Tokyo × Rome, Capital Derby in the Midsummer Night!

　Following last year, this year's preseason match against an overseas team will be held, and we will face the strong Serie A team AS Roma. Prior to today's match, Tokyo will embark on a one-week trip to Spain and also play against the strong La Liga team Deportivo La Coruña. Having already won 2-1 away, there is no end to the excitement of what kind of battle they will show against Roma today. It is a match where we want to show the results of the trip.

　Last season, Roma finished 2nd in Serie A. They have welcomed new coach Brandelli this season and are starting to build a new team. Although they are currently missing key attackers Totti and Cassano, as well as midfielder Tonmaji due to injuries, they have a number of Italian and French national team players, who have joined the team after their tour in the United States.

　Tokyo, who has just returned from the Asian Cup as a representative of Japan, did not participate, but Toi started in the starting lineup. The defense is made up of Maeda, Jean, Fujiyama, and Kanazawa from the right. Miura and Kajiyama form a double pivot in the midfield, with Toda on the right, Kelly in the center, and Baba on the left. They will face the match with Lucas in the front line.

Fearlessly attacking from the start, creating chances one after another!

　"Coach Hara said, 'I want to make Rome serious. Let's go aggressively from the beginning and aim for victory.' Tokyo attacked boldly from the kick-off as he said. In the 40th second, Baba -> Kelly -> Lucas passed the ball, and Lucas entered the area. Baba received the return, and Miura took the shot. In the first minute, Baba ran up to the left side space and crossed. It didn't connect with Lucas in the center, but Maeda aimed for the goal from the far side. In the second minute, Kajiyama -> Lucas connected from the right side throw-in, and Kajiyama boldly took the shot after receiving the return. In the fifth minute, Lucas, who stole the ball from the opponent's DF, dribbled quickly into the area. He entered the shooting motion, but was cut off by a sliding tackle from Roma DF Mekses."

　Roma aimed for a direct goal from a left-leaning FK by DF Panucci in the 10th minute, but Doi caught it firmly in front. In the 12th minute, Tokyo had another chance. Toda sprinted into the space on the right side. He cut inside and sent a fast and strong ground cross. It couldn't be connected in the center, but Baba picked it up on the left side and connected with Kanazawa and Kajiyama in one touch. Kanazawa then made a through pass to the front line again. Lucas, who had jumped out, was saved by the opponent's GK one step ahead, and the ball spilled, but Mekusu picked up the cleared ball and connected it, and this time Maeda crossed from the right side. It ended up being offside, but they continuously attacked the Roma goal from both sides, picking up loose balls one after another.

　In the 16th minute, Kajiyama was fouled on the right side, quickly restarted and moved forward, Lucas took a shot. It missed to the left of the goal, but Tokyo showed a high awareness of pressing up and quickly connecting attacks from ball recovery, with Kelly, Lucas, and Toda leading the way with sharp movements. On the other hand, Roma defended tightly with a solid defensive line and sent passes to the front without taking risks. However, scenes of the forward line being caught offside were noticeable, and they did not create any decisive chances.

Continuously creating chances from side attacks

　In the 29th minute, Roma launched a quick counterattack. Mekses sprinted up and sent a vertical pass to the forward Delvecchio. Delvecchio evaded the marking of Fujiyama and took a left-footed shot from just outside the box, but it went over the goal. In the 35th minute, Tokyo had a golden opportunity. Kanazawa, who had stolen the ball on the left side of their own half, passed it to the forward line, connecting with Baba and Lucas, and then attacking towards the center to find Kelly. Kelly dribbled to draw the opposing DF and passed to Toda on the right side, who was free. Toda crossed the ball quickly with a lot of power towards the center, but the opposing DF desperately cleared it towards the Roma goal. However, the goalkeeper and DF covered it just in time and cleared it again. Kanazawa, who had advanced to attack, picked up the ball and took a shot, but it was blocked by the opposing DF.

　Roma gradually started to pass the ball around, and in the 37th minute, Del Vecchio entered a shooting position near the goal from a right-side free kick, but Jahn blocked it by leaning his body. Then, midfielder Dakour received a through pass from forward Corvia and made a pinpoint pass to the front line. Candela crossed from the left and took a shot from inside the box, but it hit Toi's face. In the 38th minute, Tokyo responded with a left cross from Baba, and Toda, who was free on the right side, volleyed the ball directly, but the shot unfortunately hit the crossbar. In the 39th minute, Baba sent a long free kick to the front line. Toda and Lucas connected with headers, but the opponent's defender cleared the ball just in time. Toda, who injured his right ankle in this play, was substituted with Kondo. And Roma couldn't break through their solid defense, so the match was carried over to the second half.

　In the second half, Tokyo took the first shot. In the 46th minute, Kondo dropped a header from a right corner kick, and Kajiyama took a shot from the middle range, but it went over the goal. In the 48th and 50th minutes, Roma had scenes where they attacked Tokyo's goal by connecting passes, but they didn't take a shot. In the 53rd minute, Maeda crossed from the right after Kajiyama's side change. Lucas took a volley shot in front of the goal, but it narrowly missed the target. In the 55th minute, Kondo headed the ball away from the goal after Baba's right free kick, but it went to the left of the goal. Tokyo, who couldn't break the goal no matter what, replaced Kelly with Abe in the 59th minute. Abe moved to the left MF position, and Baba moved to the center.

Substitute players also function, overwhelming Roma...

　Roma, who patiently connected passes and waited for a chance, won a free kick in the 67th minute when Delle Beccio was fouled in front of the goal. D'Agnostinho aimed directly from the penalty arc on the right, but the Tokyo DF blocked it. As a result, this was the only shot by Roma in the second half. In the 69th minute, Chelchi, who came on as a substitute, received a vertical pass from left SB Panucci and entered the area. He sent a minus last pass to Delle Beccio, but the trap was too big and Tsuchi boldly came out and made a save. No harm done.

　However, Roma gradually lost their momentum and Tokyo took control of the midfield and launched an offensive. In the 71st minute, Abe showed persistence on the left side, winning a throw-in and threatening the Roma goal. In the 72nd minute, Abe himself received the throw-in and moved inside, quickly judging the situation and taking a shot. However, it was caught by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 74th minute, Kajiyama and Kondo launched a quick attack and passed to Lucas on the right side. Lucas advanced into the penalty area, evaded the opponent's defender, and crossed the ball. Kondo, who had moved up in front of the goal, jumped and took a header shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a fine save. Abe's follow-up shot also missed the target. Immediately after that, Masushima replaced Miura, and Kobayashi replaced Baba. Lucas and Kondo formed a two-top formation, with Masushima playing as a defensive midfielder. In the 76th minute, Abe was fouled just outside the left area and won a free kick. From Kobayashi's free kick, Masushima and Jean jumped in from the far side, but the ball hit Jean's foot and went outside the frame. In the 79th minute, Abe made a move in the left area and won a corner kick. The left corner kick was played short, and Lucas headed the ball from Kanazawa's cross! However, once again, it hit the crossbar and did not go into the goal.

　Tokyo, which launched a fierce attack, could not break through Roma's goal, as they seemed to be content with a draw and had 8 players focused on defense. In the 87th minute, Lucas was fouled in the left area and a free kick was awarded. Abe ran as a decoy, and Kobayashi passed to Abe, who had moved inside. From a tricky play, Abe took a well-aimed shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a nice save and it resulted in a corner kick. The corner kick was played short, and Kanazawa sent a low cross, but unfortunately, they couldn't connect in front of the goal. In injury time, Kondo was fouled at a distance of about 25 meters from the goal, and another free kick was awarded. Kondo aimed for the goal, but his powerful shot hit the lower left post! Tokyo played with liveliness and aggression, creating chances with their own style of soccer, but they just couldn't break through the goal. In this midsummer night's dream match, Tokyo had 17 shots compared to Roma's 4 shots, and although Tokyo dominated the game throughout, it unfortunately ended in a 0-0 draw.

【Player Comments】《Doi》"My condition wasn't bad. I think I had a good start to the game. Watching from behind, I felt that the young players with ability were playing with confidence. I think their true selves came out. I'm looking forward to the 2nd stage."《Miura》"There were chances from the first half. If it ended in a draw, the opponents would say 'our condition was bad' as an excuse, so I wanted to win decisively... To be honest, we also recently returned from Spain and got tired in the end of the first half and in the second half. We want to approach the 2nd stage with the ability to score shots that were blocked by the post or crossbar."《Jean》"Today, I was thinking of not conceding any goals. In that aspect, I think it was good. The team has also become stronger, and the young players are playing great games and showing good soccer. I always think that there is something to learn in daily practice, but I learned something from the Deportivo match in Spain and today's match against Roma, and I gained confidence. I think we were able to play international matches in a good way that leads to the 2nd stage."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We wanted to score goals. We had several chances, and after the Spain tour, our young players gained confidence and created some good opportunities. If we had converted those chances, I think Roma would have shown even more strength. We hit the post and the goalkeeper made saves, but we wanted to convert those chances. We are delighted to have the opportunity to play against Roma, a team with a rich tradition, in Tokyo. Roma still has a month until their season starts, so they may not have been in top form, but they fought bravely against well-known players. We wanted to score goals while playing these kinds of matches and carry it into the second stage... During the Spain tour, we played against strong teams, and today we played against Italian and French national team players, and we have more players who can play their own game without fear. Specifically, we were able to create some opportunities by moving the ball simply and breaking down the sides to widen the pitch. However, Italy's defense is as expected. Even if the sides were breached, they were able to eliminate the dangerous areas in front of the goal. We need to improve our shooting technique, but even without Japanese national team or Olympic team players, I think it will be a valuable asset for the team that other players played confidently."

[Summary of AS Roma Brandelli's press conference] "It was a very difficult match. FC Tokyo moved very well, had speed, and above all, their condition was good. It would have been better if we could have had more organized movements. The defense was satisfactory. Playing in this match revealed various challenges, which is a good thing for the new season. Today, Roma really couldn't create chances, but it was not only due to the condition, but also because many players were playing in positions that are not their usual ones, and also because the opponent's condition was good. (In the first half, it seemed to drag on?) We couldn't focus on defense. However, I instructed the team about that during halftime, so we didn't have to face many counterattacks in the second half. A team that has just adopted a new playing style and new tactics may not function well, so we want to make gradual adjustments and be in a good condition for the new season. (Which players left an impression from FC Tokyo?) FC Tokyo is a very good team, and their tactics are excellent. Unfortunately, I don't remember their names, but they have many talented players. I also thought the coach had a very good understanding of football. I think it's a team that will continue to grow with talented players and an excellent coach."

"It was a very difficult game. However, Roma is still in the preparation stage, and we fought with all our strength today. Personally, I think it was a very good game." "It was a high-intensity game. And it was very hot. FC Tokyo showed us a wonderful play, and we also did our best, it was a good game."