Hiroshi JOFUKU's First Preseason Match in Tokyo!

　With the league opening in about 2 weeks, a preseason match was held against Cerezo Osaka. This season, Tokyo started with a new coach, Hiroshi JOFUKU, and the team slogan "Moving Football", aiming for a soccer where both the ball and the players move. After going through training camps in Guam and Miyazaki, this away match provided a great opportunity to test the team's progress so far.

　In the activities of the Japan national team, Nagatomo, Konno, Kajiyama, Hirayama, and Hanyu are absent, and Cabore also joined on 2/20, so it is not possible to form the best lineup today. However, the players who have deepened their coordination in the practice matches so far will start. GK Shiota, DF from right to left Tokunaga, Fujiyama, Motoniwa, Kanazawa, in the midfield Asari at the bottom, Bruno QUADROS, in front of them from right to left Kurizawa, Ishikawa, Otake, and Kondo as the lone striker, will face the match in this formation.

　C Osaka, who faced them, gradually began to infiltrate the soccer of coach Krupi in the league last season, achieving a rapid advance such as 7 consecutive victories including a draw, but finished in 5th place, so they should have a strong desire to promote to J1 this season. C Osaka also lacks players in the national team, but they must be fully cautious of the attacking power involving FW Furuhashi and MF Kakitani.

　The match started at 12:05pm in Tokyo amidst strong winds.

Gradually creating opportunities but unable to score a goal

　In the pre-match meeting, Coach Jofuku told the players, "Let's focus on winning while showing the results of what we have done so far," and sent them onto the pitch. C Osaka continued their offensive from the start of the first half. They created opportunities from passing in the midfield and building from the left and right sides, threatening the Tokyo goal. However, Shioda and Mobata calmly dealt with them and no decisive chances were created.

　Tokyo struggled to get the ball moving and faced a difficult situation, but after 10 minutes, they gradually started to find their rhythm. In the 14th minute, Asari stole the ball in midfield and quickly passed it to Otake. Otake dribbled into the opponent's half and sent a final pass to Ishikawa, who came up from the right, but it was cleared. In the following 15 minutes, the opponent committed a foul to stop Tokunaga, Kurizawa, and Ishikawa's dribble on the right side, earning a free kick. Kondo took a bold shot at goal from this free kick, but it hit the wall and bounced back.

　At 24 minutes, the ball was cleared once from the left free kick, but Bruno QUADROS in the center picked up the loose ball and shot. It hit the defender, but Daichi OTAKE shot over the goal with the rebound. At 29 minutes, Asari made an exquisite through pass to Ishikawa. Ishikawa dribbled and Kondo in the center became a wedge, passing to Kurisawa who ran up the left area directly. Kurisawa also sent the ball directly to Otake who ran into the goal area, but it didn't connect.

　Take complete control with coordinated movements. In the 35th minute, Otake, who received the ball on the right side, skillfully evaded the opponent who came from behind and started dribbling forward. He then sprinted 20m and attempted to pass a through ball to Kondo, but it fell just short. In the 38th minute, Kondo dropped the ball received from Asari, and Kurizawa took a shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. As a result, both teams went into halftime with no goals scored.

Lack of accuracy in front of the goal results in a scoreless draw

　Tokyo became the windward side in the second half, and it seemed that they would continue with the momentum from the first half, but instead they allowed the opponent to counterattack from a mistake, inviting danger. In the 56th minute, a quick development from Bruno QUADROS in the center to Tokunaga on the right side. Although he faced the opponent one-on-one, he couldn't get past and crossed with a liner-like cross, and Kondo, who was free in the center, took a direct volley shot. It was a decisive chance, but he couldn't meet it and the ball went well wide of the goal. On the contrary, in the 58th minute, C Osaka stole the ball in the center and quickly counterattacked with FW Shiratani breaking through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He aimed carefully as the goalkeeper came out and took a shot, but it hit the right post and couldn't score.

　Tokyo often passes the ball in the defensive line to counter the opponent's early press, but even when they put a pass into the front line, they consistently have the ball taken away and create dangerous situations. In order to change the flow, Kondo was substituted for Akamine in the 76th minute, and Ishikawa was substituted for Koyama in the 81st minute, with Tokunaga positioned in the midfield. Both teams started to show signs of fatigue towards the end, and although they were able to reach the goal area, they lacked accuracy and couldn't take it to a shooting scene.

　Tokyo, who never gives up until the end, earned a right FK in the 84th minute and sent a sharp cross towards the goal with a left-footed shot by Otake. Tokunaga ran in and tried to head it, but couldn't touch it. Tokunaga fell after colliding with the opponent's goalkeeper, but there was no serious injury. In stoppage time, Kawaguchi was substituted for Kurisawa. They increased their attacking efforts to aim for a goal, but couldn't score and the match ended in a scoreless draw.

　【Player Comments】《Kurisawa》"The ball didn't go forward easily, so we ended up passing it back a lot. In the midfield, we lost the ball due to mistakes and gave the opponent a chance to counter, so personally, I wanted to make more effective passes and change the flow of the game. The timing between passing and receiving is still not quite there, so we need to work on that thoroughly. As a team, we need to work on moving together and as an individual, I want to see if I can make the best play based on the situation in the next two weeks."《Otake》"We couldn't score and couldn't get involved in the attack. There are still some areas where we don't match well, so we need to make adjustments. The national team will be back, but we need to work hard to be able to contribute in the opening game. I believe there will be opportunities."《Ishikawa》"It's disappointing that we couldn't get results in our first preseason match with so many fans cheering us on. The team has been in a good state so far. With the national team returning, we can practice with a good sense of tension. I haven't secured my position yet, so I want to fit in with the team."《Shioda》"It was great to be able to play a 90-minute game in front of a crowd. Defensively, we were able to stay compact and adjust our line well, so we were stable. However, in the second half, there were some chaotic moments where we need to make adjustments on how high to push up based on the opponent's ball situation. We only have two weeks left, but we want to improve our combination play. Especially in the attack, we haven't been able to score enough, so that's our biggest challenge."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "Hello. Today, we had a preseason match with our guests. We told the players to show the results of their training and to be conscious of getting good results. Winning is important, but it was also important to showcase our strengths while keeping the opponent at zero. In that sense, it was good that we didn't concede any goals, but we had several situations where we allowed decisive moments to be created, especially from our own mistakes. We need to make corrections in those areas. We were able to connect precise passes until just before the shot, but our control was poor in the final moments, resulting in many missed opportunities for shots. It is important to improve our accuracy in the final moments, and in terms of the number of shots, we cannot be satisfied. However, there were a few instances where several players worked together to create chances by connecting passes in front of the goal, and I think it shows the results of our previous efforts. (What is your evaluation of player Otake, who started the match?) It's not just him, but the young players have been working very hard in training. Today, we gave him a chance among them. I think he did a great job, and it also motivated the other players who saw his performance."

　[Summary of C Osaka Levir CULPI's press conference] "Since both teams are in the middle of training camp, we have to consider that this game is also a test for the players. However, I think we had a good game. It was our first game of the year, but we felt very confident. We have been focusing on building up from the back since the beginning of the year, and we were able to take the first step in building up from GK Aizawa's throw. I think our training is paying off. In Japanese soccer, the opponents press from the beginning of the build-up, so we want to improve our accuracy to overcome that. Cerezo has five forwards, but I wanted everyone to get a sense of the game as soon as possible, so I used all of them. Last year, there was a period when we couldn't gather our full strength due to injuries and suspensions, and as a result, we couldn't achieve the desired results. This year, we want to level up the entire team and achieve better results than last year by continuing to train until the start of the season."