Cerezo in a Battle Royale

Out of all of my addictions, my zeal for the south Osaka Japan-League football team, Cerezo Osaka, a team that wears a shocking pink and blue uniform and has a fight song stolen from a Grahame Greene novel defies description at times. But as we go to press, my long suffering squad of Japanese socceroos find themselves in 2nd place, one point out of first, just behind our same city rivals with 3 games to go. I cannot attend today's crucial home match but to atone I am actually considering going down to pray at the local shrine for the team's success on the field.

Required background can be found here
http://www.wldcup.com/Asia/jleague/cerezo.html

Our last match on Sunday was one to savor, a 2-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale. A quorum of our usual foreign supporters were there, finding our perch in the upper terraces. My esteemed scholar friend Damien Flanagan also came out for his first J-league match and was suitably impressed. A goaless 1st half had us wondering if our record 13 game unbeaten streak was at last at an end, but suddenly our veterans produced a two goal burst in 4 minutes and from then on it was a beery coast to victory. The stuff of dreams, indeed.