Kashima Antlers photo report of the damage done to Kashima Soccer Stadium and the club house:
http://www.so-net.ne.jp/antlers/news/release/10107
Cesare Polenghi and Teppei Takano's original report of the postponement of games and damage to stadiums:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/14/asia/201 ... disastrous
Follow-up report concerning the postponement of all games this month:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/14/asia/201 ... e-to-japan
Associated Press report of the same situation:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadi ... Id=6241172
Original copy of Cesare and Teppei's second report, pre-Goal.com edit:
I haven't been able to find any more reports of stadiums or photos. I had seen a photo of a baseball stadium in Sendai over the weekend that was completely flooded by the tsunami, but can't seem to find it anymore. Will post any more information as it comes to light."In the aftermath of the disaster that has struck Japan three days ago, the J.League has decided to call off all games scheduled in March.
Accordingly, the third round of the first division (J1) and the third and fourth of second division (J2) have been postponed to dates to be announced possibly already tomorrow.
The two ACL games to be played in Nagoya and Kashima this midweek and the first two rounds of the Nabisco League Cup as well have been called off, for a total of 43 games postponed.
Besides the mourning mood that engulfs the nation marred by the earthquake and the tsunami that killed at least 2,000, rescheduling is due overall to basic security issues related to electricity and water shortages that continue in various areas of Japan.
The only games involving Japanese teams that will go on in March are the two scheduled in China tomorrow (Tianjin Teda-Gamba Osaka) and Wednesday (Shandong Luneng-Cerezo Osaka), and -at least for now- the two national team games scheduled to be played on March 25th and 29th.
Players involved in the ACL games have shown some discomfort, but also the will to proudly represent their country. Among them, Cerezo Osaka's Teruyuki Moniwa commented: "Considering what is going on in Japan, I am not sure this is the right time to play football, but we will do our best, also to give some hope to the victims of the disaster."
The Cerezo defender's words were echoed by those of Gamba Osaka's Akira Nishino. "This time we did not come [to China] as Gamba, our mission here is to represent our country and to show the strength of Japan," said the 2008 ACL winner manager.
Nishino has some family living in Sendai, and during his latest conference he informed the media that his relatives luckily survived the tsunami.
The J.League committee will meet tomorrow in Tokyo, March 15th, to tentatively decide how to restructure the season.
Including two League Cup rounds, a total of four new dates will be necessary to make up for postponed games in J1. The situation is not simple to unravel, considering also the Japanese national team's commitment to play as a special guest in the Copa America, in July.
In the meantime, charity events organized by clubs and supporters continue. Third division club Parceiro Nagano's fans will join their arch-rivals at Yamaga Matsumoto in fundraising and other activities in support of Japan's recovery effort.
Japan has also received messages of encouragement from many football celebrities, among them the recently retired World champion Ronaldo, Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin and Villareal's Giuseppe Rossi.
Juventus and Brazil's Felipe Melo posted a message in Japanese on his Twitter, while both Real Madrid and CF Barcelona sent messages before their games this past weekend."
It should also be noted that all Japan-based Australian players are safe. Spira was on a train at the time of the quake, which I can only imagine would have been the scariest thing to experience, but is safe. Mark Milligan, the other player closest to the damaged areas, was in his apartment at the time and fleed with his family, all of whom are safe.
