The Lonely Reunion by Captain Agent Steve Orange Green Reporting For Duty Sir, Yes Sir!

Cheers Steve.
Hello to Verdy fans from all over the globe, it's been awhile since we spoke last. It's been 2 and a half years since Nerdy started up his blog and I shuttered Soilent Green 1969 although it seems like much longer. In those two and a half years, I've seen the squad play a grand total of two times. The last time was at the end of last year, when Verdy was facing the distinct possibility of having the same fate as....well, as Soilent Green. The team held a "SAVE OUR VERDY" campaign, complete with free green t-shirts and pre-game festivities featuring Verdy legends from yesteryear. Over 20,000 went through the gates to see a tense 2-1 loss. Even though the team was defeated on the field, they did end up ultimately victorious because of earlier news that sporting goods retailer Xebio had stepped in and filled the gaping hole left by the deadbeat mouthbreathers who collect a paycheck from Yomiuri and the out of their depth internet weenies over at Amoeba. It was a decent atmosphere and a very impressive crowd giving a nice glimpse of what could be if things were done right. 
 
Fast forward to 2011 and the end of July, where I made my second trek to Chofu. Not to offend anyone, but Ajinomoto is probably one of the worst modern stadiums in Japan (barely edging Nissan, who at least has TV monitors so you see the action). It's very tough to watch a game there and when you have 3800 plus people in a 50,000 seat facility, the atmosphere isn't going to be good. Ajinomoto magnifies this by having their stands and playing field be located in different wards. Both sets of supporters did their best to make the place lively but it was really a losing battle. Nishigaoka was the best place for Verdy to play games when I used to attend semi-regularly. It was an intimate little stadium with seats right near the field. Hopefully, XEBIO and a proactive government in one of the 23 wards can get together and make something like this happen. I don't think there is much of a future in Chofu for Verdy. 
 
The quality of the squad was somewhere between the high flyers in 2007 who stormed up to J1 and the dregs in 2006 who were ghastly to watch. There were some good wing players for both sides but the target strikers (Verdy's sluggish and overtly dramatic  Maranhao and Oita's portly point man Yasuhito Morishima) were horrid. Maranhao did score a goal but shanked a ton of open chances and really killed the chance for victory. His biggest moment came early when he got hip checked out of bounds and flew over the advertising boards along the side lines. Both teams would probably be better served with target strikers who could score.....maybe Yuzo Funakoshi could find his old Verdy jersey and bumble around the penalty area waiting for a fat cross. 
 
Going into the game, I had mixed loyalties....I was looking forward to seeing old friends (for Omiya fans) Yukio Tsuchiya and Naoya Saeki play and I had faint hope that Masahiko Ichikawa would get a run off the bench (that bastard Kaz Iio ruined it for me.....still ruining games for me after all these years!). I also was looking forward to seeing Omiya rental Kohei Tokita line up as a centerback for Oita. He was a disaster as a sideback but played respectably (except for a shot that landed somewhere in Nerima). 
 
The real highlight of the game came off the foot of Choi Jung Han, who sent a beautiful shot into the far left side of the Verdy net. He gave longtime former Kawasaki nutter Yusuke Mori fits all night with his speed. Takuro Kikuoka and Hiroki Kawano stood out for the home side and put in chance after chance for the useless Maranhao. 
 
All in all it was an enjoyable game, complete with two of the national team heroes from Beleza adressing the crowd and giving a wave as well as halftime entertainment from a fairly ordinary band whose name I couldn't even begin to remember. 
 
I think the highlight for me though ( besides sitting with my blogging protege and making fun of Maranhao) was my purchase of Verdy's shockingly grotesque home jersey. To me it looks like a Celtic jersey and a Chinese restaurant billboard got liquored up one evening and didn't use the proper protection...IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
 
Not a bad game and the one bright side to low turnout is that the train ride is bearable. I think it was just a good thing that both teams were out playing. Both Oita and Verdy weren't sure bets for sustainable teams in 2010, so to have them playing and being competitive after turmoil, debt, and wholesale player purges is a good thing. 
 
It also gave me an excuse to chat with all of you once again.....that's always nice. 
 
Good luck to Verdy in the future and I hope you don't mind if I pop in again
 
The Artist formerly known as Soilent Green and now subsequently known as Agent Orange
 
Steve "Squiggle" Barme