Facing Urawa, burning with revenge, aiming for the Emperor's Cup Best 4

　The Emperor's Cup, which concludes the 2004 season, will be played today in the quarterfinals against Urawa Reds. Tokyo aims to reach the best four for the first time, but since the 5th round against Omiya on Dec 12 (Sun), Miura, Suzuki, and Kanazawa have been injured. National team players Doi and Kaji will participate in a friendly match against Germany on Jan 16 (Thu) and join the team shortly after. In the absence of Shigeki, Toda, and Kajiyama, the situation is difficult. Jean and Fujiyama are the center-backs, Maeda is the left full-back. In the defensive midfield, Imakawa and Miyazawa form a partnership, and Abe starts as the left midfielder.

　Urawa, on the other hand, will be without Emerson and Toshiwo due to injury. In addition, they will be playing in the J-League Championship on November 11 (Sat) and the Emperor's Cup 5th round on November 15 (Wed), with only 3 days of rest in between. It will be a tough battle for both teams, but for Urawa, it will be a home game at Saitama Stadium. The fans in the stands should also be eager for revenge in the Nabisco Cup.

　Urawa started with a 3-back formation in the team sheet, but switched to a 4-back with MF Hirakawa playing as a left back. According to coach BUCHWALD, "FC Tokyo has 3 midfielders behind the lone striker, which is their attacking force. We wanted to strengthen our midfield to contain them. Suzuki, Mitsudomoe, Yamada, and Hasebe all have great stamina and can play both defense and offense." Therefore, MF Suzuki played as a defensive midfielder, with MF Yamada on the right, MF Mitsudomoe on the left, and MF Hasebe as the attacking midfielder. The morning sun gradually disappeared behind the clouds, and a cold wind blew through as Tokyo kicked off to start the match.

Although Urawa is progressing at a fast pace, the decisive chances are evenly matched!

　1 minute into the game, Tokyo took the first shot. Lucas challenged Urawa DF Alpay on the left side and made a forceful move. In the 4th minute, Urawa FW Nagai dribbled through the center and drifted to the right area. Maeda skillfully positioned himself and gained possession of the ball, but his subsequent handling was sloppy, leading to a dangerous situation in front of the goal. In the 6th minute, Nagai made a run on a long pass, but it was cut off by Fujiyama's skillful play. In the 7th minute, Abe headed Ishikawa's cross, but it went over the goal. Both teams displayed an attacking posture, but Tokyo struggled to break through Urawa's 4-back defense, and the momentum gradually shifted in Urawa's favor.

　Urawa squeezes the side half Yamada and Mitsushuji inside, thickens the midfield, picks up loose balls and connects them to the attack. However, when it is repelled by concentrated defense, Kaji dribbles for the first time today and sprints on the side, overlapping in the 20th minute. In the 22nd minute, a pass from Fujiyama passes to Abe on the left, early cross. It didn't suit Lucas in the middle, but Tokyo is also showing a good attacking shape centered around Ishikawa's speed and Abe's movements that disrupt the opponent's timing without being pushed in. In the 25th minute, Lucas and the opponent's DF compete for the ball that flowed forward from the goal kick, and Abe controls it well with a header and rushes into the area. He shoots a decisive shot from the right of the goal, but it slightly cuts to the left of the goal, missing the big chance for the opening goal.

　At 29 minutes, Nagai showed a sharp movement on the right side and crossed to the far side where Mitsushu met it, but his shot from close range was saved by Doi. The fast-paced attack and defense continued without a break. In the 36th minute, Lucas was fouled in the opponent's half and he himself took the resulting free kick, but it went over the bar. Urawa attacked from corners in the 39th and 40th minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitsushu headed a cross from Hirakawa in the center, but missed the goal. Immediately after, Tokyo connected with Maeda on the left, Miyazawa in the center, and Kaji on the right, but Kaji's shot went to the left. In the end, Tokyo dominated for a longer period of time, but couldn't score, and the game was carried over to the second half.

Beautiful goal! Ishikawa scores in two consecutive matches to take the lead

　The first half ended with a score of 0-0. For Tokyo, it can be said that the development went as planned. However, there was no panic for Urawa. They aggressively launched fast attacks and had two corner kicks in the 47th minute. The second one was connected by Alpay with a header from Mitsutomo's kick, and Nagai had a decisive header shot, but it went over the bar. In the 52nd minute, Tokyo also had a sharp cross from Ishikawa, who broke through on the right end line from Baba's pass. Abe was waiting in the center, and Baba took a shot from the area left where it spilled. It was blocked by the opponent and escaped as a corner kick, but then Jean dropped Miyazawa's left corner kick, and Imakawa took a shot in front of the goal while losing his balance. The shot narrowly missed the goal, but it was a close scene.

　Urawa made a quick pass in the midfield at the 58th minute, and San Tomonushi made a middle shot. This was a nice save by Tsuchi in the lower left corner of the goal. Then, from the CK, FW Tanaka Tatsu shot off the frame. At the 60th minute, San Tomonushi received a pass from Hirakawa in the middle and made a middle shot, but Tsuchi bounced it off and Yamada picked it up and made a direct shot, but Tsuchi caught it firmly. As Urawa continued to attack, Tokyo substituted Asari, who returned from injury, for Miyazawa at the 60th minute. Asari made his first appearance since the 13th round of the 1st stage on June 16th.

　And Tokyo's opening goal came just after 61 minutes. They won the ball in their own low position and Ashikari made a long pass to the left for a side change. Abe, who received the ball in the opponent's half, passed it to Ishikawa, who had moved up to the right. Ishikawa dribbled forward and swung his right foot without hesitation from just outside the area! The well-aimed shot slipped through the right hand of the opponent's goalkeeper and neatly found the bottom left corner of the goal! They stole the goal from Urawa with a fast attack and an ideal development.

Despite a valiant effort in both offense and defense, we suffered a comeback defeat and end the season.

　However, just 3 minutes after the goal, in the 64th minute, something happened. In the midfield, Baba's pass hit the opponent and was intercepted. Urawa MF Suzuki then made a long pass from his own half to the right front line. It reached Nagai perfectly, and Nagai dribbled and entered the right area end line. He passed it back negatively, and Tanaka shot in front of the goal. The ball hit Konno, who was trying to block it with a slide tackle, and changed direction, resulting in a goal. In a quick counterattack, we were caught up again in no time.

　Urawa, who gained momentum, continued their fierce attack. In the 69th minute, Tokyo DF failed to clear the right cross, allowing Nene to enter the area. In the 70th minute, San Tomo's dribble was only stopped by a foul, giving a free kick just before the left area. Yamada's powerful shot was saved by Doi! It turned into a melee in front of the goal from the corner kick, and Doi also blocked San Tomo's ball that escaped to the left of the goal area.

　Tokyo, who had been enduring well, substituted Kelly for Baba in the 70th minute and made a gamble towards the end. However, Urawa continued to create chances from set plays, with CK at the center. In the 78th minute, Mitsushima, who had drifted to the right, cut inside and took a powerful shot from the left corner of the area. It was saved by Doi and turned into a CK. Tokyo, who showed a spirited play to retaliate, even in such a situation. In the 81st minute, Lucas & Kelly attempted a breakthrough in the center with their combination, and Abe took a shot from the loose ball. Then, in the 83rd minute, Kelly snatched the loose ball in the midfield and passed it to the right side. Ishikawa, who broke free, cut back the opponent's DF and sent a fast cross to the front of the goal from the right side of the area. Abe hit the post, and Kelly, who had circled around from the right side of the area, took a shot! But unfortunately, the ball hit the bar and did not go in.

　As the fast-paced exchange of offense and defense continued, a missed opportunity led to a pinch. In the 84th minute, Maeda advanced and sent a right cross, but it did not reach Ishikawa in the far side. With this, Urawa obtained a goal kick and connected the ball to the front line. Hasebe created space with a dribble and allowed Nagai to move up in the right area, passing the ball. Just like in the scoring scene, Nagai cut inside near the end line with a floating pass. The ball floated gently, out of reach of Doi's extended hand, and as it was falling, Mitsushu rushed in and pushed it into the goal. With 5 minutes remaining, they ended up allowing a comeback.

　Tokyo substituted Kondo for Maeda in the 87th minute. They placed Abe in the forward position and Kondo as the left midfielder, and went all out to score a goal. Until the very end, their fighting spirit never wavered, but they couldn't convert the chance from the corner kick in injury time into a goal. They defended and attacked well together, fought hard, and it was a good game, but they were defeated because they couldn't match the strength. At the same time, the 2004 season came to an end.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I wanted to fight for two more games... But I think there was an image that would lead to next season as a team, and I think there was a harvest. It was good that I was involved in scoring personally and my judgment has become faster. I want to create more chances with accurate passes. It was a season that I was not satisfied with personally, but winning a title once made me even more determined to "win". I was able to gain good experience as a player, so now I have to turn that into "results"."《Asari》"The loss was tougher than the joy of being able to return. I was expected to contribute on the defensive end, but I couldn't stop the opponent's wave attacks and it didn't mean anything that I entered the game. The regret will be carried over to next season. I want to work hard to earn my position from scratch again."《Kelly》"The result was disappointing, but I think it was a good game. We were reversed, but I want to praise everyone for not giving up until the end. Of course, I knew it would be over if we lost and I wanted to fight at the National Stadium on Jan 1. It's sad that we couldn't end it with joy and interaction with the fans, but there's no need to look down. I've been with the team for four years and both the team and myself have improved. I was so happy to be in Tokyo and win the Nabisco Cup title. I am truly grateful to the supporters for loving both me and the team personally. I hope you will continue to support FC Tokyo from now on."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I thought that Urawa might be a bit more fatigued in the match on Wednesday the 15th, but after losing in the championship, I felt their motivation for the Emperor's Cup was even higher. It is true that we have had many injuries coming into this match. However, I boldly used players who have been working hard, like Maeda and Abe, as well as those with high motivation to play. Today, it would likely feel like a home atmosphere for Urawa, and I expected their motivation to be quite high. Therefore, we aimed to defend well and seize the critical moments. In the first half, we had some poor ball recoveries, which led to dangerous situations from Urawa's strong counters, especially with dribbling, but we managed to withstand that and I thought chances would come in the second half. We were able to take the lead in an ideal way, but then we conceded an equalizer due to a mistake. Yuuta took too long with several options available, lost the ball, and allowed a side change that created a one-on-one situation for Nagai. After leading 1-0, it would have been better if we could have moved the ball well and played effectively. Still, I thought bringing in Kelly would help as he could make a significant impact. If he had scored that shot that hit the crossbar, it would have been perfect. Regarding Kelly, he has had many injuries this year, and as symbolized by today's shot, he has faced a lot of unluckiness. If that had gone in, the game might have unfolded differently. However, in the end, we were overwhelmed by Urawa's desire to win the Emperor's Cup. I think we played a good match, but we need to become a team that can finish games like that. On the flip side of the challenges, players like Asari and Maeda, who usually don't play, are starting to show that anyone can perform well. We need to properly heal our injured players and aim to build a much stronger team for next season. (Regarding being broken down on the left side by Nagai?) Honestly, we don't have many players who can play as full-backs. Fujiyama has been playing in the center, so I didn't want to change that. I have been training Mashima on the side, but he is most comfortable as a center-back. It couldn't be helped. One of Maeda's challenges is that he couldn't effectively shut down that area, but overall, he fought well and performed admirably. There were certainly moments where I thought if it were Kanazawa, it would have been different, but I don't consider the players who are not here. If we receive a long side change and are easily faced, Nagai can do that much. So, we need to avoid being exposed there; the way we lost the ball beforehand is the issue. The other challenge is whether we can convert chances, as our attack was a concern. (Regarding Kelly) I wanted to win for Kelly as well. He was wonderful as a person, and FC Tokyo has become stronger thanks to him. Until last year, to put it extremely, everyone relied on Kelly to do something if we just passed the ball to him. We all defended together, and if we could get the ball to Kelly and Amaral, they would score. Even this season, after Amaral's departure, we had high hopes for Kelly, but he injured his knee and hardly played in the first stage. As a result, the younger players who had relied entirely on Kelly last year, like Baba, Kajiyama, and Kurizawa, have started to find a good rhythm. In the second stage, Kelly returned, but he was too focused on doing better himself and struggled to fit into the team. However, he had some wonderful unique dribbling skills. His shooting was a bit clumsy, though (laughs). Despite being so good at dribbling, he would kick a shot that seemed like it would go in with a side kick using his toe. That was the only area where Kelly struggled. Nevertheless, including his wonderful personality, he truly supported the team. I believe he will continue to excel with some team in the future. Thanks to Kelly, we have been able to rise this far. I am truly grateful."

　[Summary of Urawa Buchwald's press conference] "Today's game, Coach Hara, who is a fellow coach, has probably already analyzed it. So there's not much to say. But speaking of impressions, we were able to dominate the game from the beginning today, the passes connected well, and we played a good game. It was the first attempt to shape the midfield into a diamond, but we were able to attack aggressively and confuse the opponent. However, FC Tokyo is a team that is very dangerous on the counter, and that showed. We were able to create a good game in the first half. We also started the second half well and continued to press, but unfortunately we couldn't make good use of our chances. One reason for that is that the opponent's goalkeeper was excellent, but we also conceded a goal on the counter. We have been playing consecutive matches on soil, water, and Sunday, and in the championship, we played for 120 minutes, so naturally I thought the players would be tired. However, the FC Tokyo players seemed to be slowing down, while the Urawa players were playing lively. I think the conditioning is excellent. So, from 0-1, we were able to equalize in a really beautiful... or rather, a reasonable way. After equalizing to 1-1, we dominated the game one-sidedly, the players played really well, attacked aggressively, and in the end, it became 2-1 in a reasonable way. This season, what our players have done is really amazing. In the J-League both stages and the Nabisco Cup, I think it can be said that only Urawa was competing for the championship. I want to praise the players who have always fought in the top positions. In the previous championship, and then in the final of the Nabisco Cup, we didn't lose the game, but we couldn't win the title. In the Emperor's Cup, which is the last chance, we have now advanced to the semifinals, so I want to go for it. Originally, I should say 'it was really lucky that Kelly's shot hit the bar and didn't go in,' but after the final of the Nabisco Cup, Coach Hara said without saying anything about Tatsuya Tanaka's header hitting the post, 'we perfectly defended it,' so I don't want to make that statement (laughs)."