Finally, on April 29 (Friday, holiday), Tokyo will compete in the first J-League match at the Japan National Stadium.
Before the renovation of the National Stadium, many official matches were held since the first year of joining the J-League. There were memorable super plays and impactful events. Since the long-awaited title was won, Tokyo has won all titles at the National Stadium, symbolizing the deep connection between Tokyo and the National Stadium.
Our National.
Before taking a new step at National, let's look back at the footprints and memories left at National along with photos from that time.
2010 The man who knows the world brought an international title
【Match Information】
Suruga Bank Championship 2010 TOKYO
FC Tokyo 2 (4PK3) 2 Liga de Quito
The 2010 Suruga Bank Championship (now the 'J League Cup / Sudamericana Championship') was approached as the champion of the 2009 Nabisco Cup (currently the 'YBC Levain Cup'). At that time, it was still a relatively new tournament in its third year of establishment, but it held great significance for Tokyo.
Since its establishment, the club has had the mission of "someday reaching Asia and competing with the world" as a club of the capital. Participation in international friendly matches, including Real Madrid and AS Roma, as well as the Fan Acuña Cup during training camps in Spain, were all efforts based on that aspiration and ambition.
The official J.League international match is a perfect stage to compete with the world. The opponent, LDU Quito, is a team from the capital of Ecuador, and it was also a 'capital battle' for the international title between cup winners.
In the midsummer home at the National Stadium. Tokyo aggressively attacked, utilizing Naohiro ISHIKAWA's speed and Sota HIRAYAMA's height, resulting in a closely contested match. They allowed the first goal in the 29th minute, but just five minutes later, Sotan TANABE's unexpected long-range shot was saved by the goalkeeper of LDU Quito, and HIRAYAMA rushed in to kick the rebound into the net.
In the 63rd minute, a penalty was awarded to LDU Quito, allowing them to take the lead again. Tokyo, with Masato MORISHIGE at the center of midfield, controlled the ball against a solidly defending LDU Quito, but time passed without converting their chances. A strong sense of defeat began to loom.
However, his inherent spirit of "never giving up until the end" is demonstrated here as well. In the second half of stoppage time, Hirayama competes for the ball, which spills behind the opposing defender, and Masashi OGURO fiercely chases it down, unleashing a technical shot with the outside of his left foot.
The match was brought to a penalty shootout by a truly game-changing strike from a striker with a unique scoring sense.
Thanks to the performance of Shuichi GONDA in the penalty shootout, we triumphed over LDU Quito and won the club's first international title.
Speaking of Ooguro, he is a striker who has played for Grenoble and Torino FC, and knows the world. Speaking of which, when he joined Tokyo, he brought his own coffee machine to the first training camp, which was met with some surprise.
I can't help but feel that even such small episodes convey the awareness of global standards and what it truly means to be a professional.
Text by Yu Fujiwara (Freelance Writer)
