Well, that was a curious one, wasn't it? In the end, it almost seemed as if no team wanted to win the J. League's first stage. And the way the Yokohama F. Marinos triumphed, it felt like they won it by default after having to rely on Cerezo Osaka's extra-time loss to Kawasaki Frontale.

It was a stage in which no team dominated and Yokohama was just one of a handful of teams with the potential to win the title.

True, they did finish second in the second stage last year, but after that, they lost two key elements: long-serving captain Masami Ihara (to Jubilo Iwata) and their main striker, Shoji Jo (to Valladolid).

In addition, the Marinos were undone by a lack of discipline last year, a fact that proved crucial down the stretch in the second stage when they were pipped by Shimizu S-Pulse. Ardiles is not a great fan of players picking up cards and you can guess that he had something to say to his players after they collected six in the first two games of this year's first stage. In the next six games, they only collected four more (two in one game for Yasuhiro Hato).

Toward the end, it looked like they were reverting to their old habits a bit and it was probably of some concern when both Hato and Naoki Matsuda received red cards in one game (in the 4-1 win over Gamba Osaka on April 29). With two key defenders missing on May 3, the Marinos were punished 2-0 by Sanfrecce Hiroshima. If nothing else, that defeat should have got Ardiles' message through (no other player was sent off until Matsuda earned a red card in the final game for a professional foul).

Ardiles' two main tasks at the beginning of the season were to fill the gaps left by Ihara and Jo and to find a pattern of play that the team could adapt to.

Ardiles opted to switch the Marinos to a three-man defense with Matsuda at the center. That meant Norio Omura would find himself out on the right of the three-man formation. Omura has always come across as a bit of a clunker -- strong in the tackle, a true fighter, but weak on the constructive side -- however, he has performed admirably this season and, although his preferred pass is still the Ray Wilkins don't-play-it-forward option, he has still surprised a few by scampering down the wing on occasion and joining in the attack.

The other side of the three-man defense posed Ardiles with a problem. Basically, he didn't have someone to slot in the left defense position. At first, he stuck South Korean utility man Yoo Sang Chul there. Yoo was a bit of a misfit with the Marinos last year; it often seemed like he was either in the wrong position or nobody wanted to pass to him. He really didn't look like he had a role to play and certainly didn't appear to be a happy footballer.

One can only guess his reaction to being stuck at left back. He wasn't bad there, but it was obviously tough for him to display his natural attacking tendencies stuck in the back three.

So Ossie decided to give 19-year-old Hato -- who played only one game last year -- his big chance, and the teenager has done an excellent job. After that, Ardiles never had to think about who he was going to write down for the back three (except when they were suspended, of course).

Meanwhile, the boss had to think about what to do up front. The team's management had taken the trouble to sign Moroccan Abdeljalil Hadda, but Ardiles told him to pack his bags almost as soon as training camp had begun.

The Marinos then drafted in Argentine Raul Maldonado, but he fared little better than his Moroccan counterpart. Almost by default, Yoo was given the troublesome (and seemingly cursed) striker's jersey -- and suddenly the Marinos had a team.

Well, almost.

Yoo proved a revelation up front, netting nine goals in nine games before he, too, was hit by the curse of the Yokohama strikers when he picked up a knee injury that put him out for the rest of the stage.

Sensibly, the Marinos picked up a replacement with Japan experience, turning to ex-Kyoto Purple Sanga striker Edmilson, who has done a stand-up job replacing Yoo. So much so, in fact, that it is likely to be Daisuke Tonoike who will lose his place in the starting lineup to Yoo in the second stage.

Unless, the curse strikes again . . .

Which leaves the midfield, the heart and strength of the Marinos enigma.

No one was in any doubt that the Yokohama midfield would pose a serious threat to any team it played. The potential first-choice five of Shunsuke Nakamura, Atsuhiro Miura, Hideki Nagai, Yoshiharu Ueno and Akihiro Endo was as good as any in the league. The preseason thinking was that if Ardiles could get this quintet to perform to their full potential, the Marinos would walk through the first stage.

But things didn't fall into place so easily. Ardiles, who was a big fan of Nagai when they were both at S-Pulse, put the experienced 29-year-old on the bench, opting instead to use journeyman Kunio Nagayama or impressive new boy Shintaro Harada.

The two stars of the midfield were supposed to be Japan internationals Miura and Nakamura, but they didn't always live up to their billing.

Miura played the entire first stage on the left side of midfield and, at first, seemed to be lost out on the wing. But in the latter half of the stage, the 25-year-old started to click with some surging runs down the left flank and finally live up to his potential.

Nakamura, on the other hand, hasn't quite got it right. The lightweight Olympic team standout has got magic in his left foot -- there are very few players anywhere who can deliver passes, lobbed crosses and free-kicks like he can -- but the problem is, he's a bit of a Matt Le Tissier. Running is obviously something that the other players are hired to do on his behalf, while tackling is not suited to his lightweight frame.

Nakamura, who flits from wing to wing, has worked magic for his team this year, but he could do so much more if he was fitter and actually did a bit of running. No doubt Ardiles is protective of his star player, but Nakamura needs to show more leadership for both his club and his country.

As it is, the unsung heroes of the Marinos' team go a long way to making up for the waywardness of Nakamura. Captain Ueno and Endo have been revelations as the workhorses of the midfield and have provided the graft that was the foundation of the Yokohama midfield's success. Without their work, it is unlikely the Marinos would have clinched the stage.

As it was, they won with a relatively poor record of 10 wins and five losses ahead of Cerezo Osaka, Shimizu S-Pulse and Kashiwa Reysol, who all had identical win-loss records (but different points totals due to wins in extra time that only count for two points).

The closeness at the top reflected the inconsistent season that all the top clubs had, and in some ways it underlined how the Marinos were underperforming. Ardiles insisted after every game that the team wasn't playing as he wanted it to and even after clinching the championship he realized he still has work to do.

"We've gone up from one level to another level," he explained. "But we still have a higher level we have to reach."

The key probably lies with Nakamura. Ardiles is likely to lose his patience if Nakamura continues to float around like a prima donna, but, at the moment, the flower of Yokohama is the player the fans want to see -- as well as the player with the ability to change a game -- and it would be a tough decision to drop him. On the other hand, it might do him some good.

Those who think the J. League hasn't been exciting obviously haven't been paying attention. The level of teams is very close and the league is becoming increasingly less predictable (the Antlers, Verdy and Grampus Eight all finished in the bottom half of the table). No team has won both stages under the two-stage J. League format.

The Marinos could do it this year, but there's likely to be some fierce competition to fight off.