It was a bittersweet season for Hyōgo Tajima-ushi FC, as the defending champions posted team highs in goals scored and +/-, but finished with a worse record than last year and a runner up finish behind the resurgent Giant Robots. There is no shame in losing out to a storied club such as the Robots, but the players know that but for a few key goals in a few select games, they could have posted the three-peat. Still, all is not lost as the Beef had some revelations on the pitch that will surely help them next season in their quest to regain the top spot in the J-League.
Individually, the offense was golden once again, and the attack was very balanced. But standing out was Hyōgo's top acquisition, Zé Marceneiro, the young and electrifying Portuguese midfielder, who tallied 22 goals in his rookie season with the club. His stellar play easily outmatched the production that Spurs midfielder Ronaldo Mendez brought to the pitch this season, which delighted the spurned fans at the Slaughterhouse this year. Marceneiro established himself as an all star, and managed to increase his skills quite a bit over the season as well, and is now rating a very impressive 70 on the FCD rating scale.
Malachy Krautstock was his usual outstanding self, along with fellow forwards Togai Katsumoto and Davi Gellbart formed a front three that posted 70 goals on the season. Rookie forward Zuriel Linie was impressive too, netting 8 goals as a 19 year old. Shinsaku Shinji did an excellent job as holding center midfielder, anchoring a surprisingly stingy Hyogo defense and coordinating the attack at the same time. Midfielder Sancho Ferreira didn't seem to gel with the team quite as well as the manager would have liked however, and may be a candidate for transfer in the upcoming season, as the less skilled Ilias Mohliwer was often far more effective when in the lineup instead.
There were no complaints in the back line as Masami Chiba and Takeichi Miyagi formed a very solid anchor, and along with veteran Michnaga Matsuoka did a great job of mentoring future superstar rookie Habib Mündig. Mündig's development was startling, raising from a 53 at the time of his signing to an astounding 60 by seasons end, all at the age of 18. His potential ceiling is much higher than originally anticipated, and could surpass the 70-75 marker by his 22nd birthday. The Kobe Beef are very happy to have him locked up for four more years, and should his stellar development continue have plans to make him a Beef for life. In goal GK Barnaby Lichteneger was his usual very dependable and talented self, and left no doubt about his play and place as a team leader.
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