SOCCER Japan national team coach Ivica Osim was taken to a hospital in Chiba Prefecture after suffering a stroke on Friday, and is currently in intensive care, the Japan Soccer Association said.

SOCCER J-League champions Urawa Reds were crowned kings of Asia on Wednesday after a 2-0 win over Iran’s Sepahan in the second leg of the Asian Champions League final. [KYODO]

SOCCER Victory for the Urawa Reds in tonight’s Asian Champions League final will have positive ramifications for the game across Asia, manager Holger Osieck boldly declared Tuesday. [ASAHI]

SOCCER Brazilian striker Bare scored a second-half brace as Gamba Osaka kept their J-League title hopes aflicker with a 2-0 win over visiting JEF United Chiba on Saturday. [KYODO]

SOCCER Kawasaki Frontale’s club doctor filed Monday with the Japan Sports Arbitration Agency seeking nullification of the J-League’s punishment of striker Kazuki Ganaha, who received an intravenous injection from the doctor after a practice session in April. [KYODO]

SOCCER Defender Michihiro Yasuda emerged the hero with the first goal of his professional career as Gamba Osaka defeated Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 to win the Nabisco Cup on Saturday. [KYODO]

SOCCER Winning the Nabisco Cup is a little like taking the title of Miss Photogenic at a beauty pageant. It’s a consolation prize the victor may temporarily go gaga over, but one the rest of the world will struggle to recall who won in a week’s time. [ASAHI]

SOCCER Urawa Reds are on the brink of continental glory after a 5-3 penalty shootout victory over South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa put them into the final of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday. [KYODO]

SOCCER Urawa Reds are at a definite advantage going into tonight’s Asian Champions League semifinal against Seongnam Ilhwa, but they are not taking anything for granted. [YOMIURI]

SOCCER Japan’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s Beijing Olympics suffered an unexpected blow after a 2-1 defeat away to Qatar in Asian zone Group C on Wednesday. [KYODO]

SOCCER Urawa Reds will look to bounce another South Korean club from the Asian Champions League this evening as they take the fight to seven-time K.League winner Seongnam Ilhwa in the first leg of the semifinals outside Seoul. [YOMIURI]

SOCCER Kamatamare Sanuki, a member of the Shikoku Soccer League based in Kagawa Prefecture, has appointed wheelchair using Masashi Hachuda as its manager, the club announced. [MSN MAINICHI]

SOCCER Defending champions Germany and England booked their places in the women’s World Cup quarter-finals on Monday but there was despair for Japan who narrowly missed out. [AFP]

SOCCER Aya Miyama scored a dramatic equalizer with the last kick of the match to give Japan a 2-2 draw with England in a Group A match at the Women’s World Cup in China on Tuesday. [KYODO]

SOCCER Coach Ivica Osim kept the media guessing as he named just 12 of his 18 for next week’s home friendly against Cameroon, Japan’s first game since last month’s Asian Cup. [YOMIURI]

SOCCER Defending champion Urawa Reds will look to unseat Gamba Osaka from the top of the J.League as J1 action picks up tonight where it left off June 30 for the Asian Cup break. [YOMIURI]

SOCCER South Korea clinched 3rd place in the 2007 Asian Cup, and thereby won automatic qualification for the 2011 event, with a penalty shootout victory over Japan on Saturday. [INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE]

SOCCER Malek Maaz scored twice to help Saudi Arabia beat two-time defending champions Japan 3-2 in Wednesday’s Asian Cup semifinal. [MSN MAINICHI]

SOCCER For all the magic he yields with his left foot, the knock on Shunsuke Nakamura has been that the midfielder doesn’t run much, and doesn’t defend a great deal. [YOMIURI]

SOCCER Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura will not be thinking along individual lines when he lines up for Japan against Saudi Arabia in Wednesday’s Asian Cup semifinals. [AP]