Reborn Sendai

Tokyo Verdy, which has always been struggling in the lower ranks, will face Sendai for the first time since the appointment of their new coach. Sendai, known for their strong attacking power, has undergone a transformation with the addition of two excellent foreign players, Henrique (formerly of JEF) and Zaiqian (former Verdy), both midfielders, under their new coach. In the past month and a half, they have earned 9 points out of a total of 18, showing the significant impact of their reinforcements. With these signings, Sendai has become a unique "multinational team" with three foreign players from different countries - Henrique from Brazil, Nixon from Colombia, and Dubaich from Yugoslavia. Despite their impressive victories in the first and second rounds, Sendai's "new era" cannot be underestimated, and caution is necessary against their upgraded attacking power.

First Half of Sendai Pace

In this match, which was the first in about four months, Sendai faced Tokyo, who had almost their best players. Sendai had a difficult lineup due to injuries to key players such as FW Abbe, MF Echigo, and Zaizen. Substitute players Nixon, who was absent in the previous 2nd round, and new game maker Henrique joined the team, and they faced the match with a completely different lineup than before.

When the game started, Sendai took control of the ball first. New foreign player Henrique showed his outstanding physicality and ball control. Sendai's midfield press was strong, and defensive midfielder Nixon took the ball with his unique persistent defense, passing it to left-footed technician Chiba Yasushi, who then passed it to Henrique on the left side. Henrique then either dribbled himself or created space to distribute exquisite passes to his teammates, fully showcasing his strengths and becoming the center of the attack.

On the other hand, Tokyo kept trying to expand the game to the left and right by having Almir hold the ball in the midfield and pass it to forward Amaral, but Sendai's strong press prevented them from finding good passing opportunities. Amaral fought alone to keep the ball and even attempted to take a shot with his individual skills, but he was tightly marked by left midfielder Okamoto and right midfielder Yukihiko, making it difficult for him to maintain a rhythm and pass the ball smoothly from the high position (i.e. the front line). As a result, they resorted to relying on monotonous long balls aimed at Amaral's head from the defense line. However, Amaral was closely marked by the 191cm tall Dubaich and was unable to win the ball, causing all of the long balls to be easily cleared.

The match progressed at a fierce pace dominated by Sendai's intense press in the midfield. In the 20th minute, Nixon, who had stolen the ball in the midfield, made a strong run and took a powerful shot after breaking through a forceful wall pass. The ball hit the right goal post and did not go in. In the 27th minute, a floating pass shook up the area in front of the goal and a player who had broken free took a shot without being marked, but it was saved by the crossbar. In the following 28th minute, Tokyo, who was struggling to get the ball to the front line in the midfield, made a careless and loose back pass. When this was cut off by a Sendai player, Enrique seized the loose ball and made a run. As the goalkeeper, Suzuki, threw himself to stop him, Enrique fell and a penalty was given. Enrique confidently converted the penalty, giving Sendai the lead.

Tokyo, who fell behind by one point, faced a tough situation. However, after that, the defense led by Komine and Sandro remained solid and were not easily broken. When Koike replaced Asari and entered the midfield, the ball possession rate increased and the fullbacks were able to join the attack. Gradually, Tokyo regained control of the pace of the game.

Amaral explodes! Achieves first hat-trick of the season!

As the second half began, Tokyo, with their superior physicality, started to shine. In the first half, Sendai, who had shown intense pressing, visibly lost their physicality in the second half. In particular, when Henrique, who had been causing chaos in the midfield, lost his physicality, Sendai's attacks became monotonous. On the other hand, Tokyo's Kaburagi, who came on in the second half, showed aggressive runs behind the opponent's defense, causing Sendai's defense to become unbalanced and creating more opportunities for Amaral and Almir to become free. In the 58th minute, Almir received a perfect looping pass behind the opponent's defense from a chaotic situation in front of the goal. As Yukihiro reacted sharply and tried to break through, the opponent's defense couldn't help but commit a foul. Yukihiro fell and a penalty was awarded. Amaral calmly converted it, equalizing the score. Sendai, who desperately wanted to win at home, used this equalizer as an opportunity to disrupt their overall balance and switch to attack mode, creating space behind Tokyo's defense and falling into Tokyo's trap. In the 60th minute, Niijou won the ball in the midfield and passed it to Almir, who quickly passed it to Amaral, who was level with Sendai's defense in front. Amaral used a perfect trap to easily shake off the defense and charged towards the goal. He calmly scored before the goalkeeper could come out, completing the comeback. Tokyo, who continued to push forward, created chances with Almir's unpredictable passes. In the 25th minute, Almir received a pass from Umayama and ran deep into the right side, then passed it to Amaral, who made a direct pass with a heel kick towards the center. Although Amaral's shot missed, it was a scene where a decisive opportunity was created with an artistic pass. Sendai's substitute forward, Segawa, tried to use his speed to create chances on the right side, but Fujiyama showed his strength in a one-on-one situation and shut him out. On the other hand, Fujiyama won the ball here and used his attacking abilities to create chances. In the 85th minute, Amaral, who had stolen the opponent's back pass, scored his third goal of the day, sealing the game.

Recently, Tokyo has been a slow starter and has been in a pinch in the first half. From the next match against Oita (9/25, Komazawa), the final round of 9 matches will begin. Yukihiko will not be able to play due to accumulated warnings, but we hope to surpass the opponent with determination and feelings for victory, and explode from the first half.

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

- In the first half, it was painful to concede a goal due to our own mistakes when the opponent was in control. In the second half, we were able to surpass the opponent in terms of physicality and play our own style of soccer, but it was still tough when we couldn't score during the tight marking from the opponent in the first half. I think the key to today's victory was getting a penalty kick and equalizing in a good time in the second half, and then being able to exploit the space we were aiming for when the opponent pushed forward to score.

・In the future, we will continue to fight each game as important as before, but with the addition of the Nabisco Cup, it will become more difficult to maintain our condition. It is expected to be a total battle, so we would like to try various combinations besides the 16 members.