28 October 1993 - The Agony Of Doha

On 28 October 1993, a late Iraqi goal denied Japan their first World Cup appearance in a match Japanese supporters call "the Agony of Doha."

The two teams met on the final day of Asian Football Confederation qualification for the 1994 World Cup. With four of their five matches already played, Japan were at the top of the group with 5 points, while Iraq were three places back on 4 points. A win for Japan would have sent them through to their first-ever World Cup, while the Iraqis needed both a win and favorable results in the day's other two matches.

Playing before a crowd of 15,000 at the Al-Ahly Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Japan took a quick lead thanks to forward Kazuyoshi Miura's 5th-minute strike. The two sides then exchanged second-half goals, with forward Ahmad Radhi equalizing for Iraq in the 54th minute, followed by an 80th-minute goal from Japanese forward Masashi Nakayama to restore the Blue Samurai's advantage.

But in the 90th minute, as the Japanese supporters began making their World Cup plans, substitute Jaffar Salman headed a cross past Japanese keeper Shigetatsu Matsunaga. The match ended 2-2, eliminating both Iraq and Japan from the tournament. Saudi Arabia won the group, while Japanese arch-rivals South Korea took the second and final qualification spot.

16 January 1994 - Verdy Kawasaki Kick Into Gear

On 16 January 1994, Verdy Kawasaki won the first J-League Championship by drawing 1-1 with Kashima Antlers before a crowd of 59,715 at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium. It was the second leg of the final and Verdy had won the first leg 2-0 to claim the title on aggregate.

The J-League, Japan's first professional league, was founded in 1992 with 10 clubs. For the first year, they played a cup competition only, debuting the first league matches in 1993. That first season was played in two 18-match stages, named after their sponsors as the Suntory Series (the first stage) and the NICOS Series (the second stage). The teams at the top of the table at the end of each stage then met in the two-leg Suntory Championship in Tokyo to decide the title.

Kashima, as first-stage winners, and Verdy, the second-stage winners, played the first leg on 9 January 1994, with Verdy emerging as 2-0 victors with goals from playmaker Kazuyoshi Miura (60') and Brazilian midfielder Bismarck Faria (89'). In the second leg, Kashima closed the gap with a 38th-minute striker from Brazilian forward Alcindo Sartori, but Kazu restored the two-goal advantage by finding the back of the net in the 82nd minute.

Verdy repeated as champions the following season, but Kashima have come on strong, winning seven titles starting in 1996 and including each of the last three seasons.