Asian Youth Tournament
Israel became the winners of the 13th Asian Youth Football Tournament which was held in Japan from April 24 to May 5.The final stage of the tournament in which the best eight teams participated, was a hard and close contest. The Republic of Korea were the runners-up, while Burma and Japan finished in third and fourth places respectively. Iran, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals, were excellent, in addition to the semi-finalist teams.
New General Secretary for J. F. A.
The Japanese Football Association has appointed Mr. Akira Oki as General Secretary. He is the former managing director of a company of Mitsubishi Enterprises. His services are expected to refresh the organization and administration of the J.F.A.
Japan Soccer League
Famous star striker Kunishige Kamamoto, and three Brazilian born players (two of whom are Brazilian-Japanese) have enabled Yanmar FC of Osaka to take an early lead in the Japanese Soccer League. The standings for the first half of the season, which ended on May 23, are as follows,
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts. |
| Yanmar Diesel, Osaka |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
8 |
11 |
| Shin-Nihon Steel, Kita-Kyushu |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
20 |
12 |
9 |
| Hitachi F. C., Tokyo |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
| Mitsubishi F. C., Tokyo |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
7 |
8 |
| Furukawa F. C., Tokyo |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
11 |
8 |
| Nihon-Kokan, Yokohama |
7 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
5 |
| Toyo Kogyo, Hiroshima |
7 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
4 |
| Nagoya Sogo Bank, Nagoya |
7 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
22 |
2 |
|
'Penalty Kicks !’ Yes or No?
A new system using 'Penalty kicks' to decide which team shall advance to the next round if two teams are tied after the extra time in the knock-out tournament was adopted during the 13th Asian Youth Football Tournament held in Japan during April and May this year. Two cases occured in the tournament, and many opinions about this system have already been sent to the press from spectators and T.V. viewers.
Booing from the stand
During the Korea vs Iran occasion, as Iranian were about to kick, Korean supporters booed from the stand with the intention of disturbing the kick.
Similarly, when the Koreans were kicking the other spectators, most of whom were Japanese, also booed to try and disturb the Koreans' kicks. Of course, such behavior by spectators is not desirable, but it is impossible for the referee to stop it.
'Gamesmanship'
During the semi-final match between the Republic of Korea and Japan one Korean player repeatedly moved as though he were about to kick, but then stopped, in order to irritate the opponent's goalkeeper. The referee cautioned him, but could do nothing more. The goalkeeper did finally become irritated, and failed to save the kick. Letters from T.V. viewers depreciated such 'gamesmanship', which could result in humiliation for the game itself.
Not fit for young players
The 'penalty kicks' between Korea and Japan ended with four points for each team (one player on each side missed a goal),and the remaining players began to kick one by one, on the basis of the 'sudden death' system. A Japanese player's kick was finally defended successfully by the Korean goalkeeper, and the young Japanese player, who felt himself responsible for his team's defeat, was extremely downhearted. Some spectators who witnessed the incident, ex-pressed their sympathy and put forward the opinion that the system of 'penalty kicks' was not suitable for the young and inexperienced players, due to the mental pressures on individuals. |
