New wine aroma. The "selection" of coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA, who has brought out the path to move forward.
When it comes to positional play, it tends to be thought of as something extremely difficult, but what coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA often tells his players is actually quite simple. Among them, one of the most important things is to make sure that players do not take positions that are out of alignment with each other. This means not overlapping in terms of vertical or horizontal positioning.
When you're not used to it, you tend to think that taking this position is difficult. You must not think too much about it and try to do it smoothly.
There will be differences in understanding or adaptability at this point. In general, the members who are selected as starters are good at taking this optimal position.
One of them is Ryoma WATANABE.
On January 29th, in the practice match against Kyoto Sanga F.C., Watanabe appeared as the left side back in the second set. When he started as the right side back in the match against FC Ryukyu on February 2nd, our local coverage team was excited. "Coach Albert is serious," they thought. It wasn't just a leftover from last year's emergency conversion, but he was thinking of it as his main position.
In this match, Kensuke NAGAI was the right winger in front of Watanabe. He is also a player with a high soccer IQ, so the change on the right side was smooth.
On the other hand, the left wing at this time was Adailton. The Brazilian national attacker tends to move relatively freely. It can be a weapon and there is no problem, but there is a need for the surrounding players to adapt. So, who was the left inside half at this time? It was Kuryu MATSUKI.
Matsuki was also the second player in the second set against Kyoto. The position remains the same, on the left inside. Like Watanabe, he was selected as a starter for the Ryukyu match. The same goes for the match against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on February 5th.
In the opening match against Kawasaki Frontale, the opponent was not Adailton but Leandro, and he moved to the right position. It may have been effective to have become accustomed to working with Brazilian players since the camp. These two worked together on the right side, utilizing Leandro. In fact, most of the passes they made were from Watanabe to Matsuki, and from Matsuki to Watanabe. And the next most passes Matsuki made were to Leandro.
"I always communicate with Ryo during practice matches and training. When Leandro goes inside, I go outside, and when he goes outside, I take the position in the middle."
Matsuki said this after the Kawasaki game. Leandro was conscious of playing in an easy position for soccer. The dedication of Watanabe and Matsuki may have had something to do with Leandro shooting the most shots in this game for the team, at four.
Let's take a closer look.
In the first minute of the start, it can be confirmed that Nagai is expanding to the left as if giving way to Ogawa who is going up in the middle (half space) while holding the ball. On the other hand, Matsuki responds to Aoki's movement on the right and creates space by shifting vertically. These smart players worked together smoothly. When we focus on how the fullbacks, midfielders, and wingers are cooperating and changing their positions, Albert Tokyo becomes interesting.
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In particular, at this stage, he is still a beginner in positional play, so even those who are not tactical maniacs should be able to enjoy it by making the purpose of the movement easy to understand and making practical katakana English easy to understand.
In other words, you can feel the superiority of Albert soccer, which can take the lead just by challenging the battle for territory, because the footwork is immature and the movement is easy to understand. You can only taste the aroma of this new wine now. As it matures, it will become better and the taste will change. Let's watch the opening game repeatedly.
"Once again, the path we should pursue is the one we expressed today."
I want to reflect on the meaning of the words left by Coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA. It may be an unpaved animal trail, but the path is clear.
In terms of Leandro's linkage, it starts with him going out to follow the opponent's final line, responding to the number 20 on his back, and Matsuki's consideration is always felt. In the 14th minute, Matsuki becomes like a wing for Leandro, who takes a top position. Then in the 24th minute, Nagai comes inside and creates a scoring opportunity for Leandro with a one-two with Matsuki. The whole team is utilizing the Brazilian players.
And at 28 minutes, Nagai broke through the left side. Although they were initially spread out in the 5th lane, Nagai cut inside and left inside half Abe Shuto responded by squeezing further inside and pulling Wakizaka Yasuto with him as they moved forward. In addition, Leandro and Diego Oliveira attracted the attention of the others, and Matsuki, who had also moved in from the right, found an opening and took the shot. It was a scene where Alberto Tokyo could be seen.
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Is it a bold move to use Watanabe, a naturally offensive player, as a side back?
Is it a bold move to start rookie Matsuki in the opening game?
What do you think?
Despite having many players absent, was it not a necessary starting lineup for coach Albert Puig Ortoneda?
After the Kyoto match on January 29th, Coach Albert Puig Ortoneda praised Keigo Higashi, saying, "He has the perfect character and personality for a number 10 inside half player."
"The inside half is a position that requires a lot of physical activity, so I want to demand even more physical activity from players who play the inside half, including him."
In this regard, the top player at FC Tokyo is of course Abe, but Matsuki is not far behind. There were times during the Kawasaki game where he seemed to have lost some of his movement, perhaps due to overexertion, but he is still running well and fighting hard. There were also moments during training matches at camp where he was able to knock opponents down with physical contact. He has the strength to compete at the professional level.
Is it because of Watanabe and Matsuki that Albert Tokyo can play, or is it because of Watanabe and Matsuki that they can play? Either way, it is certain that Watanabe and Matsuki's play has made it easier to see Albert Tokyo's presence at the Todoroki opening match.
In the future, Blue and Red 20 will also continue to write Match Review. Please read it.
Text by Katsu Goto (Freelance Writer)
