On the 8th, after the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 5 match Fagiano Okayama [SPORTS FOR PEACE! DAY], captain Takahiro Sekine reflected on Trial and shared his thoughts on the first win of the season.

"I'm happy that we won today, but we need to keep doing this on a regular basis. We can't just be happy about it."

(I think they showed a strong forward-leaning attitude from the beginning Trial.)
"I had the same attitude of attacking from the front as I did in the previous Trial. I think it was good that I was able to control that well and get the win."

(I think the side halves have had to work harder now.)
"Because we're attacking from the front, I think we're using less energy if we can go forward. That means we're able to save more power for our attacks, and I think we were able to spend more time pushing forward with our attacks, especially in the first half today."

(Was the intention to hit Thiago Santana and push the whole team?)
"Rather than hitting Thiago (Santana), Yasushi (Matsumoto) would run behind the defense and use a passillo, then push up the line and pass the ball around in the opponent's half a lot of the time. There was a lot of side-to-side play, so I think it was difficult for the opponent to defend."

(But the offside goal was ruled an offside, but we had some attacking depth.)
"Several people were involved. From me to Ogi (Takuya Ogiwara), I think we were able to create a fairly solid attack in that scene, and overall I think we were able to move fluidly while changing positions."

(How do you deal with wing-backs in a three-back formation?)
"Today, our forwards and wingers went to attack the three at the back, while we, the fullbacks, slid to attack the opposing wingers, and our defensive midfielders kept an eye on the defensive midfielders. We made sure to clearly decide who was going to look where. From the start, I didn't think they were a team that would pass the ball around that well, so I figured they would kick the ball if we got out at the right time. I think we were able to bring it to that stage."

(In the second half, the opponents started to apply more pressure from the front, but what do you think about turning that around?)
"The defensive midfielders were coming on at just the right time, and both (Matsumoto) Yasushi and Thiago were able to receive the ball not just from behind the defense, but at their feet as well. So I think we were able to create periods of time where we were able to have the ball on a number of occasions."

(During the time spent fixing things, was there any communication about how to make a block?)
"Yes, today we discussed amongst ourselves when to switch back to 4-4-2 and what to do if we can't go forward. I was able to communicate with everyone today, so I think that was good."

(What did you keep in mind when organizing your team at a time when you had to go on the defensive?)
"Today, I made use of what I had learned so far and immediately tried to communicate with the players who came on, and even though I was on the opposite wing in the second half, I went to talk to the coach. It's a small thing, but I tried to be conscious of conveying the shared understanding of the team to everyone on the pitch."

(Are you consciously trying to communicate with various players?)
"That's right. I was able to communicate with everyone, including Thiago, Yasushi, Samuel (Gustafsson), and Marius (Høibraten). I was able to communicate with Kaito (Yasui) and Takuro (Kaneko) because we're in a similar position, but I was also conscious of trying to get through to the players on the opposite side as well. This is so that the team doesn't get confused about what to do. By checking whether the current situation is OK, it gives them the confidence to carry on as is, and the players at the back can believe in and follow the players up front if they think it's OK. We place great importance on communication in this area."

(Did you tell everyone before Trial that you were going to do something like that?)
"I had thought and said that, and I feel like I did it. Even if you think it, you have to make the time. If Trial is fast-paced, there's no chance to take that time, so I was conscious of how to do it. So I was conscious of speaking up about the timing of substitutions in the second half and during set pieces in the first half."

(Would he have done that even if he wasn't the captain?)
"That's an area where I've changed a lot, and of course I have to concentrate on my own play, but I think there's more to this role than that, so I take that responsibility seriously."

(The captain of the opposing team was your former teammate, Ataru Esaka?)
"Even before Trial, we were saying, 'Things like this happen,' (laughs). It was special to play against opposing teams, and to have both captains compete on the pitch at Saitama Stadium."

(This was your first official victory as captain. Do you have any special feelings about it?)
"Not really, but I feel more strongly that we need to carry this momentum forward. We believed that because we won one game, something would change, and we really need to change that for the next game. We need to make the most of this win in the next Trial, so I don't think we can celebrate anything yet."

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