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J-League Soccer

By Shibuya246 · · 2 min read · 24 photos · 7 comments

Tokyo Verdy kick-off team photoPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length90mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:01
Tokyo Verdy kick-off team photo

Soccer became popular in Japan following the creation of the professional J-League and then the hosting of the Soccer World Cup in 2002.

I was invited to a match between Tokyo Verdy and Tokushima Vortis on the weekend at Yoyogi National Stadium, and was able to stand on the touch line to take photos as an accredited press member. It was a really good experience to see the game up close and take some photos of the action.

J-League Soccer Balls, up closePhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/8Shutter1/250sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 17:55
J-League Soccer Balls, up close

Thank you to Tokyo 2016 Olympic / Paralympic Games Bid for organizing this for me. Here is their report on the Tokyo 2016 Bid Events that took place at the game.

Tokyo Verdy team coming out onto the pitchPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length70mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 17:59
Tokyo Verdy team coming out onto the pitch
being on the touch-line made for some great close upsPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length240mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:31
being on the touch-line made for some great close ups
The Vortis number 13 makes his move up pitchPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:30
The Vortis number 13 makes his move up pitch
The official Press pass to get in to Yoyogi StadiumPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length6mmAperturef/2.8Shutter1/20sISO200Taken11 Jul 2009, 20:07
The official Press pass to get in to Yoyogi Stadium
pre-match photograph of me getting ready for the match. Nikon at the readyPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length18mmAperturef/4Shutter1/250sISO160Taken11 Jul 2009, 16:50
pre-match photograph of me getting ready for the match. Nikon at the ready
Once on the touchline I got to line up with the other photographersPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length70mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 17:56
Once on the touchline I got to line up with the other photographers
some of these cameras had some good lenses on themPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length220mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:16
some of these cameras had good lenses on them
action shots of the matchPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:15
action shots of the match
Holding off the tacklePhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length270mmAperturef/8Shutter1/250sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:19
Holding off the tackle
this Verdy player is taking the defence on, but who is the Vortis guy in the mask?Photo dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/8Shutter1/250sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:18
this Verdy player is taking the defence on, but who is the Vortis guy in the mask?
players positioning for a free kick. number 20 in the mask is there againPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:34
players positioning for a free kick. number 20 in the mask is there again
and that's a goalPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length165mmAperturef/5.6Shutter1/125sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:32
and that's a goal

Being part of the Press contingent we were able to get the half-time report from the 2 teams. Looks like Verdy is trying to get its defense to take more care of the long ball and counter attacks from Vortis, while the Vortis team say they must run harder than the opposition team or they cannot win.

half time comment sheetPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length6mmAperturef/2.8Shutter1/15sISO200Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:39
half time comment sheet

There were some great Tokyo 2016 Olympic / Paralympic Bid events held before the match and at half-time, including ladies in Tokyo 2016 Yukatas, large scale Shodo display, Olympic banner parade, medal presentations and more.

You can see the full report I wrote about the Soccer and Tokyo 2016 Olympic events here.

Tokyo2016Today.com Olympic Report by Shibuya246
Tokyo2016Today.com Olympic Report by Shibuya246

Verdy went on to win 4-0 and advance up the league table. They were ranked 5 in the J2 league coming into this game and will want to finish strong to try and elevate themselves to the main J-league division for next year.

The final result, a strong win for Tokyo VerdyPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length165mmAperturef/5Shutter1/100sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:48
The final result, a strong win for Tokyo Verdy
The Tokyo Verdy keeper clears a ballPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/8Shutter1/250sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:08
The Tokyo Verdy keeper clears a ball
The Vortis keeper moves fast to clear his linePhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length300mmAperturef/5.6Shutter1/100sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:49
The Vortis keeper moves fast to clear his line
children march the Verdy flag offPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length70mmAperturef/8Shutter1/250sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:01
children march the Verdy flag off
There was some strong fan support for the home teamPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length270mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 18:29
There was some strong fan support for the home team
The players thank their fans for the loyal supportPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length100mmAperturef/5Shutter1/100sISO1000Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:55
The players thank their fans for the loyal support
The Hero interview after the matchPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length120mmAperturef/7.1Shutter1/200sISO5000Taken11 Jul 2009, 19:59
The Hero interview after the match
The losing coach gives his explanation of what went wrong in the post-game interviewPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length21mmAperturef/4Shutter1/15sISO200Taken11 Jul 2009, 20:06
The losing Vortis coach gives his explanation of what went wrong in the post-game interview

I really enjoyed going to this match and taking photos from the side-line. I look forward to another similar event in the future.

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7 comments

Comments are closed. These are from readers when the post was first published.

  1. Shibuya246

    Yes, it was a lot of fun. :)

  2. Manuel

    I wonder how the Tokyo Verdy team got their name, as their jerseys are green and "verdy" is the phonetic transcription of the Brazilian pronounciation of the word for green in Portuguese. Brazil, football, Brazilian-origin Japanese...

  3. whipcracker

    I originally saw some of this article on friendfeed. And you were in one of their pictures, the one with you and two of the young ladies wi the 2016 yakatas. Don't really follow soccer that much. More of a football fan, being raised in Green Bay Wi, Go pack. We do have a MLS team in the area FC Dallas. As usual looks like fun. That #20 from the other team probably had some type of facial injury so he needed the mask for protection. Actually it makes him look like Bruce Lees character Kato from the show " The Green Hornet" what do you think?

  4. pratyk

    It must be fun isn't it, & seem to enjoy it.

  5. whipcracker

    It's funny that you mentioned in that picture about the guy w/mask on and I said he looks like Kato from Green Hornet. Then i came upon this article: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15364.html Coincedience?...lol:)

  6. Shibuya246

    They have renamed themselves a few times including the '1969' in their team name and previously having Yomiuri in the name etc. not sure about the Verdy part. sounds like it could be for the green uniform. anyone else know for sure?

  7. Shibuya246

    excellent that you saw the other articles on http://tokyo2016today.com/2009/07/13/tokyo-2016-s... not sure about that masked player and The Green Hornet. maybe he wants an audition?