We want to initiate soccer in Tokyo with fresh members

　A preseason match will be held against FC Bayern Munich from the German Bundesliga. Doi, Moniwa, Konno, and Kaji are absent due to activities with the Japan national team. Injuries will keep Jean, Lucas, Toda, and Kanazawa out, but Coach Hara stated, "The members who fought in the six consecutive matches in July are still fatigued. First, we want to have a fresh battle with fresh members, bring it to a war of attrition, and then introduce players who are accustomed to the game at critical moments."

　FC Bayern Munich is one of the top clubs in the world. They boast the most championships in Bundesliga history and dominated the league in the 2004/2005 season, winning it in May. They also won the German FA Cup, achieving a double victory. The lineup, featuring players like goalkeeper Kahn, midfielder Ballack (both representing Germany), and forward Makaay (Netherlands), is truly a world selection. They arrived in Japan shortly after competing in the German League Cup Semifinal Round held on July 26 (Tuesday), raising concerns about their condition. However, Coach Hara expressed confidence, stating, "Bundesliga players do not hold back even in slightly poor condition. Additionally, with the league opening on August 5, there will be individual appeals and position battles among the players," indicating his expectations for their seriousness.

　Today, the registered members will be within 22, with a maximum of 6 substitutions. Tokyo's new addition, Sasa SALCEDO, makes his starting lineup debut. Endo has his first official start. Bayern is set up in a 4-5-1 formation with FW Makaay as the lone striker. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium with Tokyo's kickoff at 19:34.

Allowed Bayern to take a 2-goal lead in the first half, unaffected by fatigue

　In the 2nd minute, from Miyazawa's switch, Ishikawa boldly challenged a 1-on-1 on the right side and won a corner kick. Norio SUZUKI entered from the short corner and won another corner kick. In the 3rd minute, it was Miyazawa's corner kick this time. Asahiri picked up the loose ball and aimed for a shot from distance, but it went wide to the left. Tokyo started off boldly, but gradually Bayern found their rhythm. Despite fatigue, they moved well, connected their passes, and advanced towards the goal. The match progressed mostly with Bayern dominating possession in Tokyo's half.

　In the 11th minute, Bayern's center-back DF Lucio took a shot from the left area. Endo made the save. In the 12th minute, from a free kick, DF Ismael headed the ball. In the 18th minute, again from a free kick, FW Makaay took a shot, but Tokyo's DF did well to step up and close down, preventing a decisive crisis. However, in the 19th minute, Fujiyama received a ball from the GK and attempted to pass to Fujita on the right side, but was intercepted by Bayern's right MF Karimi, allowing an attack into the area. After drawing in the DF, a negative cross was sent to the center of the goal, which FW Makaay easily converted, taking the lead.

　In the 23rd minute, Noriyuki SUZUKI sprinted down the left side, sending a strong ground cross from a tight angle, but no one could get to it in front of the goal. In the 28th minute, Bayern's right MF Deisler passed to the right, where the holding MF Jeremies launched a quick attack. The return pass was finally deflected by Asari for a corner kick. In the 29th minute, from this left corner kick, DF Lucio jumped in at the far post and scored with a high header. They fell behind by 2 goals.

　In the 32nd minute, Miyazawa's free kick was cleared by the opposing DF. Baba picked up the loose ball just outside the area and delivered a soft lob pass to the front line. With his back to the goal, Sasa controlled the ball with his chest and attempted a volley, but it went over the bar. In the 34th minute, Ishikawa made a run forward to meet another free kick, but he couldn't make contact. In the 40th minute, a free kick was awarded from the left sideline in the opponent's half. Baba passed it along the ground to the center, returning it backward. Asahri made a bold shot after running in, but the opposing DF blocked it. In the 43rd minute, Ishikawa held on on the right side and earned a throw-in. From Fujita's throw, Sasa maintained possession in the right area. The pass hit the opposing DF and deflected, but they couldn't capitalize on the finish. Tokyo also tried to counterattack tenaciously, but they couldn't launch an offense against Bayer's precise play, which didn't lose the ball even under pressure. In the first half, the shots were limited to two from Asahri and one from Sasa.

Kajiyama got into the rhythm with his introduction, but...

　In the second half, Tokyo replaced Asari with Kajiwara. Bayern also substituted four players, including the goalkeeper. In the first half, Tokyo had no good moments as they were afraid of the opponent, lacking support for the player with the ball, resulting in either passing back or being dispossessed halfway. However, from the start of the second half, everyone became proactive in receiving the ball, and Kajiwara began to show good rhythm in midfield with his strong ball retention. In the 49th minute, Baba, who drifted to the right, took a bold shot from outside the area. It hit the defender, but Baba picked up the rebound and delivered a cross. Sasa dove in at the near post to head it, but he couldn't hit the target. In the 54th minute, Sasa cut off the opponent's ball. Kajiwara connected the play, passing to Ishikawa on the right side, who took a bold shot but it went across the goal. In the 57th minute, Suzuki Noriyuki's free kick led to a right corner kick. Baba's kick was spilled, and Miyazawa tried to connect but couldn't make contact.

　Finally, they were able to create attacking shapes and take shots. In the 60th minute, Miyao and Omata were replaced by Miura and Kurizawa. Kurizawa moved to left MF, and Noriyuki SUZUKI entered as left SB to launch a counterattack. Defensively, in the 64th minute, a sharp cross from Ottl, who moved to right back after a switch from Bayern's left to right, was cleared by Masushima with a sliding tackle. In the 66th minute, a shot from left MF Salihamidzic during a quick counterattack was saved by Endo. In the 71st minute, Yusuke KONDO was brought in to replace Sasa. However, just as they were trying to gain momentum with the substitutions, in the 73rd minute, the entire DF line stopped in response to a through pass sent from Bayern's left to the goal area, and when Noriyuki SUZUKI struggled with the clearance, FW Guerrero seized the opportunity and allowed a goal.

　In the 74th minute, just after conceding the third goal, Tokyo was hit by a counterattack from Bayern. Midfielder Ballack delivered a floating pass, and left midfielder Salihamidžić, who had broken away from near the halfway line, took a shot. This found the bottom right corner of the goal, and Tokyo conceded their fourth goal. Nevertheless, in an attempt to pull one back, Ishikawa passed to Fujita, who sprinted down the right flank in the 78th minute. Fujita, advancing, delivered a cross from a deep position parallel to the goal, but it was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 89th minute, a series of direct passes from Kajiyama to Baba to Kurizawa led to Kajiyama moving into the center to take a shot, but it veered to the right. In the 80th minute, Kobayashi was brought on to replace Ishikawa. Kajiyama picked up a loose ball from Baba's right corner kick in the 81st minute, but was surrounded by opponents and lost possession. The quick attack in the 83rd minute went from Baba to right-side Fujita to Kobayashi, but Fujita's attempt to return the pass was blocked by the opposing defense, resulting in a throw-in.

　Even when trying to launch a fast attack against Bayern, who did not lose their momentum, the ball was taken away midway, making it difficult to carry it to the goal. In the 42nd minute, Noriyuki SUZUKI picked up a loose ball from the opponent and actively aimed for the goal from outside the area, but it went over the bar. Overall, despite showing signs of fatigue, Bayern made few mistakes, connected the ball well, and demonstrated their ability to transition. In the end, they controlled the pace throughout the 90 minutes, and Tokyo could not showcase their strengths. They suffered four goals, which could be attributed to their own mistakes, resulting in a complete defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Sasa》"My condition was basically not bad. Of course, I was focused on winning, but I was fighting mainly with younger players, and it was my first official match as well. To be honest, I felt that the opponent's level was high, but I think it was meaningful to gain experience. Above all, I am happy to have been able to play in my first official match. My goal is still the league's restart in August, so I want to train hard again." 《Masushima》"I think we were able to suppress the opponent in the first half. The challenge came when we got tired in the second half and went into a man-to-man situation. The fourth goal was conceded because we stopped the defensive line and were caught off guard. I was impressed by FW Makaay's run and MF Ballack's momentary movement. Especially Makaay created space for the wedge, and when we aimed for that, DF Lucio sent the ball behind. That combination was amazing." 《Endo》"We conceded four goals, but it was due to our own mistakes. Personally, if I was going to be scored on, I wanted it to be done spectacularly... However, the plays that I thought were dangerous were cleared by Fujisan and Tatsuya. I believe we fought for 90 minutes without hesitation, but looking back now, I regret that I should have inspired from the back more and given the opponent a sense of intimidation..."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I felt that we fought with all our might, but the individual abilities of the Bayern Munich players, as well as the competitiveness in the air, which is referred to as 'Zweikampf' in German, were outstanding. In the J-League, we could take the ball in certain situations, but they took it from us almost every time. Including the length of their legs, when we played with a J-League mindset, their feet would come out and take the ball. From the stands, we were told to 'shoot,' but when we tried to do so, they closed the distance. They had a strong presence in those situations. Also, the timing of center forward Makaay's runs, and as seen in the second half, when forwards Pizarro and Guerrero used their bodies, even when we tried our best to close in, we couldn't reach them. I felt once again the strength and breadth of play of the world's top players. Honestly, even though they arrived in Japan yesterday, they are impressive... We fought with all our might, but there was so much to learn. Since we have many young players, I hope they will take what they learned from actually playing today as motivation for the future. We want to turn the knowledge that there are still many strong players in the world into our strength moving forward."

　【Summary of Coach Magath's Press Conference】 "I am very satisfied. Everyone was able to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities, and we scored two goals in both halves, which was great to meet the fans' expectations. I am very happy to end my first match in Japan with such a result. (What is the significance of this tour?) I am very aware that the season is about to start, so we are focusing on building the team for that. Of course, the quality of soccer is important, but it is also true that this Japan tour serves to introduce the team to everyone in Japan and has a commercial aspect. I accept that. (Did the players and their style of play change between the first and second halves?) Both were challenging. I think FC Tokyo fought well and put us under pressure for quite some time. So, I can't say one was better than the other. Both were good, and both were equally challenging. I can't say I know much about FC Tokyo, but they had good players, and there are many young players. They need experience. I hope they gain more experience as the season progresses and improve."

　"Bayern FW Makai" "I am satisfied that we were able to play a good match. I can't say that I wasn't tired after a long journey, but we were able to get close to scoring many goals and we did score. The league will start in a week, and I think this was good preparation for that. (Was the audience too quiet?) Not at all. They supported us well and watched over us warmly. (What is your impression of FC Tokyo?) I felt the difference in level between European and Japanese teams from the first half. But they also worked hard." "Bayern MF Ballack" "I am satisfied with the result. It is only the second day since we arrived here. I think there were some tired players, but we fought well under such adverse conditions. Many players had gone through a long preparation period before departure, and since only one day has passed since we arrived, we might actually be more energetic now. The match next Saturday might be more dangerous (laughs). FC Tokyo had some good players. They have speed and players who come forward."