New "Garlo Tokyo" starts!

　With the start of the league just one week away, a preseason match was held against Ventforet Kofu. This season, Tokyo has welcomed new coach Thales and aims to play "connecting football" and "dominant football". After training in Ishigaki Island and Ibusuki, they made their first appearance at home at Ajinomoto Stadium. It was a great opportunity to test their progress in a real game.

　In the Japan national team's activities, Mochida is absent and there are many injured players such as Doi, Jean, which is a concern, but today's starting members are players who have deepened their cooperation in practice matches so far. GK Endo, DF from right to left Tokunaga, Mashima, Maeda, Suzuki. At the bottom of the midfield, Inonami, right MF Kajiyama, left MF Miyazawa. FW Sasawo in the center, Lucas, Abe move freely in a 4-3-3 formation. In addition, Konno and Baba are recovering well from their injuries and were on the bench.

　Kofu, on the other hand, will be fighting on the J1 stage this season. Last season, they pressed from the front and played a refreshing style of soccer, finishing 3rd in J2. They then won the promotion playoffs and secured their spot in J1. Manager Ohki said, "To be honest, I still don't feel like we're in J1 and I haven't watched any of the other teams play, so I don't really know. However, the old FC Tokyo was a model for us. The manager has changed and the players and style of play will be different, but the DNA should still be there. Our goal is to play for 90 minutes and not resort to any special tricks." Kofu vowed to fight fairly and confidently showed their belief in improving their team's strength. The matchup between Kofu's "speed" and Tokyo's "passing game" will also be one of the highlights.

Although showing glimpses of Garo Tokyo, they lack decisiveness...

　In the midst of a cold rain, the match started at 1:33 PM with a kickoff from Kofu. Tokyo aggressively attacked from the start, with Sasu and Lucas having a shooting chance from a cross by Tokunaga in the first minute, but it didn't hit. In the third minute, Kajiyama ran up deep into the right area and sent a minus pass to the center. Abe slid in and took a shot, but it went wide to the right.

　As time goes by, Kofu also shows composure. While Tokyo dominates the ball, they also show solidity against Kofu's press. In the midst of it all, in the 26th minute, Abe takes a shot after receiving a pass from Miyazawa to Kajiyama in the center. Although it was blocked by the opponent, they create a chance in the flow of the game. In the 28th minute, the opponent's goalkeeper punches away Miyazawa's left corner kick. Kajiyama picks up the loose ball and takes a shot from the middle. In the 34th minute, Tokunaga runs up the right side from Sasa's post and crosses. Abe takes a shot in front of the goal.

　As they began to grasp the rhythm, in the 35th minute, Abe, who was persistent in the left area, passed to Miyazawa on the right. Miyazawa then passed to Sasa, who was free in the center, and Kajiyama, who had made a run, took a shot. They showed a good combination play, but the ball went straight to the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 37th minute, Abe moved to the right and crossed. Lucas, who was at the far post, headed the ball, but the shot went over.

　Kofu's attack, while often single-shot, saw a through pass to FW Vale on the right side of the area in the 41st minute. The shot grazed the bar, showing a moment of fear. In the first half, Tokyo's Miyazawa and Kajiyama's passing work, along with right-back Tokunaga and forward Abe, Lucas was the starting point, creating many crossing scenes, but lacked finishing power and did not score. Both teams went into the second half with no goals.

Sasa scores first from a well-aimed side attack, winning 2-1

　In the second half, just after the start, they faced a sudden pinch in the 47th minute. Kofu FW Vale's fast right cross couldn't be cleared and MF Suzuki, who had moved up to the goal, was in a shooting position. However, GK Endo jumped out and made a save. In the 49th minute, Kofu right SB Sugiyama moved up to the center and took a middle shot. In the 51st minute, Kofu's FK from the front of the goal. FW Vale aimed directly, but Tokyo's wall blocked it.

　Still, Tokyo aims to play their own soccer without panicking. In the 52nd minute, Lucas, who received Inaba's pass, dribbled up the left side and made a minus pass to the center. Sasa, who received the ball in the area, quickly turned towards the goal with one touch, before shooting and beating the opposing defender, hitting the right side of the net! They scored the opening goal with a well-executed side attack, just as they had planned.

　In the 54th minute, Tokyo made three substitutions. Lucas and Abe were placed in the front line, Baba took a withdrawn position, and Imakawa was on the left MF, with Kanazawa on the left SB. Both teams struggled on the muddy pitch due to the rain, with Tokyo trying to connect passes and Kofu launching sharp counterattacks. In the 73rd minute, Kanazawa made a run and exchanged passes with Lucas. Although initially blocked, Baba picked up the loose ball on the left side and sent a fast and strong cross into the box. Akamine received it and took a shot, but it went wide to the left.

　In the 75th minute, Tokyo's sweet clearance was picked up and Kofu MF Kurakura's shot hit Tokyo DF and went in. The score was tied, but Kofu calmly headed towards the goal. In the 78th minute, Lucas, who had broken through the area after receiving a pass from Baba, was brought down by the opposing GK and earned a penalty kick. Lucas himself scored it perfectly and added another point.

　In the 78th minute, Fujiyama replaced Tokunaga. With all six substitution slots used up by Kofu, the ball could not settle down and the game was played in a frantic pace. The game ended with a score of 2-1. However, players such as Imakano and Baba, who returned in this game, showed their fighting spirit to embody the new style of Tokyo football. This should have been a match where they gained a sense of accomplishment and identified areas for improvement leading up to the season opener.

　【Player Comments】《Miyazawa》"The most important thing is not to lose the ball with the three players in the midfield. In terms of defense, we need to be more aggressive. It is crucial not to let the opponent's central midfielder hold the ball. Abe, Lucas, and others have been instructed to press forward with numbers. We need to work together and help each other more."《Baba》"Today, we were able to play with joy and I think we did well for a last-minute game. But we can't be satisfied with this and we need to practice more. My current condition is about 70%. I will work hard to reach 100% and be in good condition for the start of the season."

　【Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference】"Today, we had some good moments and also identified areas that need improvement. This is only natural at the beginning of the season. Our goal this season is to play connected football, but the rainy weather and poor field conditions made it difficult today. Despite that, I believe our players showed the determination to connect. On the other hand, I heard that Kofu has been playing with a consistent lineup for a long time. So their combination play was good and their marking was tough. They were a good team. As for us, we still have room for improvement in terms of combination play. Currently, players like Doi, Shigeta, Jean, Imamura, and Baba, who were regulars last season, are slowly returning to their best condition. One of our challenges will be to find the right combination when they are back. However, we are not expecting them to be at 100% yet. We will continue to play matches and work on improving our team's overall condition."

　【Kofu・Coach Ogi's Press Conference Summary】"In the first 10 minutes, we couldn't control ourselves well. After that, I think we played well overall. We used a lot of substitute players, so it was a game with many rewards even though it was a short time for each player. There is still one practice game left, but basically we will prepare for the real game with this. We were able to prepare well, but the way we entered the game remains a challenge. I don't think we were intimidated, but we couldn't create opportunities from the side and couldn't make adjustments. We were able to hold on somehow, but we want to think about our bench work and scouting. (In J1), I don't think the physicality is stronger compared to J2, but I felt that they were good at using their bodies. There was that kind of pressure and the players seemed to be struggling. After about 10 minutes, they seemed to get used to it, but we want to be conscious of that and fight while thinking about it."