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The story
In Matchday 11 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Machida cruised to a 5-0 win over Shimizu, extending their winning streak to three games and climbing to the top of the table with 26 points. F Tokyo stayed in second after a scoreless draw with Kashiwa, while Hiroshima suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat to Nagasaki and slipped to third with 23 points — a match that drew a clear line between the fortunes of the top clubs. On the forum thread, the conversation centered less on the results themselves than on the question of “why does everyone hate Machida so much?”, with opinions clashing between those crediting manager Go Kuroda’s tactics and those who argue the club is simply buying up star players with deep pockets. Posters are also divided on whether the club’s old reputation for rough play from its J2 days still lingers.
On the 21st, Matchday 11 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League saw 10 matches played around the country. Machida thrashed Shimizu 5-0, extending their win streak to three and rising to the top of the table with 26 points.
F Tokyo played out a scoreless draw with Kashiwa to sit second on 24 points. Hiroshima were routed 0-4 by Nagasaki and dropped to third, still on 23 points. Kawasaki defeated Kobe.
Gamba Osaka edged out Fukuoka for their first win in 10 matches, dating back to the season opener. Kashima drew with Kyoto, and Yokohama Marinos drew with Tokyo Verdy. Urawa beat Chiba, Okayama beat Mito, and Nagoya vs. Cerezo Osaka ended level.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Because the soccer under the Kuroda regime has been so dirty.
They became thoroughly hated over two seasons — in J2 and after promotion to J1.
Urawa gets hated in more of a 'everyone just mocks them' way, but Machida has a bad reputation with literally every fanbase they've ever faced.
That said, I heard that after never once beating Hiroshima since getting to J1, they started repeating 'let's become like Hiroshima.'
Supposedly they cleaned up their act somewhat after that.
Haters cherry-picked clips to only show the rough stuff and that's how the image stuck.
They'll do anything to win. Today they were clearly studying the ref's tendencies and kept flopping all over the pitch — Shimizu racked up three times as many fouls as Machida in the first half. Real Argentina/Paraguay stuff.
Gamba, read the room — think of the fans who love watching bottom-table teams struggle ("bottom-maniacs," ボトムズマニア).
It's Machida, remember — Ma. Chi. Da.
Can't beat the power of money.
What's with this sloppy way of reporting results?
Guess Cerezo ("Sakura") wasn't seen as having any connection there.
Next up, this Marinos side looks scary.
They're scooping up star players left and right.
Good players don't flock to a bad manager.
Are we talking about Vissel Kobe here?
Each playing for the other's team.
Got that feeling watching him play.
Guess they'll go down together as buddies.
Professor Kuroda's touch really shines (sarcastic honorific, like calling him 'the master').
Wish my team's manager would take notes.
Especially dead on weekdays, lol.
And then it turned into 'stop watching clips, watch the whole match!' — so people watched the whole thing, and it turned out to be even worse than the clips, making them hate it even more.
I guess with the owner raking it in from horse racing, players are drawn in.
There's no other club in Japan that can pay 100 million yen for Matsuo (who isn't even a starter).
J1 standings table
Attendance
J1
40,765 MUFG Kokuritsu
24,531 Saitama
20,737 U Todoroki
18,688 Pi-Suta
18,623 Aji-Suta
18,236 Toyota Stadium
14,020 JFE Stadium
13,011 Sanga Stadium
10,750 Ai-Suta
*6,105 Besu-Suta
J2
*9,860 Yua Stadium
*9,252 Denka S
*8,708 NACK
*8,036 ND Stadium
*6,782 Yamaha
*5,239 Lemon S
*4,948 JIT Stadium
*3,377 Naruto Otsuka
*2,050 CFS
*1,641 Ichigo
Put together this weekend's numbers too, would you? Appreciate it.
8,000 people showing up to ND Stadium on a weekday afternoon, lol.
J2 crowds have really picked up, huh.
Background and Points of Debate
Machida Zelvia is a relatively new club built up under manager Go Kuroda during its J2 years, winning the J2 title in 2022 before earning promotion to J1 in 2023 — meaning this round’s streak, on pace for five straight wins, comes just a little over two years after promotion. The thread’s central disagreement was over the “reason for their strength”: some credited Kuroda’s tactical management, while others argued the club is simply buying up star players through sheer spending power. On the earlier reputation for rough play, opinions were similarly split between those who feel the old image still lingers and those who argue the club has already cleaned up its act — no consensus was reached. It’s worth noting that the claim that Machida “could never beat Hiroshima and so set Hiroshima as their target” is hearsay circulating within the thread, unconfirmed by any primary source. Attendance figures were also cited, but comparing them at face value without accounting for weekday scheduling can easily give a misleading picture.
*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Sports Flash+) thread “[Soccer] Machida Takes the Lead With Third Straight Win — F Tokyo Draws, Hiroshima Suffers Heavy Defeat — J1.”
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