- Day 1 -
On the first day, gather at Narita Airport.
Departing Narita Airport on an evening flight, connecting at Hamad International Airport, heading to Frankfurt Airport (Germany).
It was a 12-hour flight to Hamad International Airport, followed by a 3-hour layover in Doha, then a 6-hour flight to Frankfurt Airport, and finally a 2-hour journey from the airport to the accommodation. The total travel time was 23 hours, making it a full day of travel, but the players showed no signs of fatigue and moved with a lively expression that highlighted their youth.
After arriving at the accommodation, training was scheduled, but due to heavy rain, training was canceled. It was changed to a walk. At dinner, we enjoyed German cuisine and savored the local dishes until the end.
After the meal, players expressed a desire to go for a run since the rain had stopped, and almost all of them went for a refreshing run through the streets of Germany at night. Even from the staff's perspective, the players' high motivation was evident, and it made us look forward to their growth during this expedition.
- Day 2 -
On the second day, we played a match against 1. FSV Mainz 05 U19.
The U-18 team of 1. FSV Mainz 05 is a strong team that advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League by defeating Barcelona and Manchester City.
Before the match, concerns were raised about jet lag and the burden of travel, but once the game started, the players' motivation and skills surpassed those issues, successfully leading to a 2-0 advantage at halftime.
We conceded a goal early in the second half, but after that, there was a back-and-forth battle, with the substituted players also making an impact, and neither team giving in until the end of the match. We were able to secure a 2-1 victory in our first match of the away trip.
The theme for this expedition set by Coach Sato is "Maximum Value".
This is an attempt to achieve the maximum individual and team values by trying what each person can do both on and off the pitch. Especially in a tough environment overseas, I hope we can make this expedition a way to bring out the maximum potential of FC Tokyo U-18, including the staff, by parallelly engaging in team building and competition while living together.
With that said, I would like to conclude the report on the first and second days of the Germany expedition with photos of the Rhine River and Yukihiko SATO.
