Jofuku Tokyo's first preseason match of the season!

　With the league opening just about two weeks away, a preseason match will be held against J2 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. This season marks the second year for coach Hiroshi JOFUKU, who aims to continue and build upon "Moving Football" while undertaking new challenges as a team and as players, starting with the goal of winning titles. After training camps in Guam and Miyazaki, this match serves as an excellent opportunity to test the results achieved so far.

　Nagatomo and Konno, who joined from the Miyazaki camp for the activities of the Japan national team, are also joining energetically. Although Shiota and Cabore have left the team, the team has been improving its condition through practice matches. Today, the lineup will feature GK Gonda, DF from the right: Tokunaga, Sahara, Moniwa, Nagatomo, with Konno and Bruno QUADROS at the base of the midfield, and Hayabusa and Kajiwara on the wings, with Hirayama and Kondo as the two strikers.

　Sapporo, facing this season in J2, has welcomed a new coach, Ishizaki, and aims to play pressing football similar to what was seen at Kashiwa until last season, applying intense pressure on the opponent's ball holder with a high number of players from a high position based on abundant physical activity. Although there are currently many injuries and they cannot approach with their best formation, we should be able to see the 'New Sapporo Football'.

　Despite the wind, the match started at 2:02 PM with a temperature of 25.5°C in Sapporo.

Showcasing a fast-paced passing football, Kajiyama scores the opening goal!

　Tokyo launches an attack with a series of passes linked from the start of the match. They earn two right corner kicks early on, with Hanyu and Kajiyama taking the kicks, but they cannot convert them into a finish. In the 3rd minute, they regain possession in their own half and launch a quick counterattack, with Kondo dribbling forward and taking a powerful shot from distance. The first shot of the day goes over the bar. In the 8th minute, Nagatomo passes to Kondo, who makes a move down the left side and earns a free kick just outside the left area. Kajiyama takes this free kick, sending a grounded ball back to the center, where Konno runs in from the right and takes a direct shot, but it goes wide of the target.

　In the 15th minute, Nagatomo advanced and earned a corner kick. Kajiwara's left corner was met by Konno with a header, but it went wide. In the 20th minute, a direct pass was connected, and Hanyu advanced to the center → Kondo in the right area aimed for the goal with a powerful right-footed shot, but it was saved by the GK. In the following 22nd minute, starting from Kondo's post, Kajiwara → Bruno connected just in front of the opponent's area, and Hanyu aimed for the goal from the deflected ball by the defender. It was a controlled shot, but it lacked power, and the GK caught it.

　Tokyo completely dominated the midfield. Then, in the 25th minute, the opposing goalkeeper's kick was headed forward by Bruno QUADROS in the midfield. Akamine, at the front line, won the aerial duel against the opposing defender and headed the ball down. The ball rolled in front of Kajiyama, who took a shot. The ball grazed the right post and bounced back inside, securing the opening goal. After that, they continued to attack with passing football, threatening the opponent's goal but unable to score additional points. Conversely, they created moments where they were counter-attacked, but did not allow any shots. Ultimately, as evidenced by the shot count of 8 to 2, the first half ended at Tokyo's pace.

Unable to stop Sapporo's momentum after the start of the second half, resulting in a comeback loss.

　Tokyo substituted Suzuki and Hirayama for Kajiyama and Kondo in the second half. They aimed for an additional goal. However, Sapporo applied pressure vigorously from the start of the second half, quickly stealing the ball and launching fast attacks. Then, in the 47th minute, MF Danielson struck with his left foot from about 25 meters in the center. It was a surprising, eye-opening long shot that left Gonda unable to move. They conceded the equalizer. In the 51st minute, Tokyo's Gonda made a long feed, and Hirayama headed it down, allowing Suzuki to break free behind the defense. He brought the ball into the area and took a shot, but it went just wide to the right of the goal.

　In the 59th minute, this time it's a free kick from Sapporo's central area. MF Kraiton acts as a decoy, and MF Danielson's left foot strikes! The shot slips through Gonda's hands and into the net. They allow the opponent to turn the game around with their momentum. Tokyo wants to counterattack, but they can't pass like in the first half due to Sapporo's tight marking. In the 69th minute, Hanyu passes to Konno with a floated through ball on the right side. Tokunaga makes a timely advance and shoots from inside the right area, but it goes wide to the right. In the 75th minute, Hanyu is replaced by Ohtake, and Nakamura is brought in. Nakamura plays as right back, while Konno and Tokunaga are in the holding midfield positions, with Kanazawa and Ohtake on the wings, and Hirayama and Suzuki forming a two-top formation.

　With 10 minutes remaining, fatigue began to show in Sapporo. Then, they quickly earned a corner kick opportunity, and Otake took the kick, but they couldn't convert it into a finish. In the 87th minute, on the left side, Otake passed to Suzuki, who attempted to dribble into the area, but was unable to shoot just at the last moment. In the 88th minute, a through pass from Otake reached Konno in the center, but it was ruled offside. Additionally, in stoppage time, they earned three consecutive corner kicks, but again could not manage to take a shot. The match ended with a score of 1-2.

　【Player Comments】《Kajiyama》"It was hotter than expected. The substitution in the first half was as originally planned. This season, when attacking, I play as an attacking midfielder, and when defending, I drop back and also cover the sides. Today, I think I was fairly successful in aiming for the space behind after the forwards contested the ball, supporting and making runs when the ball reached the top. What I focus on is entering the goal area as much as possible even when physically tough. Also, when the side has the ball, I try to start my movement earlier, moving just as I enter the area. (How did you see the second half after Kajiyama left?) I think the forwards were often isolated. They rushed forward too much, which was also an issue last season. You can see that from outside, but it’s hard to notice on the pitch. If I reposition myself before the ball reaches the front, that issue can be resolved and it should become easier. I want to calm the play down and have the attacking midfielder involved in the attack in that way. This season, I think there are expectations about what I can do up front. I want to keep challenging myself with new things." 《Akamine》"I focused on simple passes and moving into the goal area. Today was also the last day of camp, and the team was tired, but there were parts I could do even when tired and parts I couldn’t. The issue is that passes rarely came to the front line, and there are still shortcomings in shared awareness and coordination. I also made many mistakes myself. However, as a forward, I believe it’s important to patiently keep making those runs. If I do that, the passes will come. Yohei’s goal was thanks to his good movement. I saw it coming, and the run from behind was a pattern we practiced during camp. Heading into the season opener, I want to fix the issues that came up today and continue adjusting. We get a lot of support in Tokyo, but for matches in Okinawa, many friends and relatives come to watch, and their cheers really encourage me. Thank you very much."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference *Q&A Format] "(Your thoughts on today's match?) I feel sorry for those who came to support us from afar and the people of Okinawa who were looking forward to this match and supporting FC Tokyo, as the result was disappointing. However, regarding the content, it is not something to be overly pessimistic about. When the opponent applied high pressure in the first 15 minutes of the second half, the way we managed the game at that time is an issue, but I don't think everything should be viewed negatively. (In Miyakonojo, you worked on quite detailed tactics, and I think that intention was visible in the first half, wasn't it?) Rather, it felt like we could have scored the 2nd and 3rd goals at any time. However, due to only the final precision being an issue, we couldn't add more goals. That is also an achievement, but scoring only one goal is one challenge, and the fact that we were on the pitch in the second half with the feeling that we could score anytime is also a problem."

　(I think the first half was quite good, but did you intentionally change the members in the second half? Was there an intention to try various combinations and use many players?) Yes. Considering the time left for us and the number of practice matches, there were things we wanted to try in a well-organized preseason match setting, and some things that we wouldn’t have time for otherwise. Including that, there may have been some negative effects, but individual challenges, member combinations, and how the team handles situations when faced with high pressure all became clear. You could say we were given a wake-up call here, which I think was good for us. We had very good wins against Kashiwa and Jonan Ichikawa in Miyakonojo, and the first half today was somewhat a continuation of that. In the sense that we were reminded that goals can be scored at any time, I think it was a very positive outcome. (Ideally, the second half members would play the same style of football as in the first half...?) Some players joined late and hadn’t regained their match rhythm, and some were still not in full condition. We won’t rush to conclusions after just one game, but of course we want them to return quickly. After all, the team can’t fight with only 11 players. Raising the overall team level is very important. We will take today’s issues as challenges and work on them together as a team.

　(What do we need to work on in the next two weeks leading up to the opening match?) Today, I believe we were able to express the mental aspect of 'we have not achieved anything yet' through our results. I am grateful for that. Even if we dominate in terms of content and win practice matches during camp, when it comes to serious matches, we must fight while capturing various flows, and we cannot rely on just pretty words. Having learned that, I want to pursue both the mental aspect and the quality of football we are striving for in the next two weeks, while solidifying our members and preparing well.

　[Summary of Coach Ishizaki's Press Conference] "It was a chance to play against a strong J1 team, FC Tokyo, in a preseason match. In the first half, I think the players were a bit intimidated by Tokyo and couldn't play their own style of football. In the second half, when they played with courage, they found their rhythm. The shots were wonderful, and we scored two goals. We need to play the kind of football we showed in the second half from the beginning. However, we are currently training in Kumamoto, and the temperature in Okinawa is completely different; it was quite hot. Still, in the second half, they fought with a lot of spirit. We have two weeks left, so we want to improve on today's issues and prepare for the opening match."