Is there a better coach in the world than Mihailo Petrovic? Many would argue that Jose Mourinho stands on the edge of greatness after steering Inter to a UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 22. But he's never coached his players to take penalties like this! With Sanfrecce Hiroshima locked at 3-3 against defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers in their AFC Champions League clash at Big Arch Stadium, striker Hisato Sato casually PASSED the ball from the penalty spot to team-mate Tomoaki Makino, who dutifully slammed home! It's not the first time Sanfrecce have dabbled in trick penalties this season, but the first resulted in referee Takuto Okabe earning a two-match suspension for incorrectly allowing Hisato Sato's opener from twelve yards in their 1-1 J. League draw at home to Shimizu S-Pulse. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags World Cup Pens World Cup football

Kashima Antlers claimed a League and Cup double by lifting the season-ending Emperor's Cup in front of a sell-out crowd of 46,357 fans at the National Stadium in Tokyo. The Ibaraki giants never looked threatened after they opened the scoring in the eighth minute, when young defender Atsuto Uchida thumped an unstoppable drive into the far corner of Hiroshima shot-stopper Takashi Shimoda's goal. Hiroshima were missing highly-rated youngster Yosuke Kashiwagi through suspension, after he picked up a yellow card in the southern club's 3-1 semi-final defeat of Gamba Osaka three days earlier. The Japan u-23 international was sorely missed, as Hiroshima rarely pressured newly crowned J-League champions Kashima, who beat Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 to reach the Emperor's Cup final. A comfortable Kashima victory was completed when veteran striker Atsushi Yanagisawa came off the bench to set-up fellow substitute Danilo with a cushioned pass, with the former Sao Paulo midfielder fairly lashing the ball beyond Shimoda to end the scoring. The win capped a remarkable season for Kashima - who won the treble in 2000 when they added the League Cup crown to their J-League and Emperor's Cup trophies, and who claimed the double in 2007 following their unlikely J-League triumph. Kashima will take on Chinese side Beijing Guoan, Vietnamese outfit Nam Dinh FC and Thai team Krung Thai Bank in the group stage of the 2008 AFC Champions League, having ended the long Japanese campaign as the premier team in Japanese football. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags J-League soccer football Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

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.