On the 23rd, after the Meiji Yasuda J1 League round 1 match Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Takahiro Sekine spoke about his thoughts after the opening match of the season and his plans for the future.

(Looking back on Trial)
"We couldn't create time for our forwards to attack. There were many situations where the forwards were really carrying the ball and receiving it. When we were doing well, we were often facing forward and the ball was at our feet and we could attack, but in today's Trial I felt that when that wasn't the case, it was really important how much the forwards can help the team."

(We created a few chances in the first 15 minutes or so, including one close shot by Yoshio Koizumi.)
"That's right. It was the same with the scene where I went to the near post, but I wish I could have imagined a scene like that and created it throughout Trial. But my impression was that our number 8 (inside half) and defensive midfielder were tired and couldn't make progress well."

(It seemed like the team was under pressure from the other team, especially at the start of the second half. What was your intention as a team to break away from that pressure?)
"We became more conscious of the need to connect more, and our positioning gradually dropped back, which I think was one of the reasons. The players up front were staying strong, but the No. 8 (inside half) player kept dropping back, and he ended up closing off the space in front of himself. I think the fact that we conceded a goal in the first half also led to our impatience."

(Per-Mathias Hoegmo, the manager, uses the phrase "I want to dominate," but I think there is another way to play, not just by having the ball, but by kicking it behind the defense to some extent and making use of the good wingers that are there.)
"That's true. I think we could have done better. However, throughout the preseason, we had been able to get past our opponents without creating those kinds of scenes, and we were not able to share that image with everyone. However, in the meeting, we had talked about how it was 7 vs. 7 in our own territory, which means it was 3 vs. 3 in the opponent's territory. We had talked about how we wanted to get behind the opponents' backs, but that didn't work out."

(Since 2022, they have failed to score in the opening games, making it three straight losses.)
"I feel like I'm making progress, so I think I'll keep getting better and better. I'm also looking forward to seeing what kind of solutions I can come up with against these types of opponents in the next match. I hope I can grow day by day, and I really do feel that I am growing."

(There was a scene where Thiago Santana was crushed, but in this system, when the inside halves tend to drop back, did the center forward have a hard time being isolated?)
"It would be best if we could resolve it there, but if that's not possible, then the wingers will have to do something about it. I think it would have been better if we could have sorted out the solution a little more clearly while considering Pos of priorities."

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