In Japan, articles on the grass of the Korean K-League continue to appear. Prominent Japanese soccer journalist Takeo Goto said through the sports media Sportiva that Japan also played a lot of games on bad grass in the past, expressing his opinion on the grass problem caused by the Korean game in the first round of the 2024-225 AFC Champions League East Asian region.
The problem was the match between Gwangju FC and Yokohama F Marinos in the first round of the East Asian region at Gwangju World Cup Stadium on the 17th and Ulsan HD FC and Kawasaki Frontare in the first round at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on the 18th. Gwangju defeated Yokohama 7-3, and Ulsan lost to Kawasaki 0-1.
The stadium pitch in these two matches was a big problem. “It was a shock for Yokohama to lose 3-7 to Gwangju, but the poor pitch condition of the Korean stadium was more shocking than that,” columnist Goto said.
“The grass at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium, where Yokohama played, was in disrepair. Gwangju usually uses the stadium exclusively for soccer in Gwangju, but it did not meet the standards for facilities in the AFC Champions League, so it used the stadium. A day later, Kawasaki faced Ulsan, but the grass conditions at Ulsan Munsu Stadium were even worse than that.”
He also assessed that the pitch condition did not directly affect the result. “The Yokohama defeat was not due to the pitch condition. There was a player in Gwangju who had excellent shooting skills like Yasir Asani. Since the defense was so sloppy, a large number of runs were inevitable,” he said. 메이저놀이터
“Given his pitch status, Kawasaki gave up the original method of ball possession and managed realistic game by giving pressure to the opponent. The score was 1-0, but in terms of content, it was a complete victory,” he said, praising Kawasaki.
“The grass condition in Korean stadiums seems to be an inevitable problem,” Goto said. “It must have been difficult to manage the grass due to the recent abnormal climate.” He said, “But it is similar in Japan. Last year, there were many grasses that were devastated at J-League stadiums due to the heat, but this season the pitch was reduced. It is thanks to the hard work of managers based on their experience last year,” he said, stressing that it is “the power of management.”
Recalling Japan’s poor grass conditions 30 to 40 years ago, Koto recalled that Japan also had such a time. At the match against Indonesia held at home in 1989, he introduced an episode in which he received complaints from the opposing team due to the pitch that became muddy due to heavy rain. He also evaluated that Japan was worse.
However, he also expressed his belief that a really outstanding player knows how to show off his skills regardless of his grass condition.
“As the grass condition improved, the players were unable to adapt to the bumpy pitch. Poor pitch conditions were used as regulars in every article on the away game,” Goto said. “A really good player can adapt well to any conditions. When France visited Japan during the 1994 Kirin Cup, when it rained heavily on the day of the game, he did not play his usual pass play and beat Australia by playing long passes and aerial balls.”
