New wine aroma. The "selection" of coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA, who has raised the way to go.
When it comes to positional play, it tends to be thought of as something extremely difficult, but much of what coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA is telling the players is actually quite simple. In particular, he emphasizes the importance of players taking positions that do not overlap with each other, whether it be on the vertical or horizontal axis.
When you're not used to it, you tend to think that taking this position is difficult. You need to do it smoothly without thinking too much about it.
There will be differences in understanding or adaptability at this point. Basically, the members who have been selected as starters are good at taking this optimal position.
One of them is Ryoma WATANABE.
On January 29th, in the practice match against Kyoto Sanga F.C., Watanabe appeared as the left full-back in the second set. When he started as the right full-back in the FC Ryukyu match on February 2nd, our local coverage team was excited. "Coach Albert is serious," they said. It's not just a remnant of last year's emergency conversion, but he is considering it as his main position.
In this match, Kensuke NAGAI was the right winger in front of Watanabe. He is also a player with a high soccer IQ, so the change on the right side was smooth.
On the other hand, the left wing at this time was Adailton. The Brazilian attacker tends to move relatively freely. It can be a weapon and there is no problem, but the surrounding players need to adjust to it. So, who was the left inside half at this time? It was Kuryu MATSUKI.
Matsuki was also the second player in the second set against Kyoto. The position is still on the left inside. Like Watanabe, he was selected as a starter for the Ryukyu match. The same goes for the match against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on February 5th.
In the opening match against Kawasaki Frontale, the partner I played with was not Adailton, but Leandro, and I moved my position to the right. It may have been effective to have been familiar with the cooperation with Brazilian players since the camp. These two collaborated on the right side and made use of Leandro. In fact, the passes they made were mostly from Watanabe to Matsuki, and from Matsuki to Watanabe. And the player to whom Matsuki passed the most was Leandro.
"I always communicate with Ryo during practice matches and training. When Leandro goes inside, I go outside, and when he goes outside, I take the position in the middle."
After the Kawasaki game, Matsuki said this. Leandro was conscious of playing in a position that made it easy for him to play soccer. The dedication of Watanabe and Matsuki is not unrelated to Leandro shooting the most shots in this game with 4.
Let's take a closer look.
In the first minute of the game, you can see Nagai moving to the left side to make way for Ogawa, who is moving up the half-space with the ball. On the other hand, Matsuki is shifting vertically to create space in response to Aoki's movement on the right. These intelligent players are working together smoothly. It's interesting to observe how the fullbacks, midfielders, and wingers are cooperating and changing their positions. Albert Tokyo is becoming more and more intriguing.
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Especially at this stage, I am still a beginner in positional play, so in order to make it easier to understand practical katakana English, the purpose of the movement is clear and even those who are not tactical maniacs should be able to enjoy it.
In other words, you can feel the superiority of Albert soccer, which can take the lead just by challenging the battle for territory, because the footwork is immature and the movement is easy to understand. You can only taste the aroma of this new wine now. As it matures, it will become better and the taste will change. Let's watch the opening game repeatedly.
"Once again, the path we should pursue is the one we expressed today."
I want to reflect on the meaning of the words left by Coach Albert PUIG ORTONEDA. It may be an unpaved animal trail, but the path is clear.
In terms of Leandro's coordination, it starts with him going out to follow the opponent's back line, responding to the number 20 on his back, and Matsuki's attentiveness is always felt. In the 14th minute, Matsuki becomes like a winger for Leandro, who takes on a top position. Then in the 24th minute, Nagai comes inside and creates a scoring opportunity for Leandro with a one-two with Matsuki. The whole team is utilizing the Brazilian players.
And in the 28th minute, Nagai broke through the left side. Although they were initially spread out in the 5th lane, Nagai responded by cutting inside, and left inside half Abe Shuto moved further inside, pulling Wakizaka Yasuto with him and moving forward. In addition, Leandro and Diego Oliveira attracted the attention of the others, and Matsuki, who had also moved inside from the right, found an opening and took that middle shot. It was a scene where Alberto Tokyo could be seen.
Scene at 28 minutes
Is it a bold move to use the originally attacking player Watanabe as a side back?
Is it a bold move to start rookie Matsuki in the opening game?
What do you think?
Despite having many players absent, was it not a necessary starting lineup for coach Albert Puig Ortoneda?
After the Kyoto match on January 29th, Coach Albert Puig Ortoneda praised Keigo Higashi's qualities, saying, "He is truly a player with the perfect character and personality for the number 10 inside half position."
"Inside half is a position that requires a lot of physical activity, so I want to demand even more physical activity from players who play inside half, including him."
In this regard, the top player at FC Tokyo is of course Abe, but Matsuki is not far behind. There were times during the Kawasaki game where he seemed to have lost some of his movement, perhaps due to overexertion, but he is still running well and fighting hard. There were also moments during training matches at camp where he was able to knock opponents down with physical contact. He has the strength to compete at the professional level.
Is it because of Watanabe and Matsuki that Albert Tokyo can play, or is it because of Watanabe and Matsuki that they can play? Either way, it is certain that the presence of Albert Tokyo at the Todoroki opening match was made more visible by the play of Watanabe and Matsuki.
In the future, Blue and Red 20 will also continue to write Match Review. Please read it.
Text by Wataru GOTO (Freelance Writer)