2012 Season is here! Taking on the first FUJI XEROX SUPER CUP

　On Mar 3 (Sat), the FUJI XEROX SUPER CUP 2012, which marks the start of the season before the J1 League match, will be held. Tokyo, the reigning champion of the Emperor's Cup last season, will face Kashiwa Reysol, the J1 League champion. Tokyo, with new coach Popovic, has set the slogan "C.O.A Football" and aims to play organized, attacking, and attractive football. After starting with 8 new players in late January, they have accumulated two camps and training in Kodaira, and finally they will show their appearance.

　During this time, Ishikawa left the team to participate in the Japan national team, Gonda participated in the U-23 Japan national team, and Hyun Soo JANG participated in the U-23 South Korea national team. During practice, the team tried various combinations without fixing the members. Coach Popovic expects the players to be able to play multiple positions and explained, "Combination is not about 'who is good with whom', but about being able to have good coordination with anyone. That is what team combination is." Regardless of who plays, they have focused on playing with the same quality towards their desired style of soccer.

　The coach said, "I have selected the best 18 players in terms of tactical understanding and physical condition at this point in time," and appointed Tokunaga as the center back. Ota, a new addition, will play as the left fullback, Hasegawa will play as the attacking midfielder, with goalkeeper Shiota, right fullback Mukuhara, and a double pivot of Kajiyama and Takahashi. Ishikawa and Yuzawa will be on the wings, and Lucas will be up front."

　Kashiwa, as you know, won the title in J1 last season, just after being promoted. This season is the third season with coach NELSINHO in charge. The tactical penetration has increased, taking control with organized defense and intense pressing, showcasing an attacking style of play that utilizes the high abilities of forward Leandro Domingues, midfielder Jorginho Wagner, and forward Tanaka.

　However, in response to that, Coach Popovic stated, "We have not conveyed Kashiwa's analysis to the players. At this point, it is important for us to analyze our own football on the pitch and focus on our own game." It will be crucial to see how we can express what we have been working on so far on the pitch and continue to play Tokyo-style football. This match is also important in terms of predicting the season. The game started with Kashiwa's kickoff at 13:36 in the calm and sunny National Stadium, despite the cold wind.

Despite taking control, FC Tokyo conceded 2 goals to Kashiwa, failing to capitalize on their chances...

　Tokyo, who started with momentum right from the beginning, launched an attack by connecting passes and approaching the opponent's territory. Takahashi unleashed a highly accurate shot. Although it was saved by the Kashima goalkeeper, Tokyo did not hesitate and continued to attack. In the 10th minute, Ota made a breakthrough and earned a free kick just outside the left area. Tanizawa took the kick and sent the ball towards the far post, but it was cleared by the goalkeeper. In the 15th minute, Tokyo demonstrated their strength in winning the ball. Takahashi intercepted the ball from Mori's play at the defensive line, and Ishikawa broke through the opponent on the right side and cut inside. Tokyo took control of the game by connecting passes and focusing on side attacks.

　17 minutes, a vertical pass to Lucas before Hasegawa in the center receives a pass from the right side, and he shoots directly but it goes over the bar. In the 18th minute, Kajiyama drops the ball to Yazuwa, and Takahashi takes a shot. In the 19th minute, Yazuwa sends a long floating ball to Ishikawa who is trying to break through the opponent's defense. He neatly controls it, quickly turns the opponent's defense, and takes a shot, but it goes wide.

　However, just 26 minutes later, a big development was launched from the Kashiwa DF line, and Kashiwa MF Jorginho, who received the ball in the midfield, advanced with a dribble. Seeing no press, he swung his left foot without hesitation just before the penalty arc... and was struck by a powerful shot. Tokyo had been progressing well in the game, but they couldn't score a goal during that period and instead allowed Kashiwa to take the lead.

　In the 41st minute, Kashiwa MF Leandro Domingues headed the ball from a free kick. The shot was saved by Shibata in the bottom left corner! Then, Tokunaga cleared the ball high, but Morishige committed a foul against Kashiwa FW Kitajima in Tokyo's left area, resulting in a penalty kick. In the 42nd minute, Kashiwa MF Leandro Domingues confidently scored this penalty kick, unfortunately conceding the second goal and ending the first half.

Display our soccer and Hasegawa marks his first goal. Gain confidence and harvest

　Despite being two points behind, they calmly tried to counterattack with their own soccer and the second half became an attacking battle. In the 50th minute, from a coordinated pass play, Yuzawa broke through into the area and appeared to be fouled by the Kashiwa DF, but instead Yuzawa was penalized. In the 54th minute, Kashiwa made a move from the right side and FW Kitajima received the ball in front of the goal and took a shot. The course of the ball changed after hitting the Tokyo DF, but Shibata quickly adjusted and saved it. In the 57th minute, Ota attacked from the left side and passed to Hasegawa in the center. Kashiwa anticipated this pass and marked him tightly, but Hasegawa persistently connected with Lucas and turned around for a shot. However, it went wide of the goal.

　In the 58th minute, Watanabe was substituted for Ishikawa and brought to the front line. Lucas slightly pulled back, and Hasegawa moved to the right MF position in an attempt to score a goal. In the 60th minute, Hasegawa broke through the right side from Morishige's vertical pass and crossed to Watanabe in front of the goal. Watanabe controlled the ball with his chest but couldn't take a shot. Tokyo's desired style of play paid off in the 65th minute. Watanabe received a vertical pass from Hasegawa, who had just barely escaped offside, and skillfully kept the ball before moving to the left. Takahashi, who had moved up to support perfectly, made a precise final pass in front of the goal. Hasegawa then shot and scored! Although it was initially saved, he followed up with a header and GOAL!! He scored his first goal since transferring and also the team's first goal of the season!

　In the 73rd minute, Hanyu was substituted for Yawazawa. Tokyo continued to create big chances by utilizing their energy and movement. In the 78th minute, Hanyu made a sharp run from the far side and jumped in front of the opponent's defense in the penalty area, heading the ball freely. It was a decisive opportunity, but it went wide to the right... Immediately after, Watanabe dribbled on the right side. Hanyu ran into the penalty area in response and received a final pass from Watanabe, creating another decisive scene, but the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper's save...

　In the 85th minute, Kono replaced Takahashi. In the final stages, both teams stretched their lines and launched counterattacks. In stoppage time, there was a scene where the shot from Kashiwa MF Leandro Domingues hit the crossbar, but they didn't allow a goal and the game ended with a score of 1-2. They couldn't grasp the victory, but it was a game where they could demonstrate Tokyo's strengths along with the challenges. They should have gained confidence, harvest, and created expectations for the future.

　【Player Comment】《Hasegawa》"In the first half, we were able to move the ball well up until the goal, but the support from Lucas when he went forward was slow. So we talked about it at halftime and focused on playing closer to Lucas. I was thinking of running between the defender and the goalkeeper to score a goal. Then, Takahashi delivered a good ball near the goal. Scoring goals is not the only way to contribute to the team, and today's goal was not solely my effort. I think it was great that we created chances by connecting passes together. I believe that individuals can shine within the team's efforts, so I want to continue playing like that and aim for more goals."

　"[Takahashi] "I think the consciousness of all the players moving the ball together and trying to score a goal had permeated. However, I realized that we need to tighten up more on the defensive side and in terms of countering the opponent. Towards the end of the game, we were often pushed back by the opponent's momentum and they were able to take shots. When we lose the ball and how we as a group take care of the defense in the box afterwards, I want to improve in that area."

　[Coach Popovich's press conference summary] "I couldn't enjoy it from the bottom of my heart because of the result, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Looking back on the content based on the end of the training camp and the first official match, I think it wasn't bad. We were able to take the initiative throughout the game. Unfortunately, we lacked accuracy in finishing and couldn't convert it into results, but we should have shown what we want to do and what we are aiming for. I have the impression that we were a little short of luck in terms of competition. It's common in soccer, but Kashiwa connected the first shot to the goal and scored the second goal with the third shot."

　We are still in the process of creating a new team, and I think that's where the difference in experience lies. Today, I would like to congratulate Kashiwa Reysol. The challenge we faced today was inviting trouble from our own mistakes. Both Morishige and Tokunaga made mistakes once, and decisive situations were created from the center-backs. We need to fix that. However, the season is still long, so we want to steadily build up one by one. Today was a soccer festival, and I think we were able to show a satisfying game that everyone could enjoy. Of course, we are not satisfied with the result, and from here on, we want to firmly correct the issues and move on to the next step."

　[Summary of Kashiwa NELSINHO's press conference] "It was the second game of the season for us as an official team, but both teams were not in their usual rhythm. Especially, we were pushed back by the opponent's press and had to focus more on defense. Even when we won the ball in our own half, we quickly lost it again and faced continuous attacks from our own mistakes. At the stage where we were trying to find the organization of our defense, MF JORGINHO Wagner's goal brought stability to the team. After that, we took care not to let the opponent's number 10, Kajiyama, create opportunities and were able to finish the first half in a stable manner."

　In the second half, there were moments when the opponent, who had strong players and various options, created good opportunities and pushed us back. However, we were also able to create several decisive chances on the counter, so if we had scored additional points there, the situation would have been different."