasons that the Kanagawa outfit have lost the League Cup final. Coach Takashi Sekizuka will need to rejuvenate his side ahead of a tense J. League title race, with Kawasaki just a point above defending champions Kashima Antlers with four games remaining. The plaudits belong to FC Tokyo for the time being, as Hiroshi Jofuku's side claim a second League Cup trophy having also won the tournament back in 2004. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags Soccer News football

All the colour of the Japanese Yamazaki Nabisco League Cup final will descend upon the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 3, with this year's showpiece event set to be an all-local affair. FC Tokyo have reached their first League Cup final since 2004, with Hiroshi Jofuku's team winning through on the back of some impressive displays. The capital club topped their group from 2008 finalists Shimizu S-Pulse, before confidently dispatching Nagoya Grampus in the quarter-finals. Their final four tie saw them pitted against cup specialists Shimizu, where a 3-2 aggregate win over the two legs propelled them into a final played in their home city. If FC Tokyo figured they would command the lion's share of support at a jam-packed Kokuritsu Kyogijo, their hopes were dashed when neighbours Kawasaki Frontale also won through to the final. The Kanagawa outfit took a different route to the Culture Day showdown, parachuting into the League Cup at the quarter-final stage due to their participation in the 2009 AFC Champions League. Takashi Sekizuka's side signalled their intent with an aggregate 3-1 quarter-final win over Kashima Antlers, before beating local rivals Yokohama F. Marinos by the same scoreline in the semi-finals. With the city of Kawasaki located just twenty kilometres from downtown Tokyo, thousands of Frontale fans will make the short trip to the capital, as they look to put the memories of their 2007 final defeat to Gamba Osaka behind them. Sekizuka's free-scoring outfit could be forgiven for having their minds on other matters, with Kawasaki currently leading the J. League table by a point from defending champions Kashima Antlers. However, Kawasaki arguably have the upper hand going into this League Cup final clash, with FC Tokyo's talismanic midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa set to miss the rest of the season through a serious knee injury. Ishikawa had rattled home fifteen league goals prior to his shock injury, whilst Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo is also racing against the clock to prove his fitness for this clash, as FC Tokyo brace themselves for the potential absence of their two most dynamic personnel. They'll nevertheless be desperate to add to their solitary trophy, after FC Tokyo claimed the 2004 League Cup crown by beating Urawa Reds on penalties. Kawasaki Frontale are equally determined to lift some silverware, with the Kanagawa side still waiting for a maiden major trophy. Higher stakes than usual for this Tamagawa Clasico then, as two of the most popular clubs in the region do battle for the 2009 League Cup at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags Soccer News football

J-League News: Kashiwa shock Jubilo to take lead in the J-League The 2007 J-League season kicked off at the weekend, and there were some surprise results. FC Tokyo were beaten 4-2 at home by Sanfrecce Hiroshima, for whom strikers Hisato Sato and Ueslei each scored a double. Lucas Severino scored a brace of his own, but Tokyo's porous defence was breached at will, to the displeasure of the majority of the 25,257 fans in attendance at Ajinomoto Stadium. 57,188 fans turned up at Saitama Stadium, to witness Urawa Reds grind out a fortunate 2-1 win over Yokohama FC, who were making their debut in the top flight. An own goal and a late Yuichiro Nagai strike ended Yokohama FC's hopes of taking something from this match, although they had a spectacular Tatsuhiko Kubo equaliser to show for their efforts.

J-League Transfer News After January's flurry of activity, things have been relatively quiet on the transfer scene in Japan of late. Perhaps the most notable recent move sees former Japan international Takashi Fukunishi leave Jubilo Iwata after more than a decade at the club. The midfielder was capped 64 times by his country, and leaves to join capital club FC Tokyo. Former Jubilo Iwata teammate Takayuki Chano will join him at FC Tokyo, while the club has also signed ex-Gremio defender Evaldo. As expected, former Espanyol and Bolton striker Akinori Nishizawa has left relegated Cerezo Osaka, to join Shimizu S-Pulse. He will face his one-time Cerezo strike partner Yoshito Okubo in their first game of the J-League season, when Okubo's new club Vissel Kobe travels to Nihondaira Stadium to take on Shimizu.

J-League transfers Most of the headlines in world football have focused on David Beckham's multi-million dollar transfer from Real Madrid to L.A. Galaxy. The major transfer news in Japan, however, is Yuki Abe's decision to leave JEF United for reigning J-League champions Urawa Reds. Abe was undoubtedly the key player at JEF United and his talismanic performances inspired the club to back-to-back League Cup crowns in 2005 and 2006. His departure will leave a gaping hole in the United squad. With Urawa midfielder Alessandro Santos signing for Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, Abe could reasonably expect to slot straight into what is arguably the strongest midfield in Japan.