Take the Cup! Challenging for the first Emperor's Cup Final Round

　Tokyo has risen to the Final Round of the Emperor's Cup. On New Year's Day 2012, they will face Kyoto SANGA F.C. at the Japan National Stadium. This is the club's first appearance in the Emperor's Cup Final, but it will be the third time they compete in a cup final, following the Nabisco Cup in 2004 and 2009. This experience serves as a solid advantage for the team, and they approach this match with a focused atmosphere and a calm mindset.

　This season's final match will be led by Coach Okuma, who said, "The players already know what they need to do and what they must not allow the opponent to do. Therefore, I want them to play with enthusiasm. However, since it's a one-off match where anything can happen, it may also require some luck. Including that, at this point, mental strength becomes important. Not just the members on the pitch, but all 31 players must fight with a strong mindset to seize victory."

　Kyoto is ranked 7th in the J2 League. However, as the season progressed, the team matured and heightened their common awareness, defeating Yamagata, Kashima, Shonan, and Yokohama FM in the Emperor's Cup. They evolved into a team capable of both resilient battles and shootouts, as evidenced by their 1-0 victory against Kashima and a 4-2 win over Yokohama FM in extra time.

　On the other hand, Tokyo has achieved victories of 1-0 against Mito, Urawa, and C Osaka, suppressing their opponents' counterattacks. Recently, after taking the lead, there have been periods where they have been pushed back, but on the other hand, this can be seen as a sign that they are able to fight calmly and tenaciously. Additionally, Tokyo has won twice against Kyoto in this season's league matches, but at this point, past data and records may not hold much significance. The current team strength, competitiveness, and the accumulation of strategies and situations will determine the outcome.

　Without giving up in any situation, we unite everyone's strength, including the stands, and aim for victory together on the big stage for the first time. In the slightly cloudy National Stadium, the match started at 14:05 with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Although we allowed the first goal, we lead by two points with goals from Konno, Morishige, and Lucas as we head into the second half.

　From the start, centered around Ishikawa on the right side, chances were created by targeting Kyoto's backline. In the 3rd minute, Kajiyama passed to Ishikawa for a shot. In the 7th and 9th minutes, they approached the Kyoto goal starting from Ishikawa's breakthroughs. However, in the 13th minute, they failed to secure a left throw-in from their own half, leading to a counterattack from Kyoto. Forwards Dutra, positioned centrally, were surrounded by Konno and Tokunaga trying to win the ball, but it spilled to the right side, allowing Kyoto's midfielder Nakayama to run in freely and score with a looping shot over Gonda's head, conceding the first goal.

　Even so, without ever panicking, in the 15th minute, they connected a short corner kick on the left, and Ishikawa's left cross was headed in by Konno at the far post! The ball was sucked into the net on the opposite side, quickly equalizing the score. The match returned to square one, and after that, they struggled against Kyoto's press, having moments where they couldn't calmly circulate the ball. However, in the 36th minute, Tanizawa was fouled and earned a free kick slightly to the right in the opponent's half. Although there was about a 30-meter distance, Ishikawa took a short pass outside for the free kick, and Morishige aimed from a spot where the GK couldn't see due to the defensive wall. The incredible no-spin shot beautifully found the net, securing the go-ahead goal!

　After that, Tokyo found their rhythm and launched an offensive by connecting passes starting with Lucas. Then, just before the end of the first half, in the 42nd minute, Takahashi headed the goal kick from Kyoto forward. Lucas quickly reacted to this, broke away from the opposing defender, calmly assessed the goalkeeper's position, and slotted it in for a goal! They took a two-goal lead into the second half.

Lucas scores the fourth goal to pull away from Kyoto, Ohkuma Tokyo, crowned!!

　In the second half, there were continued moments where Kyoto struggled to connect in the face of their opponent's momentum, but they responded well defensively. Even when the opponent had the ball, they reclaimed it with tough defense and launched counterattacks. In the 66th minute, Tanizawa intercepted the ball in their own half and sent it to the left front space. Mukuhara made a powerful advance here, delivering a through pass into the left area. Lucas skillfully controlled the ball while colliding with the defender, evading the opponent's defense and scoring from a tight angle. This marked a valuable fourth goal, putting distance between them and Kyoto.

　Kyoto still shows resilience. In the 71st minute, a free kick from slightly left of the goal was targeted by MF Chong Woo-young, but Gonda saved it with one hand! However, from the resulting right corner kick, they allowed a header from substitute FW Kubo, resulting in a goal conceded...

　However, with substitutes Suzuki, Roberto CESAR, and Nakamura, they calmly looked for opportunities again from a tough defense. The final stages became hectic, but they maintained their quick transitions. In stoppage time, CESAR and Suzuki broke through behind the defense, creating a great scoring chance. They couldn't score the fifth goal against Kyoto's determined defense, but they tried to stick to their style of football until the final whistle.

　Okuma Tokyo demonstrated their competitive strength in various aspects, achieving their first victory in the Emperor's Cup and concluding the season in the best possible way.

　[Player Comments]《Gonda》"Today, the result is everything. I think we can say it's 'OK' because we won. We conceded 2 goals, but I am grateful to the attacking players. We scored many goals from restarts, which I believe proves that we are a team that can score from various situations. We were able to fight and manage the game according to the circumstances, and we didn't panic. That is the growth of this season. We may not yet be skilled enough to be called experts, but I want to showcase what we have built up next season on the J1 stage."

　"Shiota" said, "I have always wanted to celebrate together with the stands and present the cup. All the players share the same feeling, and since we couldn't hand over the J2 League trophy, I really wanted to deliver it to the stands today. They have supported us through both good and bad times, and today they made the National Stadium our 'home.' Next season will be busier, but we want to fight alongside our supporters again. I sincerely thank you for your support this season, and I look forward to your continued support."

　【Summary of Coach Okuma's Press Conference】 "This season we won J2, but the players often say, 'We don't really know if we can compete in J1,' which shows their humility. Even if we win today, we can't definitively say we've become strong, but the fact that we've continued to win against J1 teams up to this point, while not perfect, may prove our initial goal of 'becoming stronger and returning to J1.' I think there will be various opinions like 'it's just J2' or 'it's a tournament match,' but I believe a team becomes stronger by overcoming various pressures. I am very grateful to the players, and I would like to express my gratitude once again to the sponsors and supporters who backed us. I hope that everyone will continue to watch FC Tokyo with a critical yet warm perspective. I sincerely wish for us to perform well in next season's J1 league and aim for a consecutive victory in the Emperor's Cup."

　This team has many players I have been following, and I wanted to take them to Asia, including their level up and the level up of the team and club. It was a dream for the club, but also my own dream. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for being able to achieve that. Soccer is a global sport, so there is still much to do to move in that direction, but I am thankful to the players. I would like to ask everyone for your continued support and backing for FC Tokyo. Thank you very much.

　[Kyoto Coach Oki's Press Conference Summary] "First of all, I want to thank the players. After the J2 League ended, I was told to 'win against J1' in the Emperor's Cup, and we won against Sagawa Printing and then Kashima. After that, I was told to 'take us to National' and we won against Shonan, and when we got to National, I was asked to 'please take us to the Final Round' and we won again, but in the end, I was told to 'please win the championship,' which we couldn't do (laughs). Gradually, the hurdles became higher, and we were able to overcome each one, but we couldn't clear the last high hurdle. However, I am truly grateful to the players who brought us this far, and I want to sincerely thank the sponsors, supporters, and everyone involved. What was lacking was my own effort.

　It was very disappointing to concede the second and third goals in the game. I think the difference in quality at the crucial moments in the final third, where we wanted to score, was clear. We needed to approach FC Tokyo with better ideas and skills in those situations. However, there's no point in lamenting that. We must reflect once more and move on to the next challenge. Initially, there were comments about the 'low level' of the Final Round between J2 teams, but that was certainly not the case. I want to sincerely congratulate FC Tokyo and applaud their wonderful football. We will fight for another year in J2 next season, but we want to work hard to be promoted to J1 and become champions.