<Match Preview>
Before entering the second half of the J1 League, Tokyo will face V-Varen Nagasaki at their home ground, transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki, in the 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup.
Nagasaki is expected to come into the match against Tokyo in the J1 League with a very high level of motivation. Furthermore, on June 12th, they made a change in their coach and have been determined to win in order to aim for promotion to the J1 League. Although they struggled to win in the early stages of the J2 League, they have won their last three matches and have also won 2-0 in the matches after the coach change.
However, for this 3rd round of the Emperor's Cup, newly invited Brazilian national Fabio CARILLE will not make it in time and U-18 coach Takeo HARADA will temporarily take command. The team's current state is unknown as they work towards rebuilding. While analyzing based on their performance in the league, they must also be prepared to adapt to unexpected strategies.
Adapting to the difficulty of fighting due to different categories is also necessary.
"If it's a J1 league match, there will be calm moments and a game flow with varying speeds. On the other hand, in J2 league matches, there tends to be a long period of high intensity play. (Omitted) First of all, we have to fight with the same intensity. However, we want to play with our own flow, expressing our play style without being influenced by the opponent."
As Albert PUIG ORTONEDA, the coach, cooperated in the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup, the way of playing and the intensity in the league matches, which are different categories, are also different. We must face the opponent with high motivation and strong intensity, and confront them with equal or even higher motivation and intensity. Based on that, we must stick to our own way of playing and win.
Of course, in a tournament, victory is necessary, but for a team that is still growing, it is also an important challenge to stick to their own style against any opponent. In the midst of a mission that is even more difficult than the regular league matches, we want to bring back the ticket to the round of 16.
[Interview with Coach Albert]
Q, Nagatomo has returned, but Matsuki has not yet returned. How will you approach the Nagasaki match in this situation?
A, Matsuki has not yet arrived in Japan, and Diego Taba is feeling uncomfortable. Other players are able to play. We will choose from among them and fight.
Q, How do you feel about being able to be more aggressive against Nagasaki, who is in the J2 League, as your opponent?
A, Nagasaki is analyzing that they have enough players to compete in the J1 league. They are a club with a larger management scale than multiple clubs in the J1 league. I think they have the highest quality players among all the teams in the J2 league this season. They are also a team in the midst of a coaching change. There may be various reasons why the game results have not been as expected, whether it is because of the foreign players not performing as expected or other factors. They are currently in the midst of a coaching change. They are also analyzing that Nagasaki has a player base with the same level of quality as teams in the J1 league.
It has never happened before that all teams in the J1 league have won for 23 years. I think it is proof that the tournament always forces lower category teams to have a difficult battle against J1 clubs. It will also be a home game in Nagasaki. I think the players will be highly motivated, including the fact that there is a change in coach, and it will definitely be a difficult game.
Q, How do you analyze Nagasaki's attacking aspect?
A, I think Nagasaki's style of play is more similar to a J1 league club than a J2 league. I have played against Nagasaki for the past two seasons. The quality of their players was outstanding and it was a very difficult match. I expect the same this time as well.
Q, What are the points to be cautious about?
A, first of all, they will come attacking slowly, but once they enter the finishing zone, they will create a change in speed and make very dangerous plays. They have players who can play even in tight spaces. We must be cautious of the pace of their plays.
Q, Do you have anything you want to challenge in the Nagasaki match?
A, there is nothing special to challenge in this game. We hope to continue to grow in each game against Nagasaki, just as we have done so far. Of course, growth is not something that can always be done continuously, and it is natural that there will be times when we take one step forward and two steps back. In that sense, it is important to continue to persistently make efforts. It has only been a few months since the team started. In that sense, the team has not yet reached a state where it can consistently play well. Our playing style is not something that can be achieved in a short period of time. It is a playing style that requires at least two or three seasons.
Q, What is important in the summer battle?
A, I think it will be more advantageous the longer you hold the ball. In cold weather, you can keep running and moving in the press, but in hot weather, you can't move as much and it becomes difficult to press, so I think it's better to hold the ball.
Q, How do you think about the importance of taking a break as a team during the break period?
I think it's not enough to give two or three consecutive holidays because we have had a tight schedule for about two months. I don't think it's too much. Until the Shonan game during this period, we didn't have any games during the national team activities, and Shonan had a game in the Levain Cup, so there is a possibility that they had a better game sense. However, I don't think we lost the game just because we had too much rest, and I think the result was influenced by other factors. Of course, it's worth analyzing, but for the first few months, we had weeks without any breaks. In Japan, there is a virtue in working without taking breaks, and there is a tendency to value quantity over quality. I think it's difficult to achieve high-quality work in that way. There may be different values in Japanese culture, but for me, it's necessary to take high-quality breaks to achieve high-quality work.
[Player Interview]
＜Kazuya KONNO＞
Q, I entered the Shonan game in the middle, but I think I was able to change the flow and make passes and moves towards the goal. Was there anything you were conscious of when playing in the game?
A, I focused on expressing my characteristic of heading towards the goal, and in a situation where we were losing and needed to score, I was conscious of making aggressive plays and sending early crosses from a distance to set up plays in front of the goal.
Q, In the Emperor's Cup, the previous match against Fuji University was also a difficult game, but tomorrow's match is against a J2 League team. How do you feel about the motivation and style of play being different from the usual league matches?
A, it's an away game and we haven't played against them much, so I think it will be a bit of a difficult match. However, we want to play our own football firmly. Nagasaki has some really good players, and there are also many players at the J1 level, so we don't think they are a lower level team and we want to concentrate and play well to win.
Q, I think Nagasaki has a high intensity of play from the start of the game. When we replace it with a battle in the league, what kind of play should we do?
In league matches, there are times when the opponent presses with high intensity and we struggle. It's best to connect passes without kicking the ball easily, but I think it's also important to aim for the opponent's back at first. I want to be conscious of intentionally targeting the back until the opponent's press settles down. I think it's difficult for the opponent to maintain high intensity throughout the 90 minutes, and I think they will settle down after about 20 minutes in the first half, so I want us to play our own soccer and try various attacking patterns from there and aim for the goal.
Q, In the Emperor's Cup, unlike the league, you cannot advance without winning.
A, we must avoid conceding goals due to simple mistakes, and I think the start of the game is very important. The first goal is crucial, and there is a possibility that we will become tight from the start of the game, but I believe that if we all fight firmly from the start of the game, we can bring it to our own pace and win for 90 minutes. It's a one-shot game in the tournament, so there are difficult parts, but I think we should first express our own soccer and win and move on to the next round.
