J-League Team of the Week Round 17: Four players from second-place Sanfrecce feature

J-League Team of the Week Round 17: Four players from second-placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima feature

Jul 9, 2012 6:00:00 AM

The Purple Archers ended the first half of the season just two points behind leaders Vegalta Sendai and are the first club to have four players chosen for our lineup

J-League

Team Of The Week:

Week 17

Weekly Roundup

GOALKEEPER

Shunsaku Nishikawa
Shimizu S-Pulse

In a crucial match-up against third-placed Jubilo Iwata, Nishikawa came up big in Sanfrecce's 2-0 shutout win, beating out Kawasaki Frontale's Nishibe and Vegalta Sendai's Hayashi.

DEFENDERS

Daigo Nishi Kashima Antlers	Marcus Tulio Tanaka Nagoya Grampus	Naoki Ishikawa Albirex Niigata	Hiroki Mizumoto Sanfrecce Hiroshima
On the back line, Nishi scored Antlers' winning goal in addition to his defensive contributions. Tulio, Ishikawa and Mizumoto all defended solidly for their respective clubs and were chosen not only for their performance on Saturday but also their recent consistency on the pitch.

MIDFIELDERS

Yosuke Kashiwagi
Urawa Reds

Kazuyuki Morisaki
Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Yojiro Takahagi
Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Yoichiro Kakitani
Cerezo Osaka

Manabu Saito
Yokohama F. Marinos

This week's lineup features five midfielders, with Sanfrecce's Moriwaki anchoring the squad after creating Sanfrecce's rhythm and contributing the team's second goal. Kashiwagi, Goal.com's J-League Player of the Week, was involved in all four goals for the winning Reds including three assists. Takahagi, the fourth Sanfrecce player to be selected this week, was the Purple Archers' offensive key man.

On the wings, Kakitani's technical marvel of a goal earned a crucial point for Cerezo and the player himself his second straight Best XI appearance. Saito, fresh off his selection for the Olympic games, confounded opponents with his sharp movement.

FORWARDS

Lucas FC Tokyo
Veteran striker Lucas proved again that he's still got skills, this time against his former Gamba Osaka team-mates. The Tokyo man scored a double in the first half, including an incredibly strong mid-range shot to help the capital city club break their two-game losing streak and end the first half of the season in fifth place.

Follow Goal.com Asia on and
for the latest in Asian footballing news, features, and analysis

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!