The 2007 season is finally starting!

　The 2007 season is finally starting. Sanfrecce Hiroshima will be welcomed to the home stadium Ajinomoto, and the start of the year will be kicked off from here. Under the new coach Hiromi HARA, Tokyo aims for "dynamic and large-scale soccer" and has been preparing for about a month and a half. In this opening game, we will show the new face of Tokyo and also have high expectations for continuing the winning streak since the J2 era in 1999.

　Hiroshima, on the other hand, will face the challenge under the guidance of coach PETROVIC, who took over midway through last season. The team has not undergone major changes and will approach the game by further enhancing their tactics. The most concerning threat will be the powerful duo of FW Sato and Weslley. They have the ability to break through with their individual skills. It will be important to defend against Hiroshima's attacks, which start from the DF line and are initiated by MF Komano and Hattori on the sides, and to turn the tables by pressing forward and chasing the ball.

　This week, Konno had a fever and new addition Fukunishi also injured his left ankle and was worried, but both have recovered. Hirayama, Inonami, and Kajiyama, who played in the Olympic qualifiers as members of the U-22 Japan national team on Feb 28 (Wed), maintained their condition and were named as starters. On the other hand, Shigeno dislocated his shoulder shortly after the team started training in January and will be out for a long time. Evaldo's injury has also been prolonged, and as a result, rookie Yoshimoto and Tokunaga will form the center back pair. Left back Kanazawa, who has been out for a long time due to injury, made his first appearance since May 21 last year (Nabisco Cup Fukuoka match). Hirayama will lead the front line, with Lucas and Ishikawa on the left and right, and Konno and Fukunishi will play as a double pivot in a 4-3-3 system.

　Ajinomoto Stadium with a mild spring climate. Before kick-off, the stands and the stadium become one with the magnificent performance by Nobuyasu Okabayashi, making us feel that "the season has finally begun". The game started at 2:03 PM with Tokyo's kick-off.

Just as we were getting a hold of the rhythm, we sink to Hiroshima's counter...

FW made a sharp attack. In the 3rd minute, they earned a right FK and Inokawa headed it, but it was saved by the GK. Immediately after, Inonami made a shot and showed an aggressive attitude in the game. In the 8th minute, from a pass by Hiroshima FW Wayzle, Sato was able to break free in front of the goal. However, Inonami chased after him with a fierce dash and skillfully slid to prevent a dangerous situation. In the fast-paced and speedy game, in the 10th minute, Hirayama headed Inonami's early cross, but it narrowly missed.

　At 12 minutes, Ishikawa → Hirayama risked his body to drop the ball, and Kajiyama, who received it, made a through pass to the right area. Ishikawa broke through and took a shot, but hit the post. Although they were starting to find their rhythm, they missed a big chance to take the lead. Just after that, at 13 minutes, they lost the ball in the midfield and Hiroshima made a big side change from left to right. Then, from right MF Komano, they were able to put in an early cross to the front line on the opposite side. FW Sato ran into this space and scored a precise goal, giving up the first point. However, they showed many good opportunities in their attacks, and at 15 minutes, Hirayama jumped into Ishikawa's right cross and headed it, but it narrowly missed to the left.

　On the other hand, in the 18th minute, Hiroshima connected one pass from a goal kick and sent a long ball to the front line, where FW Sato broke through the Tokyo DF again and scored. After conceding the second goal, the space between the DF line and midfield gradually stretched out, allowing the midfield to be exploited. In the 27th minute, Hiroshima's MF Kashiwagi cut into the area and his shot was saved by DF Doi, but the rebound was picked up by FW Weslley, who scored from a difficult angle, resulting in an early 3rd goal.

　Hiroshima thoroughly aims to quickly put the ball into the top two without spending too much time starting from the side. They were also troubled by the exquisite timing of FW Sato's jump, and in the 29th minute, Fujiyama replaced Yoshimoto. It was a bitter debut match for Yoshimoto, but he gradually regained his composure from this time period. In the 38th minute, Kajiyama pulled the DF in the opponent's territory and passed it to Hirayama in front of the area. However, he was surrounded by the opponent's DF and fell, resulting in a handball foul and a Hiroshima ball. In the 41st minute, Kajiyama headed Inaba's early cross, but the ball floated and they went into the second half with a three-goal deficit.

Lucas scored 2 goals, but the comeback fell short.

　In the second half, Tokyo, who had no choice but to attack, brought in Baba. Lucas, Ishikawa, and Hirayama were placed at the front line, and they went for a goal with an ultra-attacking formation that involved Baba. In the 49th minute, Lucas received a pass from Baba in front of the goal. He faced the opponent's DF, but he cut inside with a feint and took a well-aimed shot. It went perfectly into the bottom right corner, bringing the score to 3-1! After this goal, they wanted to take control of the pace, but in the 52nd minute, Hiroshima's FW Sato scored a rebound from a shot and FW Weslley scored. They just couldn't seem to get a hold of the rhythm.

　Still, they kept stretching Hiroshima's line and continued to dominate, unlike the first half. In the 61st minute, they earned a free kick from the left side of the area, and Baba's kick was headed in by Lucas from the far side, scoring the second goal. In the 70th minute, Norio Suzuki replaced Kanazawa. Right before that, Fukunishi was fouled and they got a free kick in front of the goal, which Norio Suzuki took directly after the substitution. Although the wall blocked this free kick, Ishikawa connected with the rebound and broke through the right side. He crossed it perfectly for Hirayama to shoot, but it went just above the bar...

　After that, we dominated the ball and progressed the game in the opponent's territory, creating chances. In the 77th minute, Lucas made a wedge and sent a floating pass to the front line. The shot from Hirayama was saved by the GK. In the 81st minute, we persistently connected the loose ball from a free kick and Tokunaga took a powerful shot from the right side of the opponent's territory. After getting a corner kick from the GK's save, Lucas headed it from Baba's kick, but it narrowly missed to the right. In the end, we couldn't score an additional point and the time was up. Despite Tokyo having 20 shots compared to Hiroshima's 13, we lost 2-4 and couldn't achieve consecutive victories in the opening game. However, there were many good aspects that gave us a sense of accomplishment for the future along with the challenges. We look forward to the adjustments in the next match.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"We were able to attack in a good way, but the way we were scored against was not good. In the beginning, we were able to show what we had practiced and I think we were able to play in a good rhythm. We were thinking about pressing from the front, but when that press didn't work, we gradually stretched out and gave them space. Fukunishi and I talked about "let's make it clear when to press and when not to press", but after we were scored two points... In the second half, we had no choice but to go for points, so we went all out from the front. However, there was a distance between Inonami and I, and there were times when I couldn't make the right moves. It's disappointing to lose the opening winning streak, but there were many elements that could be seen in a positive light. I want us to become a team that can get results even in tough times. How can we switch gears when things get tough? That's the challenge for us to reach the top."《Yoshimoto》"It's frustrating. Today, I was only thinking about giving it my all. I think I was able to do some good headers, but I couldn't handle it when they got behind us. When we were scored against, I wasn't too pessimistic or panicked. But I didn't feel like we could do it... Especially the movements of Hiroshima FW Sato were really good, and I realized that he is a top-level player in Japan. I want to practice more and be able to handle those kinds of movements."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We had both good and bad moments. We created several decisive chances in the first half, but couldn't convert them. On the other hand, we let Hiroshima's FW Sato and Weslley, who we were most cautious of, run past us. Our ball possession was poor when we were attacking, resulting in 2 or 3 goals against us. In the second half, we tried to start strong and score one goal at a time. However, as soon as we scored one goal, we were caught on a similar counter attack. It became tough after that, but the players never gave up until the end. Of course, it's not good to concede so many goals, but we were able to create big chances and we also felt that we were able to play a different style of soccer. The three players from the Olympic team were away from the team for a long time and it seemed like they had forgotten our way of playing. This past week, Konno had a cold and Fukunishi had a sprained ankle, so we didn't have much time to practice together. But in the second half, we gradually started to show our usual teamwork. I heard that we have never lost in the opening game before, but even if we win in the beginning, there are times when we can't keep up in the second half. This season, we want to continue playing good soccer from here and raise our level even more."

　[Hiroshima Petrovic's press conference summary] "In the first game, we had a long preparation period and we were able to play well defensively and offensively in the first half. However, Tokyo had 2-3 good chances in the beginning. In the second half, we took risks and went on the attack. We were dominated and the score became 3-1. We quickly added another goal to make it 4-1, but Tokyo continued to play offensively and created good chances. We also had some good opportunities, but I am not satisfied with our performance in the second half. It is not easy to win against Tokyo at home, so I am satisfied with the win, but we were not able to play the way we practiced during camp. Personally, I hope that many fans will come to Hiroshima's home games. I watched the Tokyo vs. Verdy practice game and there were 18,000 spectators. We can also play good and fast soccer. I think it is worth watching. Although Tokyo lost today, the atmosphere of the 25,000-seat stadium was great. I think this is very good for Japanese soccer."