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J-League Team Of The Week: Week 22 Weekly Roundup |
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| GOALKEEPER |
Kaito Yamamoto
Shimizu S-Pulse
| Yamamoto shut out surging Sagan Tosu in contributing to S-Pulse's victory, beating out other goalkeepers such as Vegalta's Takuto Hayashi for the weekly honour. |
| DEFENDERS |
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Yusuke Tanaka Kawasaki Frontale |
Naoya Kondo Kashiwa Reysol |
Yasuyuki Konno Gamba Osaka |
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On our three-back defensive line, Kondo held the centre after leading Reysol to a scoreless draw against championship contenders Vegalta. Tanaka scored a timely second-half double for Frontale, salvaging a draw against Marinos in the Kanagawa Derby. On the left side, Konno not only shut down the Grampus attack with multiple interceptions, but also scored his first goal since joining Gamba in the winter. |
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| MIDFIELDERS |
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Yasuhito Endo Gamba Osaka |
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Takuya Nozawa Vissel Kobe |
Tomoya Ugajin Urawa Reds |
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Yojiro Takahagi Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
Fresh off his goal against Venezuela on Wednesday, Endo not only converted a penalty against Grampus but was involved in many of Gamba's five goals. Nozawa was also on fire, adding an assist on top of his two goals at Consadole. Ugajin drew defenders up and down the pitch, scoring his second straight goal at home. While Takahagi was the lone midfielder to have not added to his tally, his high-quality play was a constant threat throughout Sanfrecce's match.
| FORWARDS |
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Milivoje Novakovic Omiya Ardija |
Ryoichi Maeda Jubilo Iwata |
Hisato Sato Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
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After a difficult selection, three strikers made the cut for this week's front line. After coming on as a substitute, Novakovic showcased his fantastic talents with his game-winning goal at FC Tokyo. Maeda's late double snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as Jubilo beat Cerezo 4-3. Sato not only scored his league-leading 17th goal of the season, but contributed an assist in Sanfrecce's win. In a round full of memorable performances, Marinos' Marquinhos (two goals), the Reds' Genki Haraguchi (one goal), and Gamba's Akihiro Sato (one goal and one earned PK) were left off this week's list, but in any other Team of the Week would easily have earned a spot. |
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