Oh, another match against Hiratsuka!?

Since their first appearance in the Emperor's Cup in 1994, FC Tokyo has made it to the tournament for 6 consecutive years (previously as Tokyo Gas FC). They have faced Shonan Bellmare, their opponent for the day, a total of 3 times. This year marks their 4th encounter, with Tokyo winning 4 out of 6 matches. It's hard not to feel a sense of fate when facing each other so many times. In their previous matches, Tokyo lost 1-2 in the quarter-finals in 1994 (Expo'70), won 3-2 in the quarter-finals in 1997 (Mizuho), and lost 1-2 in the 3rd round in 1998 (Hiratsuka), resulting in a record of 1 win and 2 losses. The most memorable match was in 1997, when Tokyo defeated Nagoya in the 3rd round and Yokohama M in the 4th round, both being top J-League clubs. In the quarter-finals, they faced Hiratsuka, a popular and strong team in the J-League with players like Nakata (currently with Perugia). Tokyo's defensive midfielder Asari marked Nakata and prevented him from playing freely, resulting in a close match. In the last minute of extra time, Okamoto scored a dramatic winning goal for Tokyo...

What kind of battle will it be this year? The positions of both teams are different from before. Tokyo has been promoted to J1 next season, while Hiratsuka has been relegated to J2. Tokyo will feel pressure from the expectations of those around them, thinking "We have to win, right?", while Hiratsuka will show their determination with the attitude of "Can we bear to lose?". The unexpected silence before the match gave a sense of an intense battle to come. At 1:02 PM, the curtain was raised on the first big game of the Emperor's Cup!

Strong, Tokyo!

As the game began, Hiratsuka fiercely attacked. They aggressively pressed and took the ball from the front line, then proceeded to break through with quick passes in the midfield. Tokyo, with an average age of 25.1, was overwhelmed by the much younger Hiratsuka team with an average age of 22.6. On the other hand, Tokyo's movements were stiff and their reactions to the ball were slow, causing them to struggle against the speed of their opponents. This may have been due to their previous two games being against high school teams, making it difficult for them to adjust to the speed and physical contact of a J1 team. The first goal was also a result of an unexpected mistake. In the 16th minute, Fujiyama, who was holding onto the ball deep on the left side of their own field, attempted a quick pass with Sandro who had come to support him, but it failed and the ball was easily taken away. From there, Hiratsuka easily passed the ball through the now weakened center and scored. Tokyo, who had conceded the first goal due to a careless mistake, continued to make easy mistakes and were constantly in danger.

Tokyo's Strength

After waking up with the first opening punch, Tokyo regained its flexibility and sharpness in movement from immediately after conceding. Fujiyama's sharp interception began to shine, and as they became accustomed to the opponent's movements, they had more opportunities to steal the ball. When they stole the ball, they spread it from the midfield to the left and right, with Umayama-Yukihiko line on the right side and Fujiyama-Okamoto line on the left side, launching speedy attacks respectively. In the 24th minute, Yukihiko made a breakthrough on the right side and was initially caught by the opponent's defense, but Umayama quickly supported and stole the ball, passing it to Almir in front. Almir sharply cut inside and made a perfect cross with his left foot outside to the center. In the center, Okamoto was waiting freely and easily scored the equalizer.

Both teams, who wanted to score more points, fiercely fought for the ball in the midfield, with many fouls being committed. Amaral, who is the key player in Tokyo's attack, was closely marked by the opponent's center back, making it difficult for him to create opportunities as usual. However, Okamoto on the left side showed good movement up front and not only made runs towards the goal, but also created points with stable post-play. On the other hand, in defense, regular player Komine was down with a cold, so veteran Furukawa was suddenly brought in. He is similar to Sandro in terms of height, but there were some concerns about his sharp lateral movements and speed compared to Komine. On this day, Hiratsuka's two top players were the tall Sotobe and the player with cutting and unexpected plays, Nishimoto. However, throughout the first and second half, many chances were created from Nishimoto's position. In the 40th minute, Sandro was beaten by Nishimoto on the left side of their own field, and the ball was brought into the goal area. The shot hit the crossbar and was pushed in by a player who was following up, resulting in another point being conceded.

Tokyo, who fell behind once again (1-2) just before the end of the first half, had the confidence to "always catch up" on this day. In the time that seemed to be entering stoppage time in the first half, Almir, who received a pass on the left side, skillfully feinted the opposing player who came to check him and then passed a perfect through ball to Okamoto who was running vertically. Okamoto then returned the ball with a sharp cross from the goal line to the center, and Yukihiro, who had made a run, scored a powerful goal to tie the game once again! The unpredictable drama would go on to reach an even more dramatic climax after this.

Amaral's Super Goal & Okamoto's Dramatic V-Bullet!

In the first half's stoppage time, Tokyo managed to equalize and wanted to keep the momentum going, but just one minute into the second half, they were once again caught off guard. From a corner kick on the left, a low pass was sent into the goal area and Sakai, who had just entered the second half, jumped in and scored with his right foot, the ball piercing through Tokyo's goal in the left corner. Once again, they were behind, but the Tokyo Eleven believed in their own strength and continued to launch fierce attacks. In the 5th minute, Almir charged forward and took a shot from the left side! It was a decisive moment, but the powerful shot unfortunately went straight to the goalkeeper. After that, Yukihiro on the right side attempted daring breakthroughs to create chances. Almir also made several decisive through passes that could have led to a goal, but each time they were caught by Hiratsuka's shallow defensive line. In the 35th minute, Umayama broke through on the right side and passed to Amaral who was running vertically. Amaral took a shot, but it hit the goalkeeper and bounced back, and the ball floated towards the goal in a chaotic situation, but it was cleared by Hiratsuka's desperate defense. In the following 37th minute, Fujiyama dribbled through from the left and crossed to Amaral who headed the ball! Unfortunately, the shot went over the bar. Tokyo was completely dominating, but in the 39th minute, the balance was finally broken. Fujiyama, who had been breaking through on the left side multiple times, dribbled past three defenders and passed to Sandro in the center. Sandro lightly passed to Almir on the right, who then passed to Yamao, who had just entered the game. Yamao made a perfect looping pass with his right foot from about 20 meters in front of the goal. Amaral, who was waiting for it in the center, took a powerful volley shot with his right foot! The goalkeeper couldn't move at all, and the ball pierced through the left corner of the goal. It was now Tokyo's game. The difference in momentum between them and Hiratsuka was clear. In the end, no more goals were scored and the game went into extra time. At this point, many people must have remembered the game against Bellmare two years ago. They had a feeling that something was about to happen.

In the closing moments of the second half, the DF who had been persistently fouling Amaral was sent off, leaving Hiratsuka with only 10 players and no momentum. As the game went into extra time, it was completely dominated by Tokyo. Then, in the 6th minute of the first half of extra time, a beautiful passing sequence between Amaral, Okamoto, and Enomoto led to a powerful low shot from Enomoto at a slight angle from the right. The keeper managed to deflect it, but Okamoto was there to easily tap it in, just like two years ago when they defeated Hiratsuka with a goal in extra time. And once again, it was the Emperor's Cup hero, Okamoto, who scored the winning goal.

Next, we will finally face off against this year's J.League champion, Júbilo Iwata (Note: The opponent will be decided on 12/15. As of 12/12, this is just a prediction). We have faced them during the JFL era (when they were still Yamaha), but this will be our first match against Júbilo Iwata. The general consensus is that Iwata has the advantage, but if Tokyo can play with a challenging attitude without pressure, could we once again create a storm? The goal is to recreate the "Tokyo whirlwind"!

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

At first, the switch from playing against high school teams to playing against J-League clubs didn't go well, but we gradually improved from the point where we were first scored on. However, the goals we conceded that day were all due to our own mistakes and lack of concentration, which was disappointing. If we continue to play like this, we won't be able to win, so we want to make some adjustments. This will be our first match against Jubilo, so we want to go all out. I think we'll see both good and bad aspects, making it a valuable match. Our goal for the Emperor's Cup is not to achieve a certain ranking, but to play against as many strong J-League teams as possible and provide our players with valuable experience.