Andrew MCKIRDY - The Japan Times

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Andrew MCKIRDY

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Andrew MCKIRDY

Andrew McKirdy is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His main beat is soccer, but he has also covered rugby, tennis, volleyball, golf and even tug-of-war. A native of the Scottish Borders, he has written for The Scotsman newspaper and organized filming for a program on Japanese soccer for ITV television.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Nov 13, 2008

Unsung heroes deserve spotlight

Gamba Osaka's Asian Champions League win may not be greeted with the same fanfare that heralded Urawa Reds' groundbreaking triumph in last year's edition, but then understated elegance has always been Gamba's style.

SOCCER / J. League

Nov 9, 2008

Suganuma, Popo trigger Reysol rally against Grampus

KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. — A late two-goal salvo from Minoru Suganuma and Popo put a huge dent in Nagoya Grampus' J. League championship aspirations as Kashiwa Reysol came from behind to beat Dragan Stojkovic's title-chasing side 2-1 on Saturday.

SOCCER / J. League

Nov 2, 2008

Trinita capture Nabisco Cup for first-ever title

Oita Trinita's fairy tale season continued with a 2-0 Nabisco Cup final win over Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday to give the modest Kyushu club its first-ever silverware.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Nov 1, 2008

Oita Trinita's style lacks flair but produces results

When the season began back in March, only a fool would have predicted that Oita Trinita would go into November preparing for a cup final just two points off the top of the J. League table.

SOCCER / J. League

Oct 26, 2008

Marinos pick up valuable points in quest to remain in J1

KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. — Three-time J. League champion Yokohama F. Marinos took a big step toward first-division survival with a 3-1 win over Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday, while Nagoya Grampus' bid for a first-ever championship hit a snag with a 0-0 draw against Jubilo Iwata.

Japan Times

SOCCER / J. League

Oct 23, 2008

Inukai ready to face new challenges as president of JFA

On July 12, Motoaki Inukai became president of the Japan Football Association, bypassing four JFA vice presidents and one general secretary to land the most powerful job in Japanese soccer.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Oct 18, 2008

Japan's margin for error slim after draw with Uzbeks

Japan manager Takeshi Okada's assertion that there was "no problem yet" after his side had drawn 1-1 at home to Uzbekistan in Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier drew hoots of derision from many watching the match, but as a sound bite it neatly summed up the national team's philosophy.

SOCCER / World cup

Oct 16, 2008

Japan held by Uzbekistan

SAITAMA — Japan complicated its bid for a place at the 2010 World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Group A struggler Uzbekistan on Wednesday night.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Oct 13, 2008

Japan must forget about UAE game with Uzbekistan qualifier looming

If Japan's friendly against the United Arab Emirates was designed to give a confidence boost ahead of this week's World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan, it is difficult to see how it achieved anything but the opposite.

SOCCER / World cup

Oct 10, 2008

Japan held to draw

The United Arab Emirates stunned Japan with a goal from virtually its only attack of the game to claim a 1-1 friendly-match draw on Thursday night.

SOCCER

Oct 8, 2008

Reds shift focus to ACL showdown

Urawa Reds manager Gert Engels is staking his club's entire season on retaining its Asian Champions League title, starting with Wednesday's semifinal first-leg clash with Gamba Osaka.

TENNIS

Oct 4, 2008

Del Potro upsets Ferrer in quarters

Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro sent top seed and defending champion David Ferrer crashing out in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open on Friday, while American Andy Roddick continued his successful tour of Asia with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Serbia's Viktor Troicki.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Oct 3, 2008

Japan's soccer calendar sorely in need of a revamp

Last season's J. League title race was as notable for Urawa Reds' physical breakdown as it was for eventual champion Kashima Antlers' success, and one glance at the rest of this year's fixture list should be enough to send a familiar shiver running down Reds manager Gert Engels' spine.

Japan Times

TENNIS

Oct 2, 2008

Nishikori outlasts Garcia-Lopez in tense match

Teenager Kei Nishikori came out on top of an early battle of wills with Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Wednesday to move into a third-round matchup against Richard Gasquet at the Japan Open.

SOCCER

Sep 25, 2008

Reds cruise past Al Qadsia to set up ACL semifinal date with Gamba

SAITAMA — Defending champion Urawa Reds set up an all-Japanese Asian Champions League semifinal clash against Gamba Osaka with a comfortable 2-0 win over Kuwait's Al Qadsia on Wednesday night.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 24, 2008

Lowly JEF United stuns Nagoya Grampus

A 60-second nightmare for Nagoya Grampus goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki dented his side's title aspirations and handed relegation-haunted JEF United Chiba a precious 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

TENNIS

Sep 22, 2008

Awesome Safina breezes to Toray Pan Pacific win

Russia's Dinara Safina hailed her "best ever tennis" as she swept past compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open final in straight sets on Sunday.

TENNIS

Sep 21, 2008

Safina overpowers Petrova in semis, awaits all-Russian final

Dinara Safina turned in a brutal display of power tennis Saturday to annihilate Nadia Petrova and set up an all-Russian final against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

TENNIS

Sep 20, 2008

Kuznetsova eliminates Jankovic in quarterfinals

Jelena Jankovic's bid to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking ended Friday when she joined Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in being bundled out at the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

SOCCER

Sep 18, 2008

Mistake-aided Kashima salvage draw in first-leg

KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Kashima Antlers salvaged a draw but gifted a careless away goal to Adelaide United as their Asian Champions League quarterfinal first leg finished 1-1 on Wednesday night.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

By Johan Brooks

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