FC Tokyo and Emperor's Cup

This is FC Tokyo's first participation in the Emperor's Cup under its current name, but counting from its predecessor Tokyo Gas FC, this marks the 6th consecutive year and 6th appearance. The first participation was in 1994. It was the first tournament managed by Coach Okuma (who was a coach that year but was appointed acting manager just before the tournament), and remarkably, they achieved a major upset by defeating Kashima Antlers in the first round and advanced to the quarterfinals, making a striking debut. In 1995, they were defeated by J.League teams in the 1st Round, and in 1996 in the 3rd Round, but in 1997 they caused the memorable "Tokyo Gas whirlwind." In the 2nd Round, they struggled greatly against the high school team Ehime FC Youth, barely winning with a golden goal in the second half of extra time, leaving some early concerns, but they woke up from the 3rd Round onward. After crushing Nagoya Grampus Eight in the 3rd Round, they also defeated the talented Yokohama Marinos, who had many Japan national team players, in the following 4th Round. Furthermore, in the quarterfinals, they defeated Bellmare Hiratsuka, led by the famous Nakata (currently at Perugia/Italy), after extra time, achieving three consecutive wins over J.League clubs and advancing to the semifinals. The semifinal was held for the first time at the National Stadium (Kasumigaoka Stadium), where they faced Kashima Antlers again and were narrowly defeated, but they made the name "Tokyo Gas" known nationwide.

So far, the record in the Emperor's Cup is 11 wins and 5 losses, showing a winning trend. This year, they also advanced to the best four in the Nabisco Cup, further enhancing the image of "Tokyo being strong in cup competitions." It will be interesting to see how far they can progress this year.

Is fatigue a concern?

One week after the "miraculous comeback promotion to J1," the players had no time to recover from the fatigue of the J2 League and moved on to fight in this year's final big tournament, the 79th Emperor's Cup All Japan Soccer Championship. The lineup on this day was significantly different from a week ago; the ace Amaral had temporarily returned to Brazil, and KAGAMI, who scored the priceless winning goal in the recent Niigata match, was training in Australia, leaving the core of the attack absent. Furthermore, Asari and Go KABURAKI were sidelined due to injuries, and Yukihiko was adjusting with a separate menu during the week and played despite pushing himself too hard. The effects of "overwork," having not taken more than three consecutive days off since starting in January, were also evident, causing considerable concern. On the other hand, the opponent on this day, Kusatsu Higashi High School (Shiga Prefecture representative), is not widely known nationwide but has steadily improved in recent years, participating in the Emperor's Cup for the second time in two years and making their fourth consecutive appearance in the winter high school championship over three years. Last year, they placed third in the National Youth Championship, which includes J Club youth teams, and won the Kinki tournament, contested by two prefectures and four provinces, for two consecutive years. Although they are high school students, they are by no means an opponent to be underestimated. Considering the difficulty of playing against high school teams and the current situation in Tokyo, they were by no means an easy opponent.

High-level high school students!

The match kicked off at 1 PM in a chilly environment with a temperature of 13°C. Kusatsu Higashi High School's uniform had the same design as the J2 team Montedio Yamagata, and since the support was local, the school's students repeatedly performed their "unique cheering," creating an illusion as if the game was taking place somewhere in Yamagata. Right from the start, Kusatsu Higashi, playing as the challenger with nothing to lose, showed boldness. Recently, high school players have dramatically improved their skills, and apart from physical contact, their tactics often rival those of adult teams. This is even more true for teams at the national level. Centered around the number 10 player, who acted as the game maker, they built up play with rhythmic passing involving few touches. In midfield, Kusatsu Higashi actually circulated the ball more nimbly, connecting three or four passes in a row, but that was as far as it went. The Tokyo defense line was simply unbreakable. No matter how strong the national-level opponents were, allowing high school players to break through would tarnish the reputation of "Solid Defense Tokyo." Komine and Sandro were not gentle with the high school players. Visually, Sandro, with his gold hair (dyed by his wife after promotion), looked intimidating and displayed tough play as if he were a "scary older brother." Left side back Fujiyama also demonstrated professional-level sharp reading of the game.

Dissatisfaction with battles that leave anxiety for the future...

Meanwhile, Tokyo's attack struggled as the forwards Okuhara and Enomoto, positioned up front, were completely ineffective and often lost possession, resulting in a difficult game without rhythm. Using Almir as the starting point, the midfield spread the ball left and right and distributed passes to the front line, but the forward post play did not go well, and they continued to lose the ball without breaking through behind the defense. Since they couldn't establish a base up front, Tokyo's proud "wingers" also failed to create an effective shape, leading to an increase in monotonous attacks with long balls launched from the back. The only real chance came when Almir advanced with individual skill. At 12 minutes, Almir received a ball connected by a header in front of the goal, then scored spectacularly with his left foot after a sharp feint, taking the lead effortlessly. After that, Tokyo gradually began circulating the ball in midfield, and left side back Fujiyama also started creating chances with his specialty dribbling. At 26 minutes, this time from the right side, Yukiho ran to the near post and headed in a cross raised by Almir to score the second goal. This was not a goal from a complete breakdown, but rather a gift due to the high school player's lax marking in front of the goal.

After that, finally, attacks mixing short and long passes with the speed typical of a J-League club began to appear, creating chances, but the forwards remained ineffective and no additional goals were scored. In the second half, young attackers including Seigo KOBAYASHI were brought up front, but no significant improvement was seen, and the battle became a back-and-forth struggle again. Kusatsu Higashi High School seemed well-trained, showing no signs of fatigue even in the second half; in fact, their pressing became sharper. In desperate attempts to score at least one goal against the J-League team, the high school players showed fierce attacks, contrasting with Tokyo's forwards who lacked decisiveness and repeated hesitant attacks. The defense was relatively stable, so conceding a goal was not expected, but there was also no atmosphere suggesting additional goals would be scored. In the end, the match ended at this score. Although the lineup was insufficient, it was a rather disappointing match against high school players. Two years ago, when advancing to the best four, they also struggled against high school players in the 2nd Round, but that was that. After all, when facing high school teams, a dominant victory with many goals is desired. From the results at other venues held that day, the next opponent scheduled for December 5 (Sunday, 13:00, Nishigaoka) was also decided to be a high school team (Wakayama Prefecture representative, Hatsushiba Hashimoto High School / 3rd appearance). From the 3rd Round match against Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka, a fierce battle between J-League clubs awaits. Before that, the team wants to firmly rebuild itself.

[Coach Okuma's Comments]

Usually, there are few opportunities to play against high school students, which made it difficult. We struggled because we couldn't establish a base in the front line until the end, and as a result, we couldn't dominate the match. It was disappointing that players who usually don't play couldn't perform mentally, and I wanted them to showcase more. This year's goal for the Emperor's Cup is not about how many wins we can achieve, but rather focusing on how much we can do in this situation where both physical and mental fatigue is accumulating, and how far we can go while pushing each other. I want to play as many matches as possible to give young players valuable experiences.