Football Season Guide

Machida Zelvia had a memorable first-ever top flight experience in 2024. The J1 debutants finished third and at some stage they even looked like a serious title contender. Machida had the best defensive record in the top flight last year, only 34 goals conceded in 38 games. Come mid-September they were firmly in the position to win the title. However, the lack of experience showed and 4 defeats in the final 7 rounds meant that ‘only’ a third place was achieved. After keeping 18 clean sheets last season goalkeeper Kosei Tani made his stay at the club permanent. All the regulars in defence also stayed put so Machida are expected to again have a very good defensive record in 2025. If anything the back line looks even stronger with the additions of centre-backs Daihachi Okamura and Ryuho Kikuchi. The main area of concern remains the attack. Last season no player went in double-digit for goals. Foreign strikers Erik and Duke had only 3 and 4 goals respectively. Neither is a prolific goalscorer at this level. Hopes are that after making his stay permanent Se-hun Oh could prove to be the main star up front. He had 8 league goals last season and should be given the nod ahead of Duke and Erik in attack. Young Shota Fujio will also hope to improve on his 9-goal season. He’s still only 23 and developing fast into a future Japanese star. The departure of Kai Shibato weakens the midfield. Signed a replacement already – Hiroyuki Mae. Yet to be seen if he will have the same passing accuracy as the very precise Shibato. Ryohei Shirasaki should play a larger role too. He joined only midway through last season. Expected to become the main ball-handler and chance-creator of the team. Machida need to improve their reaction to falling behind. Last season only the 3 relegated teams won fewer points from losing positions. The ability to react to adversity is something the manager talked a lot about in pre-season. He is hopeful Machida will show much better football when they trail.