Believe in ourselves - 2006 season begins

　The 2006 J1 League finally kicks off. Oita Trinita is welcomed to the home Ajinomoto Stadium, marking the start of a long season. This season, Tokyo aims to play "soccer that controls the game by connecting passes" under the new coach Garo, and has been preparing for about 40 days. The focus is on how much this style of soccer has permeated the team. Every year, the start of the season is a mix of expectations and anxieties, but coach Garo and the players were not burdened, saying, "We just need to show what we have prepared in the game."

　Until now, there were concerns about injuries to Doi and Konno, but they have been adjusting their aim and making adjustments on this day. On the other hand, Jean and Baba, who broke their fingers, are in the stage of careful recovery. Therefore, Rychely, who has not played in official matches so far, was appointed as one of the FW. Lucas, Sasa, and Rychely form the front three, with Inoha in the midfield, Kajiyama on the right, and Konno on the left. CB consists of Shigenobu and Mashima, with Suzuki and Tokunaga as both SB. They will face the match with GK Doi's formation. The average age of the starting lineup is 22.91 years old, making it the youngest team compared to other teams. Also, Manager Gallo is the youngest coach in the J-League. Tokyo, full of freshness, aims for victory with fresh soccer!

　Oita, on the other hand, has concerns about the team's strength being weakened with FW Magnouves and MF Yoshida leaving. However, they are a team known for their all-out attack and defense. There are no changes in the lineup of the defense, and coach Chamusca, who is in his second season, plans to "fight with the power of the team united as one. If we can play with the rhythm we created last season." So far, it seems that the FW line has not been fixed, but it will be crucial how FW Takamatsu and new addition FW Osmar fit in.

　One of the highlights is how to avoid the opponent's press and connect it to the attack in order to launch an offensive. In addition, this season, there are seven players on the bench, and it is also worth noting how both coaches will make substitution decisions from among them.

　Before the start of the match, a live performance by special guest Mr. Coba (accordionist) and a greeting from Mr. Marco Bode (former German national team player) were held. After that, a bouquet was presented to Imano, who achieved his 100th appearance in today's J1 League match, by Mr. Marco Bode. The highly anticipated opening match took place at Ajinomoto Stadium, under clear skies, with a kickoff by Oita at 13:35.

Sasa, Rychely takes full advantage of the opportunity!

　The start of the game saw a tight battle for control between the two teams. Tokyo gradually gained momentum from their focused defense. It was evident that players like Kajiyama and Tokunaga intended to use side changes to bring the ball forward. In the 10th minute, Oita's right midfielder Umeda took the first shot for Oita. Tokyo also had a chance in the 11th minute when they connected simple passes from a goal kick, and Kajiyama made a forward run to take a shot, but both shots missed the target.

　Tokyo had been dominating the ball so far, but they struggled to finish. However, they made the most of a decisive chance. In the 14th minute, Imakano intercepted the opponent's ball in his own half and quickly sent a long feed to the left front line. Rychely, who caught up with the ball, bravely challenged the opponent's defender and crossed it to the goalmouth. Sasa jumped and connected with his right foot, scoring a goal! They took the lead early in the game.

　Tokyo completely took control of the game after taking the lead. In the 19th minute, Sasa sent a last pass from the right side of the opponent's field to the center, and Lucas bravely attempted to break through the opponent's defense and took a shot. In the 21st minute, Suzuki sprinted up the left side and won a corner kick. In the 24th minute, Doi punched away a cross from Oita's left midfielder Nemoto. Edmilson picked up the loose ball and took a shot at the empty goal, but Imamura calmly blocked it.

　In the 27th minute, Inaba cut off Oita's cross. From there, Lucas connected with Ima-no, who again hit the ball that had fallen to the opponent. Ima-no quickly sent a long ground pass from his own territory to the front line. The ball, which passed through the opponent's defenders, was chased by Rychely from the right side and he shot it into the goal with great force. The ball went through the legs of the opposing goalkeeper who had jumped out! It was Rychely's first appearance and first goal in an official match. They scored an additional goal from a quick counterattack, switching from defense to offense, and extended their lead.

　After that, the defense focused on connecting the ball through the efforts of Shigenobu, Mashima, and Inoha, and they attacked with speed at key moments. In the 39th minute, a shot by Osmar, who ran into the goal area after a pass from Oita FW Takamatsu, was cut off by Mashima. In the 43rd minute, MF Nemoto passed to FW Takamatsu inside the area, but Shigenobu effectively blocked the hit. The first half ended with a score of 2-0.

With a calm game play, Riku OCHIAI secured victory in the opening match for the 8th consecutive year!

　At halftime, we received instructions from Coach Garo, saying "It's only been 45 minutes. Let's go for more goals." However, it was Oita who came out on the offensive in the second half. In the 52nd minute, DF Miki, who was left unmarked in the area, took a shot from a left corner kick, but Tokunaga defended well and the ball went over the bar. In the 57th minute, we lost the ball in Oita's half, and Oita MF Uchimura sprinted towards the Tokyo goal. He attracted the attention of the defenders and made a final pass to FW Takamatsu, who came in from the right. Takamatsu turned the Tokyo defenders and took a shot, but missed the target. With the help of the opponent's mistakes, we did not allow any goals.

　In the 63rd minute, Rychely launched an attack on the right side and sent a cross that passed through the opponent's defense. Lucas received it inside the right area and took a direct shot, but the opponent's defense blocked it. Sasahara picked up the loose ball and took a free shot, but it went over the bar, missing the chance for an additional goal. Oita made substitutions, replacing FW Ozmair with FW Yamazaki in the 61st minute and replacing DF Uemoto with MF Nishiyama in the 72nd minute, switching to a 2-back formation to launch a counterattack. Tokyo also made a substitution in the 69th minute, with Kawaguchi replacing Rychely. In response to Oita's aggressive play, Kawaguchi used his speed to run into the open spaces and compete.

　In the midst of a fast-paced attack and defense, in the 71st minute, Kawaguchi and Sasa led the team to show a solid offensive play on both sides. Inonami, who had advanced to the left area, made a last pass to Lucas in front of the goal. However, the shot hit the opponent's goalkeeper head-on. In the 73rd minute, Lucas, who was free on the right side after Tokunaga in the right area passed to Sasa in the center, took a shot. It was blocked by the goalkeeper, but Suzuki picked up the rebound and made a left cross. Kawaguchi then made a heading shot in the center. The wide attack using the side as intended threatened Oita's goal, but the ball narrowly went over the frame.

　In the 89th minute, Kawaguchi broke through the left side. Sasa met the fast cross, but the shot did not hit. Although they couldn't convert these good opportunities into goals, they dealt with Oita's attacks without losing focus. They maintained a calm game and shut out the opponent. The match ended with the 2 points scored in the first half, securing a victory in the opening game for the 8th consecutive year since 1999 in J2.

　【Player Comments】《Rychely》"(I'm very happy with 1 goal and 1 assist). I want to continue contributing to the team. The shot that turned into a goal was a ball that I tried to hit the goalkeeper with and get a corner kick. It went through the goalkeeper's legs and went in. I want to dedicate this goal to Ishikawa, who is injured in his knee. Not only Naoto, but everyone was kind to me during my injury, and I want Naoto to recover quickly. I can't say I was calm last night... I called my family in Brazil and told them that I would be playing in the match. I was a little nervous today, but I want to report this result over the phone as well."《Imano》"I had some anxiety, but we scored early and it became easier, but scoring two goals was the fast-paced soccer we had until last season. I think FC Tokyo can level up even more by incorporating the detailed passing soccer of Coach Garo while utilizing the good aspects we have had so far. It's still only 50% of what we can do, but it's a big deal that we won. We will forget about today's victory and continue to make improvements."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "We played a good game. We were able to see the results of the 40-day training. I think our passing, which we have been practicing, was good, and we also had fighting spirit. However, it's still early in the season. We want to stay grounded and not get carried away. We need to improve in various aspects and continue to raise the quality through training. Rychely initially started in the sub team for the intra-squad match, but he showed good performance even when he joined the regular team. FC Tokyo is one team, and even in the sub team, if you show good performance, you can join the regular team. He is only 18 years old, but making a professional debut is a path that everyone goes through. I also scored in my professional debut match, and I think he played well today. As for Kawaguchi, we considered Rychely's lack of game experience and his fatigue when we decided to bring him on. Like Rychely, we wanted to utilize his speed by aiming for a quick attack. As for Baba, Lucas did a fantastic job in defense today, so it must have been tough for Baba in terms of physical fitness. I think there were only a few minutes left, but I asked Baba to take on the same role as Lucas."

　[Summary of Oita Chamusca's Press Conference] "The quality dropped in the first half. The passes and the accuracy of the ball in the midfield were not good, and we conceded a goal from a mistake. In the second half, the speed increased and I think we had a good start. We were able to have a dynamic development. There were some situations where we could have taken the lead, but we couldn't finish. I expected today's match to be very difficult, and I knew that FC Tokyo is an attacking and strong team, but I think the key point was how well we could take advantage of our chances. I told the players that we wanted to be more attacking by changing the system to a 2-back formation in the middle of the second half. The risk would be higher, but MF Nishiyama, who came on as a substitute, has a good long shot from outside the box, so I trusted his potential and took a chance on that opportunity. I moved Túlio, the defensive midfielder, forward and placed FW Yamazaki as an attacking midfielder. However, today the team's passing was not good overall, and we couldn't move the ball from the midfield to the front. The ground was hard, which also affected the quality of our passing. In the first half, we used high crosses, but that is not the typical style of Oita's soccer. Tokyo has a different style of soccer compared to last season. This season, they have focused on the attacking side and have become a good team. Last season, the midfield was compact and we focused on defense, and then counter-attacked. This season, I felt that their first press-attack line was coming forward. Today's match may not have been a game where we could fully demonstrate Oita's capacity."