Last year's revenge was achieved, leading to the battle in the second half of the league.

　Pre-season matches will be held in preparation for the resumption of the league in August. Following last year, we will face off against FC Seoul from the Korean K League, this time at home. Tokyo will start on the 21st (Sat) and will have 5 days to prepare. Although this year's players, Imamura and Inaba, will be absent as they compete in the Asian Cup as part of the Japan national team, last year we lost 0-3 away, so we cannot afford to lose at home this year. In addition, only 22 players will be on the bench and substitutions will be limited to 6 players, so we have high expectations for the performance of players who have had limited playing time so far.

　FC Seoul, a powerhouse that won the league cup last year. This season, they are led by coach Günes, a former Turkish national team coach. Young players are emerging, and they have representatives from each age group. In addition to the strength unique to Korean soccer, they aim to take control by connecting passes and play an attacking style of soccer.

　However, in this season's K League, they have struggled with injuries, including losing their key player FW Park Chuyong, and have a record of 3 wins, 8 draws, and 3 losses (8th out of 14 teams). They have only scored 7 goals in 14 games, but have also only conceded 7, showcasing their strong defense. Today, their key DF Kim Chigon is absent due to the Asia Cup, but their DF line will be led by Park Yongho and Lee Jongyol, who were both part of the Athens Olympics team. Their left side back will be Anteun, who is aiming for the Beijing Olympics.

　The key player in the attack is tall FW Jeon JIWAN (2002 South Korea national team candidate, 2006, 2007 South Korea national team. In the 2003 World Youth Championship, he played against Japan with players such as Konno, Hirayama, Norio SUZUKI, and Tokunaga). He scored a goal in last year's match and is an ace player. Also, we must be wary of Portuguese national MF Ricardo. The starting lineup will have FW Jeon JIWAN at the front, MF Ricardo at the top, FW Lee Seung-Hyo on the left, MF Kim Kyung-Jin on the right, and a double pivot of MF Lee Woo-Young and MF Kim Dong-Suk.

　Tokyo will need to tightly contain the attacking force of FC Seoul, which is filled with lively players, and break through their solid defense in order to have a chance. We hope for an exciting battle that will lead into the second half of the league. However, Norio Suzuki, who is injured, will not be included in the lineup. Mori will start on the left side, and Tadashi Baba will take on the role of attacking midfielder.

　The match was held at the Japan National Stadium after the rain. There was no wind on the pitch, and even standing still, sweat was pouring out in the humid heat. The game started at 7:05 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Despite being dominated by Seoul, a quick change of pace leads to a counterattack.

　From the beginning, Seoul dominated the ball. However, Tokyo also settled down and did not create any decisive chances. They quickly switched to a counterattack. In the 11th minute, Fukunishi slipped on the pitch and lost control of the ball to Seoul. MF Iuryong's vertical pass was received by FW Johnjugguk, but Shigeki Mogi defended persistently and the ball went out for a corner kick. In the 13th minute, Morimura made a quick decision and sent an early cross, earning a corner kick on the right. Fukunishi headed the ball from Baba's corner kick, but it went over the bar. In the 18th minute, Baba connected with Ishikawa on a short corner kick and received the return pass for a shot. It flew towards the bottom right corner of the goal, but the opponent's GK made a save.

　21 minutes, quickly switching from defense to offense, Ishikawa runs up the right side. His shot is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. Lucas persists and Kanazawa takes a long shot from the opponent's defender's clearance, but it misses widely. In the 22nd minute, starting from their own half, Kanazawa → Fukunishi dribbles up to the right to Tokunaga. From there, a cross to the center where Ishikawa aims for a precise header! The ball hits Morimura and shakes the net. Although the goal was not scored due to Morimura's handball foul, a fast attack created a chance from the side.

　After that, there were also mistakes together, and the development was back and forth. Asari, Lucas' side change, and several attacks from the quick attack, 32 minutes, Asari → Ishikawa, and Tokunaga from the outside attacking, with a ground cross. Baba jumps in the center, and Lucas prepares for the far side, but it is cleared by the opponent's DF. In the 34th minute, Shigeyama receives a pass from Fujiyama, but Mochinoki cannot receive it, and it is taken by Seoul FW John Juguk and pressed in front of the goal. He was able to bring the ball to the shot from his own mistake, but he managed to block it with his body.

　At 37 minutes, Fukunishi stole the ball in the opponent's territory and immediately took a shot. However, it missed widely. Immediately after, from a pass by Seoul MF Hikaru, FW Isanhyop took a shot from the right area. Asari cut it off, but it was picked up again and entered the area, but they managed to defend it. At 38 minutes, Fukunishi once again cut off the ball in the opponent's territory. He immediately sent a through pass to the front line, but Ishikawa was offside. Tokyo pressed and took the ball, but they were unable to maintain control due to the lack of precision in their play. The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Substitute players launch a speedy attack, but fail to score.

　In the second half, Shioda was replaced by Shioda and Ishikawa and Baba were replaced by Kawaguchi and Akamine in the 52nd minute. However, both teams began to show signs of fatigue in the heat, and there was a struggle for possession in the midfield. Neither team was able to bring the ball to the finish line for a long time. In the 61st minute, Kawaguchi stole the ball from the opponent, dribbled from right to left, and connected with Akamine, who approached the goal, but Kawaguchi was offside. From here, they were hit by a counterattack and Tokyo's right side was broken. From a right cross, tall FW Shimuwoyong, who came on as a substitute, took a shot. However, the Tokyo DF closed in and Shioda caught the floating ball firmly.

　In the 65th minute, Rychely came on for Fukunishi, and in the 68th minute, he replaced Morimura on the pitch. Kawaguchi and Rychely launched attacks with speed from the side. In the 72nd minute, Ikeda → Kanazawa made a strong dribble on the left area and earned a corner kick. From there, Tokunaga crossed the ball. Ashizaki aimed for a ground shot on the rebound, but the opponent's defender blocked it. In the 76th minute, Seoul's FW John Joo-gook → MF Hikaru returned the ball to the right area with a heel pass. FW John Joo-gook broke through and sent a cross to the goal, but Shioda made a save.

　Substituted Hiraoka for Lucas in the 79th minute. The line gradually stretched and became a counterattack, but Seoul's counterattack was stopped by Shigeno and Fujiyama. Akamine and Hiraoka were the starting points in the front line, and they continued to push Seoul. In the 83rd minute, Akamine headed from Kawaguchi's right cross. In the 86th minute, Akamine connected from the post and Hiraoka made a good cross, but they couldn't finish it in the center. In the 88th minute, Kawaguchi entered the left area from Rychely's left corner kick. He sent a sharp ground cross, but the opponent's defender stopped it. In stoppage time, Ikegami boldly intercepted in the opponent's territory. Immediately, he connected to Akamine on the left and Akamine crossed. Hiraoka then headed the shot. They had momentum, but it hit the GK's face...

　In the final stage, both teams launched counterattacks and had speedy developments. Tokyo created chances through the wings with Akamine and Hirayama, but were unable to score. The match ended in a scoreless draw, but it was a game where both the quick transition between offense and defense and the contributions of substitute players were visible, along with areas for improvement.

　【Player Comments】《Morimura》"I wanted to move more dynamically and become the starting point of the attack by receiving and kicking the ball. That was the challenge. There were many mistakes in passing the ball, and we were caught on the counter. I heard that Seoul is strong in physical contact, so in the first half, I tried to make it difficult for the opponent by kicking the ball easily rather than dribbling. But I lost the ball in the air and was taken away. I want to play more fearlessly for the opponent. It was a good experience to realize the challenge. I will continue to work on it consciously from practice."《Hirayama》"Before playing, I was thinking about staying forward and showing my face in front of the goal. FC Seoul is physically strong, and I think it was a good training for both teams. Korean players are all strong-willed and come at you head on. (There was a close shot) I regret not aiming for a better angle. I didn't have many opportunities to play in the first half of this season, but I want to continue to appeal by focusing on results."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"The weather was like Vietnam where the Asian Cup was held, but it may become like this in the summer. I think it was a good experience. It rained and was humid, and after 5 days of practice since the break, we were able to try various things with the players who were starting to get back in shape. One of them was being able to use Morimura, who joined this season. He couldn't play in official matches, but Suzuki Nori had discomfort in his knee, so we rested him and used Morimura instead. Also, Baba and Ishikawa were able to start for the first time in a while, so it was good to be able to try these three players. Shigetaka returned to the final line and is finally getting better. Of course, it also depends on the opponent's performance and the heat, but we were able to raise the line. On the other hand, there were certainly some dangerous situations, but with Shigetaka's entry, we were able to aggressively raise the line that had been deep until now. However, if we can eliminate the big mistakes and continue to play well, we could have scored 1-2 goals. However, we were able to move the ball well and use the field widely to put the ball in from the side. I want to continue this and connect it to the J-League after the restart. FC Seoul also has many good players. By playing this kind of match every year, I hope that both teams, the capital teams of Seoul and Tokyo, will be at the top of the league and inspire each other. We want to continue to compete and improve together in the future."

　[FC Seoul Guiness Coach's Press Conference Summary] "Today, I am very happy to have a match with the prestigious FC Tokyo. I think it was an interesting match. FC Seoul is approaching the start of the second half of the league in two weeks, so today's match was important to see the condition of all players. It ended in a 0-0 draw, but considering it was a friendly match, it was a good result. It was very humid and hot, and not a good environment, but the players ran well. There were many chances, but we couldn't convert them, so it was a close match. (Is this your first visit since the 2002 World Cup?) I had a very good impression when I came in 2002. I think Japan is a great host country and had beautiful support. Turkey lost in a very close way and missed the championship, which is regrettable. There are many people in Turkey who love Japan. I think Japan is a country with advanced technology, but I hope they will invest more in soccer and develop players who can go to Europe. (What about the evaluation of the young players, even though you brought many of them?) FC Seoul is a team with many young players. There are about 8 players under the age of 20, and we want to develop them for the next 2-3 years. Some of them were not used due to injuries. Four players from FC Seoul participated in the U-20 World Cup in Canada, and two of them came to Japan, but we didn't use them considering their fatigue and injuries. Two players from FC Seoul are also participating in this year's Asia Cup."