RIFU, Miyagi Pref. -- East is East but West was best on Saturday night as the J-West team beat the J-East squad 5-2 in the 2000 J. League Tarami All-Star Soccer match at Miyagi Stadium, one of the venues for the 2002 World Cup.
Nagoya's Dragan Stojkovic ran the show as the representatives of the J. League's western-based teams rammed in four second-half goals to take the honors.
Stojkovic, the oldest players on the pitch at 35, played the full 90 minutes and showed he has lost none of his enthusiasm for the game -- and, more significantly, none of his skill -- and it was no surprise that he took the MVP award.