Exhibition Match vs. FC Seoul

Mito will be traveling to Gotenba, Shizuoka on the 9th for a short camp and staying the night. The next day on the 10th, Mito will face visiting FC Seoul, one of the top teams of Korea's K-League.

2010 Team Captain, Player Representative

This year's captain will be defender Owada, continuing from last year.

The player representative, which is a new post to be used as the spokesman between the players and club staff or perhaps outside parties, will be defender/midfielder Mori.

Masahiro Ohashi to Mito HollyHock

After 9 seasons playing elsewhere, attacking midfielder Masahiro Ohashi returns to Mito. He's had a storied career, playing first for Yokohama F. Marinos, then to Mito, then back to Yokohama, then Niigata, back to Yokohama, Tokyo Verdy, Kawasaki, Gangwon FC (as the 3rd Japanese to play professionally in Korea), and now back in Mito. This will be his 13th season as a pro player, but he is still only 28 years old.

Ohashi played with keeper Honma and manager Kiyama during his year at Mito. That was his best year as far as goals go, but he almost matched it last year in Korea. He was part of the Japanese league winning squads in 2003, 2004, and 2008, and played in the AFC Champions League in 4 straight years, 2004-2007.

Mito is mixing the squad with very experienced players as well as youngsters. The loss of last year's two top scorers is rough, but if the new additions can score enough, the entire team as a whole is looking stronger than last year's side that skirted with promotion.

New Uniform and Players Introduced

Today the new players and uniform were introduced at Mito's stadium. A weekday at 3PM (for convenience)...

The new uniforms are drastically different. The home uniform is blue and darker blue vertical stripe. Imagine Inter Milan. The away uniform is black and white vertical stripe. Think Juventus. There is some Mito connection with the former being home color and the latter inspired by Othello, a game created in Mito. There is no doubting the color scheme resemblance to the Italian clubs, though...

Afterward, new players gave an introduction speech, including one surprise return.

First Weekend Practice of 2010

The first Saturday practice for the club this year is currently ongoing. It's running with various stations along the way with things like zig zag poles, big bouncy ball, and of course the ever popular bouncy castle. I'm especially intrigued by the jump rope!

Youngsters do it well

"Hey, that looks easy"

Keeper Honma has a tough time

Nakajima to Become Coach

Midfielder Shunichi Nakajima, who previously was revealed as not re-signing with the club. Yesterday it was announced that he is retiring as an active player. From this season, he'll be a main squad coach at Mito.

Kenta Nishioka to Mito HollyHock

Kansai University midfielder Nishioka has joined Mito. He previously practiced with Tokyo Verdy as a 3rd year student where he gained a good reputation, especially for his defensive skills.

Yoshihara Re-signs

Mito forward Kota Yoshihara has renewed his contract and will play in the 2010 season.

Mito v. Kashima Ibaraki Soccer Festival Preseason Match

This year's Ibaraki Soccer Festival, the annual exhibition between Mito HollyHock and Kashima Antlers, takes place on February 13 at K's Denki Stadium Mito. Kickoff is at 2PM and the gates will open at 11AM.

Tickets go on sale from January 23rd at pretty much any presale location, starting at just 1000 yen. For those who haven't seen either of the teams or the new stadium, this is a fantastic chance to be introduced to something great.

Rentals Extended

I guess it's rental season as FC Tokyo's Shimoda and Morimura have had a rental extention through the 2010 season.

Kento Shiratani to Mito HollyHock

Mito's obsession with anyone called "Kento" continues as Mito picks up the first rental of the season, Cerezo Osaka forward Kento Shiratani. He has seen a bit of play over the past two years in that club but very rarely last season.

The rental agreement goes through January 31, 2011.

Masato Katayama to Mito HollyHock

FC Gifu forward Katayama has transferred to Mito for the first new acquisition of the year. I first saw him when Gifu was a JFL team playing in Ibaraki against Ryutsu Keizai University, and was very impressed. He had a fairly poor record this past season at Gifu with 11 appearances and no goals, but he must have impressed at the J. League open tryout.

While it's difficult to imagine people filling the holes left by Arata and Takasaki's departure, there now are at least still no players in the club on rental, which is a very good sign.