The "heat" of Trial cannot be discussed without taking into account the presence of the supporters.
Perhaps this only applies to Urawa Reds, or perhaps it's just my own feeling, so let me rephrase it this way.
If Kiyoo were to talk about the excitement of Urawa Reds Trial, he would have to mention the supporters.

Memories of Trial can become stronger or weaker depending not only on the content of the match, but also on the situation at the time, such as the state of the team and the relative strength of the two teams. If I were asked to name the most exciting Trial against Kashima, I would immediately think of the away game on October 23, 2004. I don't have the space to go into detail about it, so I'll just say it was the "first 3,000-person bus tour."
If asked to pick a memorable home game against Kashima, I would have a hard time picking one, but I would settle on Saitama Stadium on April 13, 2008. That was 17 years ago, which, in my opinion, is about three periods ago in Reds history.

The previous year, the Reds not only participated in the ACL for the first time, but also became the first Japanese team to win the title. They had maintained first place in the J.League since the 21st round, and were on the verge of achieving both the Asian and league double crowns.
It was Kashima that prevented them from achieving this milestone. As of November 14th, when they clinched the ACL title, they were six points ahead of the team with three league Trial remaining. In 2006, they had won the championship by beating the second-place team, who were three points behind them with three Trial remaining.
It's clear that Kashima didn't cheat in any way, but rather that the Reds self-destructed, but I continued to vent all my anger at Kashima in my heart and into the new year.

At the time, the winning club in the ACL was given the right to participate in the following year's tournament, so we started 2008 with great enthusiasm, determined to win the double crown of both the ACL and the J.League.
However, after two straight losses at the start of the season, manager Holger Osieck was fired. Forcing a manager to resign after Trial was tantamount to the club admitting its own mistakes, but the team was not in a position to worry about such criticism.
Fortunately, under the leadership of new manager Gerd Engels, who was promoted from coach, the team pulled together and stopped the losing streak at two. In fact, they won three games in a row from the third round, heading into the sixth round on April 13th.
Their opponent, Kashima, had won five straight games since the start of the season and was in first place with 15 points. The Reds had risen to fourth Pos, and they were an opponent they absolutely had to beat if they wanted to win the league.

Before the players entered the field, Kashima supporters behind the south goal began arranging what appeared to be large cutouts of paper or cloth in the shape of the alphabet. However, the letters were overlapping, upside down, or placed in the wrong places, so they did not form any meaningful words.
However, longtime Reds supporters would have recognized the message. On November 2, 1996, during a match between Urawa and Kashima at the old National Stadium, Kashima supporters also displayed the message in the stands at a similar time and in a similar manner. While this would probably not be possible in today's J.League, it was an insult directed at the Reds. At the time, the message was legible, and displaying such words in a public place drew considerable criticism.

Kashima won that Trial in 1996 in extra time, putting the Reds' chances of winning the championship behind them, and Kashima went on to win the J.League.
Perhaps it was not because they were so impressed, but Kashima supporters tried to do the same thing at Saitama Stadium 12 years later and failed. Perhaps some supporters resisted the word "completion."

After that scene, it was time for the players to enter the field.
A win would close the gap to the leaders to just three goals in this crucial early game. Reds supporters launched their first visual support of the season. They painted the north goal red and wrote the word "URAWA" in white. Each letter was outlined in black, making the letters pop out clearly against the red background. It was a simple message to appeal to the players, but the level of execution was the best among Reds supporters at the time, and therefore the best in the J.League.

The Reds started cautiously and played a somewhat passive role in the first half, but Yuichiro Nagai, who came on in the second half, scored the opening goal in the 49th minute. After that, Kashima's counterattack was repelled by goalkeeper Ryuta Tsuzuki and everyone else, and just before the end of the game, Nagai intercepted a back pass to the goalkeeper to score an additional goal. In the end, it was a complete 2-0 victory.
The moment the final whistle blew, Engels clenched his fists and roared towards the main stand, making it clear just how badly he wanted this victory.

They defeated the previous year's champions and their arch rivals, Kashima. After two straight losses, they made a V-shaped recovery with four straight wins, solidifying their pursuit of the league title. With the fastest managerial change in J.League history, just two Trial into the season, there were probably other clubs secretly gloating, thinking, "The Reds are finished." Supporters held up signs reading "Urawa Reds are here," but that was exactly the sentiment they were feeling: "Sorry to keep you waiting. The Reds aren't finished."
It was the second time this season that I had heard "We are DIAMONDS" after Trial, but on this day it sounded particularly high and loud, and I don't think it was just because of the 54,450 people in attendance.

As I was taking photos of the supporters with expressions of complete dissatisfaction, I heard a Reds supporter behind the goal say something, likely directed at the Kashima supporters who were getting ready to go home.
"You guys have already lost before the fight even begins!"
That reminded me of the farce before Trial, but anyway.
That's right. Although they have a significantly worse record than Kashima, I have never felt that Reds supporters are losing. Of course, my perception is probably quite biased, but even if I take that into account, my feelings remain the same.
Since 2022, we have been in a close battle, drawing seven consecutive Trial. We will use our strength as a home team to the fullest, even more than our fullest, to score the final point that will decide the outcome.
I want September 20th to be that day.

About 13 years ago, I wrote something like this:

I started working with Urawa Reds in 1997, the year Shinji Ono made his debut in the J League. I have been photographing the club ever since.
She was quite beautiful, gorgeous for a country girl, had an incredibly high sense of pride, and although her personality was troublesome, she also had a cute side to her, and although she always said thank you for loving me, she had no qualms about hurting other people's feelings. I'd been with her for 16 years. There were many times, no, many times, when I thought maybe it would be better to break up with her (lol).

Ever since the Reds began playing at Saitama Stadium, I've made it a habit to choose a particularly exciting Trial each season, climb onto the north side of the scoreboard, and take photos from there. From 2006 to 2007, the view from the scoreboard—the main area, the back area, and the area behind the south goal—was like a Persian carpet sewn with the finest red thread, packed to the brim with Reds supporters. However, after peaking that year, the Reds' form began to decline, and one by one, the teammates who had been there the previous week, clapping and cheering, began to disappear. Even behind the goal, gaps began to become noticeable during Trial.

But even so, for me as a photographer, the north side electronic billboard remained the best spot for taking photos. Even though their numbers had dwindled, I never got tired of taking pictures of them shouting, raising their arms, waving flags, and waving their scarves. The photos I could take from there were always rare and beautiful images that could only be taken in that place in the world...

I wonder what Trial it was in 2010.
The Reds were trailing, and their performance was terrible. The supporters were chanting frantically, but their voices were laced with an indescribable exhaustion. It wasn't that it was painful to make noise, but rather that the act of cheering itself seemed painful. And yet, it seemed as if they were desperately trying to squeeze out a voice from deep within their bodies, in keeping with the contract they had made with themselves. In all my years of photographing the Reds, it was the first time I had ever had such a strange, sad impression.

But even so, they continued to sing until the very end that day.
Because they were Urawa Reds supporters that day too.

This article is accompanied by a photo of Urawa Reds vs. Kashima Antlers held on August 28, 2010. As someone who has been taking soccer photos for a long time, this is one of the best photos I have ever taken.
And if someone were to ask me what "Urawa Reds vs. Kashima Antlers" means, I'd probably show them this photo, say something like, and not say anything more.

It seems that humans have a tendency to feel a sense of rivalry with their teammates. Even in soccer, there is a psychological tendency to think, "I can't lose to a team from the same town."
The J.League also has numerous "derbies," such as the Kanagawa Derby and Tokyo Derby, which involve multiple clubs, the Osaka Derby between Gamba Osaka and Cerezo Osaka, and even the somewhat far-fetched Tamagawa Clasico between FC Tokyo and Kawasaki Frontale, all of which stoke the competitive spirit of fans and supporters with every Trial.
However, this match, without any special name, and regardless of the team's current situation or Pos, gets fans excited: "Urawa Reds vs. Kashima Antlers."

Perhaps it's because they're both clubs that have been with the J.League since its founding, or because they're both "red." A major factor, I think, is that both clubs boast overwhelming supporter power, but that's not the only reason. The history of fierce battles between the two clubs naturally fuels the fighting spirit of their supporters.

In the J.League era, the Reds have faced each other in official matches for exactly 90 games, with 29 wins, 21 draws, and 40 losses, a total of 116 goals scored and 128 conceded, resulting in a poor record. In the five years since the start of the J.League, from 1993 to 1997, the Reds played 16 Trial, winning only Trial of them. They were at a massive disadvantage. The Reds' victories came in 1993 and 1995, both at home, with the score at 2-1.
The away game in April 1998 put a big wedge in this "negative history." The Reds fell behind early, but 18-year-old Shinji Ono dominated Trial thereafter. Fukunaga Yasushi tied the score in the first half, and then Ono and Oshiba Kenji scored consecutive goals early in the second half to turn the game around, before Aitor Begiristain scored a goal to seal a 4-1 victory. It was the Reds' first win at Kashima Stadium after an eight-game losing streak.

In the J.League, the 2016 "Championship Final" gave a sense of the "weight" of this match.
Due to J.League circumstances, the "two-stage system" was reinstated for just two seasons, the previous year and this year. The Reds dominated the "second stage" with 13 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in 17 Trial, earning 41 points, a record of 74 points for the year, but they still needed to win the championship to secure the title of "champion." Kashima won the first stage with 39 points, but performed poorly in the second stage, finishing in 11th place with 20 points. Their total points for the year were 59.
In the first match at Kashima Stadium, both teams played cautiously, but the Reds secured a 1-0 victory thanks to a penalty kick from Abe Yuki in the 12th minute of the second half. Then came the second match at Saitama Stadium. With a roaring crowd of 59,837 fans on the pitch, the Reds' ace striker, Shinzo Koroki scored a beautiful volley from Takagi Toshiyuki's cross in the 7th minute of the first half to make the total score 2-0. Needing two goals, Kashima fought back fiercely, making the score 1-1 in the first half, but neither team scored in the second half. The match ended in a draw, and it seemed as though the Reds would clinch their second J.League title with one win and one draw.
However, in the 34th minute of the second half, 20-year-old Suzuki Yuma broke away on a counter attack and fell after getting tangled up with Makino Tomoaki, resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. Suzuki insisted that he would take the kick himself, but in the end it was left to ace Kanazaki Yumeo, who scored, making Trial 1-2. Trial ended as it was. The total score for the two games was 2-2, but due to the away goals rule, Kashima was crowned the "annual champions."

The two clubs have also fought fiercely in cup competitions, with the Trial consecutive Nabisco Cup (now the Levain Cup) finals at the National Stadium in 2002 and 2003 being particularly unforgettable for Reds fans and supporters.
2002 was the Reds' first chance to win the title. Led by manager Hans Ooft, the Reds had made rapid progress in the second half of the season and at one point looked set to take the lead in the league. However, Kashima had the upper hand. In the 14th minute of the second half, Kashima midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara's shot, which had completely missed the goal, hit Ihara Masami's body, and the rebound went past goalkeeper Norihiro Yamagishi and into the goal, marking Pts.
But a year later, the Reds never looked back. Yamase Koji's header in the 13th minute gave them the lead. In the 36th minute, Emerson and Tsuboi Keisuke collided, both suffering head lacerations. Tsuboi, who had a cut above his left eye, was carried off on a stretcher, but manager Ooft chose not to make a substitution. Tsuboi underwent stitches in the National Stadium locker room at halftime and returned to the pitch. In the second half, the Reds, backed by Emerson, Tanaka Tatsuya and Emerson, stormed back to win 4-0 and clinched their first title.

However, the match that I personally remember most vividly was the 16th round Trial held at Komaba Stadium on July 7th, 1993, in the first stage of the season. This was Trial that would determine whether Kashima would win the stage. The Reds, struggling at the bottom of the league, had no chance of winning, so Kashima won with ease, 2-0, and secured the championship.
That year, the J.League was in the midst of a frenzy. More than 500 members of the press gathered at Komaba Stadium to celebrate the team's memorable first championship. It was completely over capacity, but Mitsunori Fujiguchi, who was in charge of PR for the Reds at the time, accepted all applications.

The only aim of the TV stations and camera crews that day was to see Kashima manager Miyamoto Masakatsu and Zico tossed in the air. But Kashima disappointed those expectations. After Trial, the Kashima players, clad in their white uniforms, went to the stands where over 500 supporters were stationed, waved, and then headed straight to the locker room. Naturally, there were shouts of rage from the press. After the next match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima (an unfortunate sudden-death defeat), Kashima tossed their manager in the air to the cheers of the packed Kashima Stadium fans and supporters.
At Komaba Stadium, Kashima Antlers were considerate of the feelings of the Reds' fans and supporters. I understand the press's requests. The J.League may have wanted the news to reach fans nationwide. However, Kashima was well aware that the reason for their impressive run in the first stage was the fans and supporters who always filled the newly completed Kashima Stadium and gave them thunderous cheers. Their attitude of valuing their own club's fans and supporters led to their consideration for the fans and supporters of the opposing club. I will never forget the actions of the Kashima Antlers at that time.

Of course, soccer is a game in which teams, fans, and supporters alike give their all to defeat their opponents and win. While the Reds were overwhelmingly underdogs against Kashima in the 1990s in the J.League, in this century the Reds' record in J1 is 15 wins, 17 draws, and 17 losses. With 55 goals scored and 59 conceded, it's a near-event. And since 2022, they have played seven games against Kashima, drawing seven in a row, meaning they've drawn seven in a row.
Every J.League club is nervous about playing against the Reds at Saitama Stadium. This is because they are intimidated by the overwhelming power of the Reds' supporters. However, Kashima may be one of the few teams that can turn that "fear" into "fighting spirit." The only way to end their history of "stalemates" (a situation in chess where there is no decisive move) against such an opponent, three consecutive draws at home and four away games, is with cheers that surpass any previous Trial.
The Reds players, led by manager Maciej Skorja, will be setting their sights on this match, and will surely be in top condition to play Trial that they will put their lives on the line in. If there is anything that can connect that dedication to a victory that only the "goddess of soccer" can predict, it must be the "extraordinary power" of the Reds supporters, which even the Kashima players fear.

The match at Saitama Stadium on September 20th is truly a "match that must be decided."