After the announcement of the new structure and the team's initiation, the Okinawa Kunigami camp has started. On January 23, the annual schedule for the 2024 Meiji Yasuda J.League was also announced. What kind of football will the team show in the new season? The coach aims for an aggressive style, the potential of new players combined with existing strengths, and fierce competition for positions across all roles. There is an allure and potential that makes us look forward to the season opener. This time, as a mid-term report towards the start of the 2024 season, we will deliver the efforts made so far and the current status of the team.
The annual schedule has finally been announced, and fans and supporters must be eagerly awaiting the start of the season. The opening match of the 2024 Meiji Yasuda J1 League will be against Cerezo Osaka away on February 24, and on March 2, we will welcome Sanfrecce Hiroshima at home at Ajinomoto Stadium. In April, there will also be a "National Stadium doubleheader" against Urawa Reds and Kashima Antlers. For the first time, three clubs based in Tokyo will gather in the J1 League, drawing attention to the battle for supremacy in the capital.
In this context, FC Tokyo is making steady progress towards becoming the "team of dreams." For the new season, they have strengthened their squad with the addition of Takahiro KO, Keita ENDO, Tsuyoshi OGASHIWA, and Ryotaro ARAKI. Additionally, they have increased their coaching staff to tackle challenges by diversifying their perspectives.
In preparation for a comeback from last season's 11th place finish, the team has been strengthened, and a full-scale new team building has begun at the Okinawa Kunigami camp, which marks the 13th time this year. Coach Peter CKLAMOVSKI, who took charge midway through last season, emphasized the importance of the good foundation built with the players who remained from last season, stating, "We have a good foundation with the players who stayed from last season. We want to continue to improve and grow from here."
In this training camp, we are organizing our challenges and systematically working on problem-solving. First, we focus on how to push the opponent into their territory based on high line and high press. In terms of variation, what stands out is the number of one-touch passes after winning the ball. While fine-tuning the distance and angles between players, we are also practicing scenarios where players move fluidly to evade the press. The coach has expressed confidence, stating, "We are playing good football and creating good goal-scoring opportunities."
In the first practice match of the season on January 23 against FC Ryukyu, they scored a total of 8 goals in three 45-minute halves. However, there were also many chances, and it wouldn't have been surprising to score even more. If I had to name someone, Teruhito NAKAGAWA might become an interesting presence this season. The addition of Endo, who knows him well from the Yokohama F.Marinos days, is significant, and he is clearly appearing more frequently in front of the goal. The positional changes between the two were smooth, and this combination was creating the rhythm of the attack.
And now, it's Kuryu MATSUKI in his third professional season. In this match, he wore an armband on his left arm and demonstrated his natural captaincy, leading the team. He embodies the commander's words, "Each of the 11 players on the pitch should think of themselves as a captain." With high-intensity play and hard work, he activated the defense and moved freely on the pitch, also becoming a starting point for the attack. Kuryu himself expresses his sense of responsibility and awareness in this way.
"I think I can play with confidence this season. In fact, since I was allowed to be the captain in a practice match, my desire to lead the team to victory has become even stronger this season. My confidence has also increased, and I feel quite free to play, so I hope to maintain this while improving the quality even more."
There are still many exciting players to look forward to. Kota TAWARATSUMIDA, who has clearly increased his strength, has added power to his sharp dribbling, hinting at a further breakthrough. Hotaka NAKAMURA, who has overcome a serious injury, is also expected to return in the not-so-distant future. With the addition of new players excelling in their specialties, the competition for starting positions among existing players will be fierce in all positions. There is not a single player guaranteed a position.
Furthermore, during this training camp, we are aiming to increase our scoring from set plays, which was a challenge last season, and we are spending a lot of time on this in practice. We are confirming detailed positioning and set plays. We have broken down the patterns for short corners and reviewed everything from scratch. The results of this have also appeared in practice matches, where Masato MORISHIGE headed in from a corner kick, and Soma ANZAI scored the final goal. From here, we will continue to build on these small successes.
Improving coordination and reconstructing defense based on high pressing is essential as we head towards the opening match. Beyond each step we overcome lies the vision of the team that Coach Peter CKLAMOVSKI speaks of, the team we have dreamed of. The sweat shed and the troubled minds in this tropical land will create 'Tomorrow's Tokyo.' I would like to conclude this piece with the words of our passionate coach.
"I want to create a team that fans and supporters can be proud of, one that is highly entertaining. And I want to ensure that we can achieve many victories. That is my promise."
Text by Kohei Baba (Freelance Writer)
Photo by Kenichi Arai
