Approaching the Nabisco Cup Final with a calm mind!

　The final round of the Nabisco Cup was held, and finally kicked off at the Japan National Stadium. It is the stage of the final that stands for the first time in five seasons, and can be said to be the culmination of this season so far. However, both coach Jofuku and the players uniformly said, "We only think about giving 100% of what we have built up until today," and are prepared as usual.

　Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in first place in the league. In the previous league match against Hiroshima, they won by a score of 7-0, showing excellent form. They also have the highest total goals in the league with 57. As you may know, the attacking power of FW Juninho, Zheng, and Renatinho is a great threat. The pre-match reputation surrounding Kawasaki is higher, and they have also suffered two come-from-behind losses in their previous two meetings in the league.

　Manager Hiroshi JOFUKU also reflected, "Kawasaki is a wonderful team that represents Japan, with each player having high quality. We made thorough preparations for the league match, but unfortunately, we lost in a disappointing manner." However, he firmly resolved, "There is always a reason for defeat, and there must have been something lacking. Based on that, we have faced the challenges and continued to build upon them. It is a great opportunity to prove our evolution by facing Kawasaki on this grand stage, and it brings us happiness."

　Unfortunately, in addition to the absence of Shigeru MOBATA, Kazuki ISHIKAWA, and Yuto NAGATOMO, who suffered a right shoulder injury, also started on the bench. Ryota MUKUHARA took on the right back position, and Tokunaga moved to the left, forming the lineup for the kickoff. There have been many incidents up to this point, but today, the focus is on how much Tokyo's soccer can do. Players, coaches, staff, and fans and supporters gather their strength and work together to seize the cup! The wind is cold, and there is a chill in the air, but the sky is clear. Under the perfect weather for a stage, the match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 14:09.

Do not let Kawasaki grasp the flow and take the lead with Yonemoto's bullet middle shot!

　In the early stages of the match, both teams showed stiffness. Tokyo tried to connect passes and attack, but made many mistakes and ended up being countered by Kawasaki. In the 4th minute, the ball was brought into the opponent's half through Tokyo's characteristic passing play, starting from Hayu's post to Akamine. In the midfield, Kajiyama tried to turn around the opponent's defender, but ended up being dispossessed. However, Kawasaki also sent long balls to the front line, but many of their attacks ended up being one-off situations.

　In the 6th minute, Kawasaki FW JUNINHO -> midfielder Taniguchi aims for a shot, but Gonda catches it firmly in front. Among them, Tokyo created the first decisive chance. In the 8th minute, Hayashi brings it inside from a right throw-in, connects the pass and develops it to the right side. Yonemoto breaks through the side and sends a cross from a deep position. It hits the defender and falls, and Hirayama in the right area volleys it, but the shot goes over the bar...

　If you miss a chance, in the 11th minute, FW Renatinho turned and shot from a vertical pass by Kawasaki MF Nakamura just outside the area. It flew towards the frame, barely missing the crossbar, but was saved by goalkeeper Gonda and resulted in a corner kick. In the 19th minute, Kawasaki created another scoring opportunity. Tokyo DF was beaten by Kawasaki MF Taniguchi and it became a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. However, Gonda made a brave dive and saved the shot! The ball was then picked up and FW Juninho had a free shot in front of the goal, but it missed the target, avoiding another close call...

　Kawasaki was starting to lose control, but in the 22nd minute, Yonemoto, who received a return pass from Hirayama, boldly took a shot from the left side of the opponent's midfield. The ball, without rotation, headed towards the goal and deflected off Kawasaki GK Kawashima's hand into the net! Yonemoto's strike gave us the opening goal!! Despite Kawasaki dominating possession and Tokyo struggling to showcase their typical passing play, we remained focused in defense and didn't allow them much freedom. We created rhythm from a stable defense and connected chances from our passing play towards the end of the first half.

　In the 38th minute, they defended persistently in a deep position on the right side of their own field, and Mokuhara passed the ball forward. Akamine caught up here and launched a quick attack in combination with Hirayama. Akamine ran into the pass sent by Hirayama and aimed for the goal with a looping shot... but missed the target. The first half ended with a one-point lead, but in this season's Tamagawa Clasico, Tokyo has always taken the lead, so there are high expectations for the performance in the second half.

Additional goal from a brilliant counter attack, second championship in 5 years!!

　In the early stages of the second half, Tokyo took control. In the 46th minute, Akamine on the left side connected with Suzuki on the right side. Suzuki boldly aimed for the goal from the right area and won a corner kick from the goalkeeper's save. From this right corner kick by Suzuki, Hayu persistently aimed for a chance and in the end, he took a shot from the loose ball. However, he couldn't find the target. In the 50th minute, Tokunaga made an early cross from Kajiyama's side change. Akamine at the far post narrowly headed the ball, but the angle was not enough and the goalkeeper caught it.

　But gradually, they began to suffer from Kawasaki's sharp counterattacks. In the 57th minute, a ball was played behind the Tokyo defense, and Kawasaki forward Zheng faced Gonda in a one-on-one situation. However, Gonda made a great save to avoid the danger. Nevertheless, Kawasaki continued to increase their momentum in search of an equalizing goal. Tokyo found themselves pushed back, but they defended with a focus on Gonda and managed to launch a quick counterattack in the 59th minute from their own half. Suzuki sprinted down the left side from Hanyu's pass. With good timing and reading of the opponent's defenders, Suzuki sent a cross to the far post, and Hirayama scored with a header!! A splendid counterattack resulted in the second goal!

　After that, Kawasaki, who launched a fierce counterattack, substituted Nagatomo for Akamine in the 60th minute and Suzuki became the forward. In the 71st minute, Kawasaki passed the ball after dribbling by FW Juninho, and finally MF Nakamura took a precise shot, but Gonda saved it in the lower left! After defending this, Tokyo then launched a sharp counterattack. In the 74th minute, Nagatomo broke through to the front line in response to Murohara's early cross, and faced the GK in a one-on-one situation! At this point, the GK also bypassed and created a big chance, but the shot was blocked by the quick returning Kawasaki DF...

　In the 74th minute, Hiramatsu was substituted for Hanyu as the right midfielder. Kawasaki, who was trying to make a comeback, pushed us back, but we calmly responded using player substitutions. In the 86th minute, Sato was brought in for Suzuki, and we switched to a 5-back formation to strengthen our defense. Despite being subjected to Kawasaki's fierce attacks for a prolonged period of time, everyone fought hard and demonstrated perseverance and high concentration.

　In the 4 minutes of stoppage time, Nagatomo made a fierce dash after receiving Kajiyama's pass on the front line, creating another 1-on-1 scene with the goalkeeper, but was blocked by a save... Although they couldn't score the third goal, they successfully defended against Kawasaki's fierce counterattack and the game ended with no goals conceded! There were times when they couldn't play Tokyo-style soccer, but they always responded flexibly to Kawasaki's counterattacks and ended the game with a perfect 2-0 score. They won the Nabisco Cup title for the second time in 5 years with the effort of everyone!!

　Furthermore, the tournament MVP award was won by Kanemoto, resulting in a double win along with the New Hero award.

　【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"The flow was not good, so I wanted to shoot and attract it. I thought that if I could shoot one, the flow would change. It was good that I shot in that situation, but I never thought I would be able to score in such a stage, so my mind went blank when it happened. In defense, I was careful not to let Kawasaki MF Nakamura make a good pass and to prevent him from giving a good pass. Keeping Kawasaki's amazing attacking lineup from scoring zero goals gives me confidence."《Hirayama》"The goal was easy because Suzuki sent me a really good ball. We wanted to suppress the opponent's strengths and bring out our own good points. There were times when things didn't go well, but we fought calmly. We had lost to Kawasaki twice this season in the league, so I'm really happy to win here. We will continue to work hard in practice to aim for titles in the league and the Emperor's Cup."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "It was fair to say that Tokyo would have a tough time based on the pre-match predictions. In terms of injury situations and the depth of the squad, Kawasaki definitely had the advantage. However, we have accumulated victories with the collective effort of all our players leading up to the final. The disappointment of the players who couldn't play today, the injured players, or the players who couldn't make it to the bench, became our strength, and those who stepped onto the pitch fought with the determination of all those players. It was truly a victory that we achieved together."

　The fans have been eagerly awaiting this moment. The fact that we were able to face Kawasaki head-on and achieve victory without backing down gives us confidence above all else. It is proof that we have continued to confront the challenges of the two defeats in the league. I strongly believe that this championship today will be a catalyst for further improvement and that the team must and will step up.

　Today, we were able to compete in the final match under a wonderful atmosphere thanks to the support of both teams' supporters, including Kawasaki supporters and Tokyo supporters. I am happy about that and proud to have been able to compete with the players and staff on this stage. Thank you very much for your passionate support."

　[Kawasaki Sekizuka Coach Press Conference Summary] "It's disappointing that we couldn't reach the title on this big stage. I feel sorry for all the supporters. I think our weakness was shown in terms of composure after conceding the first goal and how well we can play our own soccer for 90 minutes. It would have been better to move the ball from the side in a simpler way, but there were too many forced plays and we couldn't break through in the end."

　In the first half, we were able to take the ball to the shooting range when we played calmly. So at halftime, I instructed the team to create triangles on the sides and focus on effective passes that skip one player instead of simply sending the ball forward. I also mentioned that by dribbling from the sides, we can increase our chances of set plays and convert them into goals. We need to rebuild as a team in these aspects. As the players are already talented, they tend to have this kind of psychological state as the stage gets bigger. We must firmly establish the team's shape. I truly congratulate Tokyo."