Every club he’s ever played for has gained stability thanks to Yuki Abe.

He’s been a steady presence in Japanese football - from anchoring JEF United Chiba in the 2000s to closing his career with Urawa Red Diamonds.

The expectations are high for RB Omiya Ardija, who came tantalizingly close to a double promotion from J3 to J1, coming back to the top-flight for the first time since 2017.

After that incredible loss against JEF United Chiba in the playoffs semifinal, it's normal to have hopes for the 2026-27 season. When they visited Leipzig for their pre-season camp,

I had to talk with a couple of players about the upcoming year: goalkeeper Tom Glover and young striker Jelani McGhee.

From Nagasaki to the Old Continent, going through Nagoya and Los Angeles.

Maya Yoshida's career might be over with the national team, but he's already enshrined as a pacemaker in the history of Japanese football.

If you're a commander-in-chief, you're probably that for life. That must be the destiny of Makoto Hasebe, three-time captain for Japan at the FIFA World Cup, and now ready for the 2026 edition, but from the dugout.

The centre-back was one of the two Japanese captains at the FIFA World Cup to be the skipper more than once. Osaka, Salzburg, Kobe. Player, coach, executive - Tsuneyasu Miyamoto is a jack of all trades.

Calm and steady, but ready to battle: the first captain for Japan at a FIFA World Cup had to be a balanced guy like Masami Ihara.

In 2020, Kawasaki Frontale wrote history. In "J. Finest Hour", a column on historical winning teams in the Japanese football pyramid, we revisit other teams that had done the same.

And we had to start from Júbilo Iwata, their 2002 campaign, and their shiny status at the beginning of the 2000s.

The career of Tomoaki Makino showed us regrets, glory, achievements, and a clear line for his future. And that future is becoming reality while getting his first coaching gig in the pro world with Fujieda MYFC.

One-hit wonders. A light in a strange career, which wasn’t made of sparks and constant success. A sudden corner of attention in an otherwise normal trajectory.

“Lost Treasures” is a column talking about this kind of player in the history of the J. League. And the first player for this column had to be Mike Havenaar.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima have a new head coach since 2026, with Bartosch Gaul taking over.

In a sit-down with the manager, he told us how the club's talent can emerge and why Japanese players are so interesting to coach.

Read the full interview here: https://jleagueregista.com/bartosch-gaul-sanfrecce-hiroshima/