Facing Urawa, who are fired up for revenge, aiming for the Best 4 of the Emperor's Cup

　The tournament that concludes the 2004 season = Emperor's Cup, today we face Urawa Reds in the quarter-finals. We aim for our first entry into the Best 4 as a team from Tokyo, but since the 5th Round match against Omiya on Dec 12 (Sun), Miura, Suzuki, and Kanazawa have been injured. Japan national team players Doih and Kaji will participate in a friendly match against Germany on Dec 16 (Thu) and will soon join the team, and we must say that it is a difficult situation with Shimonia, Toda, and Kajiama also absent. The center backs are Jean and Fujiyama, the left side back is Maeda. The defensive midfielders are Konno and Miyazawa, and Abe will start as the left midfielder.

　Urawa will also be missing Emerson and Tulio due to injuries. Moreover, they will face the J.League Championship on Nov 11 (Sat) and the 5th Round of the Emperor's Cup on the 15th (Wed), resulting in back-to-back matches with just three days in between. It will be a tough battle for both sides, but for Urawa, it will be a game at home in Saitama Stadium 2002. The stands should be fired up for revenge from the Nabisco Cup.

　Urawa has a three-back formation on the roster, but with MF Hirakawa placed as a left side back, it becomes a four-back. Additionally, "FC Tokyo has three midfield players behind a lone striker, which forms the attacking line. To counter that, we wanted to strengthen our midfield. Suzuki, Mitsutsubo, Yamada, and Hasebe have abundant stamina and can play both defense and offense" (Coach BUCHWALD) is the reason why MF Suzuki was positioned as a lone defensive midfielder, with MF Yamada on the right, MF Mitsutsubo on the left, and MF Hasebe in the attacking midfield role. The sun that was shining in the morning gradually faded, and amidst the cold wind blowing under the cloudy sky, the match started with Tokyo's kickoff.

The match progresses at Urawa's pace, but both sides have equal decisive chances!

　In the first minute, Tokyo took the first shot. Lucas challenged Urawa defender Alpay on the left side and made a strong move. In the fourth minute, Urawa forward Nagai broke through the center and dribbled into the right area. Maeda skillfully positioned himself to gain possession, but his subsequent play was weak, leading to a crisis in front of the goal. In the sixth minute, Nagai sprinted for a long pass, but Fujiyama cut it off with a clever play. In the seventh minute, Ishikawa's cross was met by Abe's header, but it went over the goal. Both teams fought with an attacking posture, but Tokyo struggled to penetrate Urawa's four-back defense, and the pace gradually shifted to Urawa.

　Urawa's side half, Yamada, and Mito-shu narrow in, thickening the midfield to pick up loose balls and connect them to attacks. However, when they rebound with concentrated defense, Kaji makes his first dribble run down the side in the 20th minute, overlapping. In the 22nd minute, a pass from Fujiyama reaches Abe on the left, leading to an early cross. Although it didn't connect with Lucas in the middle, Tokyo is not being pushed back and is showing good attacking shapes centered around Ishikawa's speed and Abe's movements that throw off the opponent's timing. In the 25th minute, from a goal kick, Lucas competes with the opposing defender, and Abe skillfully controls the ball that flows forward with a header, charging into the area. He takes a decisive shot from the right side of the goal, but it just cuts slightly to the left of the goal, missing a big chance to take the lead.

　In the 29th minute, Nagai showed sharp movements on the right side, and Mitsunashi connected with his cross at the far side, but Dohi saved the shot from close range. The fast-paced back-and-forth action continued without a moment's rest. In the 36th minute, Lucas was fouled in the opponent's half, and he aimed directly for the free kick he earned, but it went over the bar. Urawa attacked from a corner kick in the 39th and 40th minutes. In the 42nd minute, Hirakawa's left cross found Mitsunashi in the center, who attempted a header but missed the goal. Shortly after, Tokyo connected plays from the left with Maeda to the center with Miyazawa to the right with Kaji, who aimed for the goal but shot to the left. In the latter stages, Tokyo had more possession, but they couldn't score, and the match was carried over to the second half.

Beautiful goal! Ishikawa scores to take the lead with two consecutive goals.

　The first half ended in a 0-0 draw. It can be said that this was the development Tokyo aimed for. However, Urawa showed no signs of impatience. They launched aggressive and fast attacks, earning two corner kicks in the 47th minute. The second one saw a kick from Mitsutsubu connected by Alpay with a header, leading to a decisive header shot from Nagai, but it went over the bar. In the 52nd minute, Tokyo also had a chance when Baba's pass allowed Ishikawa to break free along the right end line, delivering a sharp cross. Abe was waiting in the center, and when the ball spilled to the left of the area, Baba took a shot. It was blocked by the opponent, resulting in a corner kick. Following that, Miyazawa's left corner kick was dropped by Jean, and although Konno lost his balance while shooting from directly in front of the goal, the shot narrowly missed, creating a close chance.

　Urawa, in the 58th minute, moved the ball around quickly in midfield, and Mito's middle shot found the target. This was nicely saved by Doi in the lower left corner of the goal. Following that, a shot taken by FW Tatsuya TANAKA from a corner kick went wide. In the 60th minute, Mito received a pass from Hirakawa and took a middle shot, which was deflected by Doi, and Yamada's direct shot that followed was also firmly caught by Doi. As Urawa continued to press the game, Tokyo brought in Asari, who returned from injury, in place of Miyazawa in the 60th minute. This marked Asari's appearance since Sec. 13 of the 1st stage on June 16.

　And the opening goal for Tokyo came in the 61st minute. They won the ball in a low position in their own half, and Asari made a long pass to switch sides to the left. Abe received the ball in the opponent's half and passed it on the ground to Ishikawa, who had moved up on the right. Ishikawa advanced with a dribble and, without hesitation, struck the ball with his right foot from just outside the area! The well-aimed shot slipped past the opponent's goalkeeper's right hand and perfectly found the bottom left corner of the goal! A fast attack and an ideal development led to the goal taken from Urawa.

Despite a strong effort in both offense and defense, we suffered a comeback loss and concluded this season.

　However, just three minutes after the lingering excitement of the goal, in the 64th minute, Baba's pass in midfield was intercepted by the opponent. This was picked up by Urawa MF Suzuki, who sent a long pass to the right front from his own half. It landed perfectly with Nagai, who then dribbled forward and entered the right area near the end line. As he made a negative cross, Tatsuya TANAKA took a shot right in front of the goal. The ball hit Konno, who was sliding in to block, changing its course and going into the goal. In a swift counterattack, they were quickly equalized.

　With this momentum, Urawa continued their fierce attack. In the 69th minute, the Tokyo DF failed to clear a right cross, allowing DF Nene to invade the area. In the 70th minute, they could only stop Mito's dribbling breakthrough with a foul, resulting in a free kick just outside the left area. Yamada's powerful shot was saved by Doi! From the corner kick, a scramble ensued in front of the goal, and Doi managed to block Mito's ball that broke free to the left of the goal area.

　Tokyo held on well for 70 minutes, and here they brought in Kelly to replace Baba, making a push in the final stages. However, Urawa continued to create chances from set pieces, mainly through corner kicks. In the 78th minute, Mito moved to the right, cut inside, and took a powerful shot from the left corner of the area. Doi made a save, resulting in a corner kick. Despite this, Tokyo showed spirited play, trying to strike back. In the 81st minute, Lucas and Kelly combined to break through the center, and Abe took a shot at the loose ball. Then, in the 83rd minute, Kelly stole a loose ball in midfield and passed to the right side. Ishikawa broke free, cut back past the opposing defender, and sent a fast cross to the front of the goal. Abe acted as a decoy, and Kelly, who had circled around from the right side of the area, took a shot! Unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar!! Sadly, it did not result in a goal.

　In a fast-paced game with frequent changes between offense and defense, a crisis came after missing a chance. In the 84th minute, Maeda advanced and sent a right cross, but it didn't reach Ishikawa at the far post. With this, Urawa, who earned a goal kick, connected the ball to the front line, and Hasebe created space with a dribble, passing to Nagai who advanced into the right area. Just like the scoring scene, Nagai cut in along the end line and delivered a floating negative last pass. The softly floated ball was out of reach of Doi's extended hand, and Mito's run-in at the drop point pushed it into the goal. With 5 minutes remaining, they allowed a turnaround.

　In the 87th minute, Kondo was brought on to replace Maeda. Abe was moved to the front line, and Kondo was placed as left midfielder, going all out to score a goal. Until the very end, the determination to fight without giving up never wavered, but the chance from the corner kick in stoppage time did not result in a goal. It was a good game where everyone defended well, attacked well, and fought hard, but ultimately fell short and lost. At the same time, the 2004 season came to an end.

　【Player Comments】Ishikawa "I wanted to play two more matches... But as a team, I have an image that connects to next season, so I think we gained something. Personally, it was good to be involved in scoring, and my decision-making has become faster. Next, I want to create more chances with more accurate passes. Although it was a season I was not satisfied with personally, having won a title once has made me want to win more. I gained valuable experience as a player, so now I have to connect that to results." Asari "The pain of losing was stronger than the joy of returning. I was expected to contribute defensively, but I couldn’t stop the opponent’s waves of attacks, and if I can’t change that rhythm, my presence on the field is meaningless. I will channel this frustration into next season. I want to work hard to earn my position again from scratch." Kelly "The result was disappointing, but I think it was a good match. Although we were overturned, everyone kept fighting until the end, so I want to praise them all. Of course, I knew that losing meant the end, and I wanted to play at the National Stadium on January 1. It’s sad that we couldn’t celebrate and interact with the fans together at the end, but there’s no need to look down. Over four years, both the team and I have improved, and I’m most happy to have been in Tokyo and to have won the Nabisco Cup title. I am truly grateful that both the team and I have been loved by the supporters personally. I hope everyone will continue to support FC Tokyo."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I thought Urawa might still be a bit tired in the match on Wednesday the 15th, but after losing in the Championship, I felt their motivation for the Emperor's Cup was even higher. It is true that many of our players have been injured recently. However, we boldly used players who have worked hard so far and those highly motivated to play, including Maeda and Abe. Today, it would feel like a home atmosphere for Urawa, and since their motivation was very high, I expected we would be under pressure. So, we aimed to defend well and take our chances at critical moments. In the first half, there were dangerous moments when we lost the ball poorly, allowing Urawa to launch their favored counterattacks, especially with dribbling, but we managed to hold on and hoped chances would come in the second half. We scored first from an ideal situation, but then we conceded an equalizer due to a mistake. Yuta hesitated among several options, lost the ball, which was switched to the other side, creating a one-on-one situation for Nagai. After leading 1-0, it would have been better if we had moved the ball well and played effectively. Still, we brought in Kelly, hoping he would make a difference. It would have been perfect if he had scored that shot that hit the crossbar. Kelly has had many injuries this year, and as symbolized by today's shot, he has been quite unlucky. If that had gone in, the course of the match might have changed. However, in the end, we were overwhelmed by Urawa's strong desire to win the Emperor's Cup. I think we played a good match, but we need to become a team that can finish off games like that. On the positive side, players like Asari and Maeda, who usually don't play, showed that anyone can perform, which is becoming a strength of our current team. We will properly heal the injured players and aim to become a much stronger team next season. (Regarding Nagai breaking down the left side?) Honestly, we don't have many players who can play as side backs. Fujiyama has been playing in the center all along, so I didn't want to change that. Masushima is practicing on the side, but his best position is center back. It couldn't be helped. Maeda's issue is that he couldn't firmly stop the opponent there, but he fought well and overall performed well. Certainly, there were moments where it felt like it would have been different if Kanazawa were there, but we don't think about absent players. When receiving long side switches and being faced directly, Nagai can do about that much. So the problem is how we lose the ball before that. Also, the challenge was whether we could finish our chances in attack. (Regarding Kelly) We wanted to win for Kelly as well. Kelly is wonderful as a person, and FC Tokyo has become strong thanks to him. Until last year, to put it simply, everyone relied on Kelly to do something. Everyone defended and passed to Kelly and Amaral, and they would score goals. This season, after Amaral left, we still expected a lot from Kelly, but he injured his knee and hardly played in the 1st stage. As a result, young players like Baba, Kajiyama, and Kurisawa, who used to rely entirely on Kelly, have developed a good rhythm. Kelly returned in the 2nd stage, but he was too eager to do better himself and struggled to fit well with the team. However, his unique dribbling was wonderful. His shooting was a bit clumsy though (laughs). Despite being so good at dribbling, he sometimes kicked shots with a toe kick that looked like they should have been side kicks. That was the only weak point for Kelly. But including his wonderful personality, he truly supported the team. He will surely continue to succeed with some team in the future. Thanks to Kelly, we have come this far. I am truly grateful."

　[Summary of the press conference by Urawa coach BUCHWALD] "Today's match has probably already been analyzed by my fellow coach Hara. So, I have very little to say. Just to share my impressions, we controlled the game from the start, our passes connected well, and we played a good game. It was our first attempt to shape the midfield in a diamond formation, and we were able to attack aggressively, which I think confused the opponent. That said, FC Tokyo is a team with a very dangerous counterattack, and we saw that today. We created a good game in the first half. We started the second half well and kept pressing, but unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on our chances. Part of the reason was the opponent's goalkeeper playing brilliantly, but we conceded a goal on a counterattack. We had a congested schedule from Saturday to Wednesday to Sunday, and in the championship, we played 120 minutes, so naturally, I thought the players would be tired. However, FC Tokyo's players seemed to slow down, while Urawa's players played energetically. I think our conditioning was excellent. So, from 0-1, we were really able to equalize in a neat... or rather, reasonable way. After leveling at 1-1, we dominated the match one-sidedly, the players played really well, attacked aggressively, and as expected, took the lead 2-1 near the end. What our players have done this season is truly wonderful. In both stages of the J.League and the Nabisco Cup, I think only Urawa was competing for the championship. I want to praise the players who always fought at the top. Although we didn't lose the previous championship and the Nabisco Cup final matches, we couldn't win the titles. Now that we've advanced to the semifinal round of the Emperor's Cup, which is our last chance, we want to go for it. Normally, I would say Kelly's shot hitting the bar was really lucky not to go in, but after the Nabisco Cup final, Coach Hara said nothing when Tatsuya TANAKA's header hit the post and said 'We perfectly contained it,' so I don't want to make that comment (laughs)."