Shirakawa Tokyo's first preseason match!

　With the league opener just about two weeks away, a preseason match will be held against Cerezo Osaka. This season, under the leadership of coach Hiroshi JOFUKU, the new Tokyo team has started with the team slogan "Moving Football," aiming for a style of play where both the ball and players are in motion. After training camps in Guam and Miyazaki, this match, although away, serves as an excellent opportunity to test the results achieved so far.

　Due to the absence of Nagatomo, Konno, Kajiwara, Hirayama, and Hanyu in the Japan national team's activities, and with Cabore just joining on 2/20, we cannot form the best lineup today. However, the players who have deepened their coordination in the practice matches so far will start. GK Shiota, DF from the right: Tokunaga, Fujiyama, Moniwa, Kanazawa, with Asari at the bottom of the midfield, Bruno QUADROS, and in front of them, from the right: Kurizawa, Ishikawa, and Otake, with Kondo as the lone striker in this formation.

　C Osaka, last season in the league, gradually began to adopt Coach Kurupi's style of play, achieving a remarkable run with seven consecutive wins interspersed with draws, but ultimately finished in 5th place. This season, they must be strongly motivated to achieve promotion to J1. Although C Osaka will be missing some players due to national team duties, they must be wary of the attacking power involving FW Furuhashi and MF Kakitani.

　The match started at 12:05pm with a kickoff in Tokyo amidst strong winds.

Gradually creating good opportunities but unable to score

　In the pre-match meeting, Coach Jofuku told the players, "Let's focus on winning while showcasing the results of what we've done so far," and sent them onto the pitch. Cerezo Osaka continued their offensive from the start of the first half. They created opportunities on both sides through their passing work in midfield, closing in on the Tokyo goal. However, Shiota and Shigeno calmly responded, preventing any decisive chances from being created.

　Tokyo struggled to maintain possession of the ball, facing a tough situation, but after 10 minutes, they gradually began to find their rhythm. In the 14th minute, Asari stole the ball in midfield and quickly passed it to Otake. Otake, using his signature dribbling, attacked into the opponent's territory and sent a final pass to Ishikawa, who was coming up from the right, but it was cleared. In the following 15th minute, on the right side, Tokunaga passed to Kurisawa, who then passed to Ishikawa, but the opponent stopped the dribble with a foul, earning a free kick. Kondo boldly aimed directly for the goal from this free kick, but it hit the wall and bounced back.

　In the 24th minute, after a left free kick was cleared once, Ishikawa picked up the loose ball and passed to Tokunaga, who then found Bruno QUADROS in the center for a shot. It hit the defender, but Ohtake followed up with a shot that went over the goal. In the 29th minute, Asari made a superb through pass to Ishikawa. He dribbled in, and Kondo in the center acted as a pivot, sending a direct pass to Kurisawa, who made a run into the left area. Kurisawa also sent a direct pass to Ohtake, who was running into the goal area, but they couldn't connect.

　With coordinated movements, they completely take control. In the 35th minute, Ohtake received the ball on the right side, skillfully evading the opponent who came from behind, and started dribbling forward. He ran solo for 20 meters and made a through pass to Kondo, but it just barely missed. In the 38th minute, Kondo dropped the ball received from Asari, and finally, Kurizawa took a shot, but the opposing goalkeeper caught it. In the end, both teams went into halftime without scoring.

Lacking precision in front of the goal, ending in a scoreless draw

　Tokyo had the wind at their backs in the second half, and it seemed they would carry the momentum from the first half, but instead, they allowed the opponent a counterattack due to a mistake, leading to a crisis. In the 56th minute, Bruno QUADROS quickly passed the ball to Tokunaga on the right side. Although he faced a one-on-one with the opponent, he didn't get past them and delivered a low cross, which Kondo, who was free in the center, attempted to volley directly. It was a decisive chance, but he couldn't make contact, and the ball went well wide of the goal. Conversely, in the 58th minute, C Osaka stole the ball in the center and launched a quick counterattack, with forward Shiratani breaking free for a one-on-one with the GK. He aimed and shot as the GK came out, but the ball hit the right post and failed to score.

　Against the opponent's quick press, Tokyo often circulates the ball in the defensive line, and even when they pass to the front line, they consistently lose the ball, creating dangerous situations. To change the flow, in the 76th minute, Kondo was substituted for Akamine, and in the 81st minute, Ishikawa was substituted for Koyama, with Tokunaga positioned in midfield. In the final stages, both teams began to show signs of fatigue; they managed to advance to the goal area, but lacked precision and could not create shooting opportunities.

　Still, Tokyo did not give up until the end. In the 84th minute, they earned a right free kick, and Otake sent a sharp cross towards the goal with his left foot. Tokunaga ran in to try to connect with his head but was unable to touch the ball. Tokunaga fell after colliding with the opposing goalkeeper, but it was not serious. In stoppage time, Kawaguchi was brought in to replace Kurizawa. They increased their attacking options and aimed for a goal, but were unable to score, ending the match in a scoreless draw.

　【Player Comments】《Kurisawa》"The ball rarely went forward, and we often circulated the ball at the back. There were moments in midfield where we lost the ball due to mistakes and faced counterattacks from the opponent. Personally, I wanted to deliver more effective passes to change the flow. The timing between the passer and receiver is still off, so we need to work on that thoroughly from now on. Moving forward, as a team, we want to coordinate our movements better, and individually, I want to make the best plays by reading the situation over the next two weeks." 《Otake》"We couldn't score and failed to get involved well in the attack. There are still some mismatches with the teammates, so I want to correct that. The national team players will return, and towards the opening match, I want to work hard to get involved in the games somehow. I believe there will be chances." 《Ishikawa》"With many fans cheering us on, it is disappointing that we couldn't get results in this year's first preseason match. The team has been in good condition so far. From now on, with the national team players returning, we can practice with a good sense of tension. My position is not guaranteed yet, so I want to fit well into the team." 《Shioda》"It was good to play a full 90-minute match in a stadium with fans present. Defensively, we kept a compact shape and managed the line's ups and downs well, so it was stable. However, in the second half, there were some chaotic moments, and depending on the opponent's ball situation, we need to adjust how far we push the line. There are only two weeks left, but I want to improve our combination play. Especially in attack, we have continued to struggle to score goals. That is our biggest challenge."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Hello. Today, we held a preseason match with fans in attendance. I told the players to both demonstrate the results of our training so far and to stay focused on achieving a good result as we approached the game. Winning was of course important, but it was also crucial to showcase our strengths while keeping the opponent from scoring. In that sense, it was good that we did not concede any goals, but there were several decisive chances created against us. Especially, the fact that some of those situations arose from our own mistakes is something we need to correct. Up until just before the shot, we were able to connect precise passes, but at the final moment, control was poor, and there were many instances where we could not get the shot off. Improving the final accuracy is important, and in terms of the number of shots, it was not satisfactory. However, there were several occasions where a few players combined well with passes to create chances in front of goal, which I believe reflects the progress we have made so far. (How do you evaluate starter Otake?) Not only him, but the young players have been working very hard in training. Among them, we gave him a chance today. I think he did very well, and I believe seeing that has also boosted the motivation of the other players."

　[C Osaka - Levir CULPI Coach's Press Conference Summary] "Since both teams are currently in camp, we have to consider that this match served as a tryout for the players on both sides, but I think we were able to play a good game despite that. This was our first match of the year, and we felt very encouraged. From the beginning of this year, we have focused on building play from the back, and we were able to take the first step in build-up starting from goalkeeper Aizawa's throws. I believe the results of our training are showing. Japanese football applies pressure from the very start of the build-up, so we want to improve our accuracy to evade that. Cerezo has five FW players, and I used all of them because I want everyone to quickly get a feel for the game. Last year, there was a period near the end when injuries and suspensions left us short-handed, and the results were not good, but this year we want to level up the entire team and work hard in training until the season opener to achieve better results than last year's."