New "Garlo Tokyo" Starts!

　One week before the start of the league, a preseason match was held with Ventforet Kofu. This season, Tokyo started with a new coach, Gallo, aiming for "connecting soccer" and "taking the initiative in soccer". After the Ishigaki Island and Ibusuki camps, they made their first appearance at home, Ajinomoto Stadium. It was a great opportunity to test their previous achievements in a real game.

　Concerns have been raised about the number of injured players, including Shigenobu, Doi, and Jean, who are missing from the activities of the Japan national team. However, today's starting lineup consists of players who have deepened their coordination in practice matches so far. GK Endo, DF Tokunaga, Mashima, Maeda, Suzuki from right to left. In the midfield, Inoha at the bottom, Kajiyama as right MF, and Miyazawa as left MF. FW Sasawo in the center, Lucas and Abe freely moving in a 4-3-3 formation. In addition, Imano and Baba have been recovering well from their injuries and were on the bench.

　Kofu, who will face us, will play on the J1 stage this season. Last season, they pressed from the front and played a refreshing soccer with fast attacks, finishing 3rd in J2. They won the promotion playoffs and secured promotion. Coach Ohki said, "To be honest, I don't really feel like we're in J1 yet, and I haven't seen any of the opposing teams, so I don't really know. However, the former FC Tokyo was a role model for us. The coach has changed, and the players and soccer will be different from before, but the DNA should still remain. Our goal is to play for 90 minutes without any special tricks or gimmicks," he vowed to fight fairly and confidently showed glimpses of raising the team's strength. The matchup between Kofu's "speed" and Tokyo's "passing game" will also be one of the highlights.

Showing glimpses of Garo Tokyo, but lacking finishing power...

　In the midst of a cold rain, the match started with Kofu's kickoff at 13:33. Tokyo aggressively attacked from the beginning, and in the first minute, Sasa and Lucas had a shooting opportunity from Tokunaga's cross, but it didn't hit. In the third minute, Kajiyama ran up deep into the right area and sent a minus pass to the center. Abe slid and took a shot, but it missed to the right.

　As time goes by, Kofu also shows composure. Tokyo dominates the ball, but Kofu's press also shows solidity. Among them, in the 26th minute, Abe shoots after receiving a pass from Miyazawa to Kajiyama, who had run into the center. He was blocked by the opponent, but he creates a chance in the flow of the game. In the 28th minute, Kajiyama picks up the loose ball well after the opponent's goalkeeper punches Miyazawa's left corner kick. In the 34th minute, Tokunaga runs up the right side after Sasas's post and crosses. Abe shoots after connecting in front of the goal.

　Beginning to grasp the rhythm, in the 35th minute, Abe, who stuck to the left area, passed to Miyazawa on the right, who was free. Sasa, who received the pass, immediately played it to the center, and Kajiyama, who made a run, took a shot. They showed good teamwork, but the ball went straight to the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 37th minute, Abe moved to the right and crossed the ball. Lucas in the far post tried to head it in, but the shot went over.

　Kofu's attacks are often single shots, but in the 41st minute, a through pass was sent to FW Vallee who broke through to the right area. The shot grazed the bar, showing a momentary threat. In the first half, Tokyo created many crossing scenes from the passing work of Miyazawa and Kajiyama, as well as the starting points of right full-back Tokunaga, forward Abe, and Lucas, but lacked finishing ability and did not score a goal. Both teams returned to the second half with no goals.

Sasa takes the lead with a successful side attack, winning 2-1

　In the second half, they immediately faced a pinch in the 47th minute after the start. Kofu FW Valley's fast right cross couldn't be cleared, and MF Suzuki, who had crowded in front of the goal, got into a shooting position. However, GK Endo jumped out and made a save. In the 49th minute, Kofu right SB Sugiyama moved up to the center and took a middle shot. In the 51st minute, Kofu's FK from the front of the goal. FW Valley aimed directly, but Tokyo's wall blocked it.

　Tokyo, aiming to play their own football without panicking, even so. In the 52nd minute, Lucas, who received a pass from Inoha, dribbled up the left side and made a minus pass to the center. Sasa, who received the ball in the area, turned towards the goal with one touch and shot before bypassing the opponent's defender, and it pierced into the right side net! They scored the opening goal from the planned side attack.

　In the 54th minute, Tokyo made three substitutions. Lucas and Abe were placed in the front line, Baba took a withdrawn position, and Imano was on the left midfield, with Kanazawa on the left side back. Both Tokyo and Kofu launched sharp counterattacks against each other, but they struggled on the muddy pitch due to the rain and lacked accuracy. In the 73rd minute, Kanazawa advanced and exchanged passes with Lucas. Although initially blocked, Baba picked up the loose ball and made a quick and strong cross to the left area in front of the goal. Akamine received it and took a shot, but it went to the left.

　In the 75th minute, Tokyo's weak clearance was intercepted, and Kofu MF Kurakura's shot hit Tokyo DF and went in. The score was tied, but Kofu calmly headed towards the goal. In the 78th minute, Lucas, who broke through the area after receiving a pass from Baba, was fouled by the opponent's goalkeeper and won a penalty kick. Lucas himself confidently converted it and scored an additional point.

　In the 78th minute, Fujiyama replaced Tokunaga. Kofu also used up all six substitution slots, and the ball never settled down, resulting in a hectic development. The game ended with a score of 2-1. However, in this match, In addition to the return of Imano and Baba, each player showed their fighting spirit to embody the new Tokyo soccer. It should have been a match where they grasped the sense of accomplishment and the challenges towards the opening.

　【Player Comments】《Miyazawa》"The main premise is not to lose the ball with the three midfielders. In terms of defense, we need to be a bit more aggressive. It is important to not let the opponent's central midfielder have too much possession. Abe, Lucas, and others have been instructed to press forward and apply pressure. We need to improve our coordination and support each other more."《Baba》"I had fun playing today, and I think we did well considering it was a real match. But we can't be satisfied with this and need to practice more. Our current condition is about 70%. We need to make efforts to quickly reach 100% condition and approach the opening of the season in good shape."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "Today, there were good aspects and also areas that need improvement. It's natural since it's the beginning of the year. We are aiming to play a connected style of football this season, but the rain and the condition of the turf were not good today, so the conditions were unfavorable. However, I think we still showed the intention to connect. On the other hand, I heard that Kofu has been playing with a settled lineup for a long time. That's why their combination play was good and their marking was tough. I think they are a good team. As for us, we still have room for improvement in terms of combination play. Currently, players like Doi, Shigemichi, Jean, Imano, and Baba, who were regulars last season, are finally starting to regain their condition. The combination play when they come back is one of the challenges ahead. However, we are not expecting them to be at 100% right now. We are thinking of gradually improving the team's condition through consecutive matches from this current situation."

　[Summary of Kofu-Oki Coach's Press Conference] "In the first 10 minutes, we couldn't control ourselves well. But after that, I think we played well overall. We used a lot of substitute players, so each of them had a short time, but it was a game with many gains. We still have one practice match left, but basically, we will prepare for the real game with this. We have prepared well, but the way we start the game remains a challenge. I don't think we were intimidated, but we allowed them to create opportunities from the sides and couldn't fix it. We managed to hold on somehow, but we want to think about benchwork and scouting as well. (In J1), I don't think the physicality is stronger compared to J2, but I felt that they were good at using their bodies. There was that kind of pressure, and the players seemed to have struggled. It seemed like they got used to it after about 10 minutes, but we want to fight while being aware of that."