Tokyo vs. Roma, Summer Night Capital Derby Held!

　Following last year, this year a preseason match will be held against an overseas team, facing the strong Serie A team AS Roma. Prior to today's match, Tokyo is embarking on a one-week expedition to Spain, where they will also compete against the strong La Liga team Deportivo La Coruña. Having already secured a 2-1 victory away, there is much anticipation for how they will perform against Roma today. This is a match where they want to showcase the results of their expedition.

　Roma finished last season in 2nd place in Serie A. This season, they have welcomed new coach Prandelli and are in the process of building a new team. Although they are missing key players such as FW Totti, FW Cassano, and midfield linchpin MF Tonnagi due to injuries, they have a lineup that includes representatives from Italy and France, and they have arrived in Japan after their tour in America.

　Tokyo's Kaji, who has just returned from the Asia Cup with the Japan national team, will not play, but Dohi is in the starting lineup. The defense consists of Maeda, Jean, Fujiyama, and Kanazawa from the right. In midfield, Miura and Kajiyama form a double pivot, with Toda on the right, Kelly in the center, and Baba on the left. The formation features Lucas at the forefront.

Attack boldly from the start and create chances one after another!

　"I want to make Roma serious. From the start, we will go all out to win," said Coach Hara. Just as he said, Tokyo aggressively attacked right after the kickoff. In the first 40 seconds, Baba passed to Kelly, who then passed to Lucas, allowing Lucas to enter the penalty area. Baba received the return pass, and Miura took the final shot. At 1 minute, Baba sprinted up the left side and delivered a cross. Although it didn't reach Lucas in the center, Maeda aimed for the goal from the far side. At 2 minutes, from a throw-in on the right side, Kajiyama connected with Lucas, and after receiving the return pass, Kajiyama took a bold shot. At 5 minutes, Lucas stole the ball from the opposing defender and dribbled straight into the penalty area. He entered the shooting motion, but was cut off by a determined sliding tackle from Roma's defender Mexes.

　Roma aimed directly at the goal from a left-sided free kick by DF Panucci in the 10th minute, but it was firmly caught by Doih. In the 12th minute, Tokyo had another chance. Toda sprinted into the space on the right side. As he cut inside, he sent a fast and strong ground cross. Although it couldn't be connected in the center, Baba picked it up on the left side and connected with Kanazawa to Kajiyama with a one-touch pass, and again Kanazawa sent a through ball to the front line. The opposing goalkeeper saved it just a step ahead of the rushing Lucas, and although the ball spilled, Mexes picked up the cleared ball and connected it, this time Maeda crossed from the right side. In the end, it was ruled offside, but they continuously picked up the loose balls and attacked in succession from both sides in front of the Roma goal.

　In the 16th minute, Kajiyama was fouled on the right side, and from a quick restart, the ball was advanced forward, leading to a shot by Lucas. It went wide of the left goal post, but Tokyo showed a strong awareness of quickly transitioning to attack after regaining possession, with sharp movements led by Kelly, Lucas, and Toda. On the other hand, Roma maintained a solid defense with a strong back line, carefully guarding and sending passes forward without taking risks. However, the forward line frequently found themselves offside, failing to create decisive chances.

Continuing to create chances from side attacks

　In the 29th minute, Roma launched a quick attack. Mexes surged forward and passed vertically to forward Delvecchio. Delvecchio shook off Fujiyama, who was marking him, and took a left-footed shot from just outside the area, but it went over the goal. In the 35th minute, Tokyo had a decisive chance. Kanazawa, who stole the ball on the left side of his own half, passed it forward, connecting Baba to Lucas, and then to Kelly, who advanced centrally. Kelly drew in the opposing DF with his dribbling and passed to the free Toda on the right side. Toda sent a fast cross back to the center, but the opposing DF desperately cleared the ball towards the Roma goal. However, the GK and DF, who had come back just in time, cleared it again. Kanazawa, who had surged forward, picked it up and shot, but was blocked by the opposing DF.

　Gradually, Roma started to pass the ball around, and in the 37th minute, from a free kick on the right side, Del Vecchio got into shooting position just in front of the goal, but Jean closed in and blocked it. Next, MF Dacour received a pass from FW Corbia and delivered a pinpoint pass to the front line. MF Candela then broke through from the left and took a shot from inside the area, but it went straight to Doih. In the 38th minute, Tokyo matched Baba's left cross, and Todai, who was free on the right side, took a direct volley, but unfortunately, the shot hit the crossbar. In the 39th minute, Baba sent a long free kick to the front line. Todai and Lucas connected with headers, but the opposing defender cleared it just in time. Todai, who injured his right ankle during this play, was substituted for Kondo. They were unable to break through Roma's solid defense, and the match would carry over into the second half.

　Tokyo was the first to take a shot in the second half as well. In the 46th minute, Kondo headed the ball down from a right corner kick, and Kajiyama took a shot from mid-range, but it went over the goal. In the 48th and 50th minutes, Roma had scenes where they advanced towards Tokyo's goal while connecting passes, but they did not allow a shot. In the 53rd minute, Maeda crossed from the right after a switch by Kajiyama. Lucas's volley shot in front of the goal just missed the target. In the 55th minute, Kondo connected with Baba's right free kick and headed the ball, but it went to the left of the goal. Tokyo, unable to break through the goal despite their efforts, substituted Abe for Kelly in the 59th minute. Abe moved to left MF, and Baba shifted to the center.

Substitutes also functioned, overwhelming Roma but...

　Roma, slowly connecting passes and looking for chances, earned a free kick in the 67th minute when Del Vecchio was fouled in front of the goal. D'Agostinho aimed directly from the right of the penalty arc, but the Tokyo defense blocked it. As a result, Roma only had this one shot in the second half. In the 69th minute, left-back Panucci's vertical pass was received by substitute forward Cerci at the front line, who entered the area. He sent a negative last pass to Del Vecchio, but the trap was too heavy, and Doih was brave enough to come out and make the save. All was well.

　However, Roma's stamina gradually declined, and Tokyo took control of the midfield and went on the offensive. In the 71st minute, Abe persisted on the left side, won a throw-in, and approached Roma's goal. In the 72nd minute, Abe himself received the throw-in, cut inside, and seeing the front open, made a well-judged shot. However, it was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 74th minute, Kajiyama and Kondo launched a quick attack to the right side to Lucas. Lucas advanced to the area, dodged the opposing defender, and crossed. Kondo, who had moved up in front of the goal, jumped and shot with a header, but the opposing goalkeeper made a fine save. Abe, who followed up on the rebound, missed connecting with his shot. Immediately after, Masushima came on for Miura, and Kobayashi replaced Baba. They set up a formation with Lucas and Kondo as the two forwards and Masushima in the defensive midfield. In the 76th minute, Abe was fouled just outside the left area and earned a free kick. On Kobayashi's free kick, Masushima and Jean jumped in from the far post, but the ball that hit Jean's foot went outside the frame. In the 79th minute, Abe challenged on the left area and earned a corner kick. The left corner was played short, and on Kanazawa's cross, Lucas headed the ball! However, once again, it hit the bar and did not result in a goal.

　Tokyo launched a fierce attack, but perhaps satisfied with a draw, Rome concentrated eight players on defense and Tokyo just couldn't break through their goal. In the 87th minute, Lucas was fouled on the left side of the area, resulting in a free kick. Abe made a decoy run, and Kobayashi passed to Abe who had moved inside. From a tricky play, Abe took a well-aimed shot, but the opposing GK made a nice save, forcing a corner kick. They connected the corner short again, and Kanazawa sent in a low cross, but unfortunately no one could connect in front of the goal. In stoppage time, Kondo was fouled about 25 meters from the goal, earning another free kick. Using Jaan as a decoy, Kondo aimed for the goal, but his powerful shot hit the lower left post! Tokyo played aggressively and lively, creating chances with their own style of football, but they just couldn't score. In this midsummer night's dream match, Tokyo took 17 shots to Rome's 4, dominating throughout and pressing Rome, but unfortunately it ended in a 0-0 draw.

【Player Comments】《Doi》"My condition was not bad. I think I was able to start the match well. Watching from behind, I felt that the talented young players were playing with confidence. I think their true selves have come out. I'm looking forward to the 2nd stage."《Miura》"We had chances from the first half. If it ended in a draw, the opponent could have made excuses like 'Our condition was bad,' so we really wanted to win... To be honest, we had just returned from Spain, and there were parts where we got tired near the end of the first half and in the second half. We want to approach the 2nd stage so that we can properly finish shots that were blocked by the post or bar."《Jean》"Today, I was thinking about not letting any goals in somehow. In that respect, I think it went well. The squad has become deeper, and the young players played wonderful matches and were able to play good football. Even in daily practice, I believe it is always necessary to learn, and I learned things from the Deportivo match in Spain and today's Roma match, which helped me gain confidence. I think we were able to play international matches in a good way that connects to the 2nd stage."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We wanted to score. We had several chances, and after the Spain tour, the young players gained confidence and created good opportunities several times. If we had finished those chances, I think Roma would have shown even more strength. The ball hit the post and was saved by the keeper, but we wanted to finish those chances properly. We are grateful for the excellent opportunity to play against a traditional team like Roma here in Tokyo. Roma still has one month until their season starts, so I don't think they were at full strength, but we fought boldly without fear even against famous players. We wanted to score in matches like this and carry that momentum into the 2nd stage... During the Spain tour, we played against strong teams, and today, when facing players from the Italy national team and France national team, more players were able to play their own game without fear. Specifically, we were able to move the ball simply and use the field widely to break down the sides several times. However, as expected from Italian defense, even if the sides were broken, they cleared the dangerous areas in front of the goal, which was impressive. We need to improve our shooting skills, but even without players from the Japan national team or the Olympic team, the other players played confidently, which I believe will be an asset for the team moving forward."

[Summary of AS Roma Coach Brandelli's Press Conference] "It was a very difficult match. FC Tokyo moved very well, had great speed, and above all, their condition was excellent. It would have been better if we could have organized our movements a bit more. The defense was satisfactory. Playing this match revealed various issues, which is a good thing heading into the new season. Today, Roma really couldn't create chances, which was not only due to condition but also because many players were playing out of their usual positions, and above all, the opponent's condition was very good. (In the first half, it seemed like the team was stretched out?) We couldn't fully focus on defense. However, I gave instructions about this at halftime, so in the second half, we especially avoided counterattacks. Teams that have just adopted a new playing style and tactics sometimes don't function well, so we want to gradually make adjustments and get into good shape for the new season. (Which FC Tokyo player left an impression?) FC Tokyo is a very good team with excellent tactics. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names, but there are many talented players. I also thought the coach understands football very well. With talented players and an excellent coach, I believe this team will continue to grow."

"Player Panucci" "It was a very difficult match. However, Roma is still in the preparation stage, and today we fought with all our might. Personally, I think it was a very good match." "Player Del Vecchio" "It was a high-tension match. And it was very hot. FC Tokyo also showed wonderful play, and we did our best, it was a good match."