On the 11th, manager Maciej Skorza held an online press conference, where he spoke about his enthusiasm for the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 10 match against FC Machida Zelvia which will be held at the National Stadium on Sunday, April 13th.

(Kai Shibato returned to the team during the recent open practice. I think we've seen him in 2023, but what do you think of his strengths and the role you'd like him to play?)
"I worked with Kai two years ago. He is a very solid, reliable defensive midfielder. I hope to see him in the J-League. What we can expect from him is the stability of his play and the balance between offense and defense. He is a hard worker and a fighter, so I think his personality is also very good."

(I think you had a long conversation with fellow Samuel Gustafson after training the other day, probably for 30 minutes. What did you talk about?)
"We talked about his role in the team and what he can improve. His attacking build-up ability is at a very high level, but there is still room for him to grow, which is important for the team."

(What is the ideal defensive midfielder for Coach Maciej?)
"High intensity is required in the J.League, so I think defensive midfielders need to keep that up for the entire 90 minutes. A few years ago, defensive midfielders weren't expected to be fast, but in modern football, especially in the J.League, quick switches are required, so that is also required. Also, in terms of attacking skills, not only do they need to take part in the build-up in zones 1 and 2, but they also need to run up to zone 3 and take shots."

(Machida is very strong in aerial duels. Even in the data for this season, he has the highest win rate in aerial duels, but what are your thoughts on how to deal with aerial duels?)
"That's a good question. Today we trained on set pieces, and we worked on countering Machida, who have set pieces that make use of their strength in aerial battles. Overall, it's important to win in the air against Machida, who are strong in aerial battles, but I think it's also important not to let them do what they want when we're not winning. Second balls are also very important. For example, in the match against Kawasaki (Frontale), we scored a goal from the second ball after Hayashi (Kotaro)'s long throw, and I think the goal we conceded recently was due to us losing the second ball, rather than an aerial battle."

(In attack, Thiago Santana contributes a lot to the defense and runs a lot, but on the other hand, he spends a lot of time not in front of the opponent's goal. If he was in front of the opponent's goal, wouldn't we score more goals?)
"After breaking through the opponent's final line, we need to penetrate into the penalty area, and I think that's an area we need to improve on, especially with our strikers, who need to be at the back."

(The match against Machida will be your 10th Trial of the season, and you have already played nearly a quarter of the matches. At the beginning of the season, you said that you wanted to find a strong first group as soon as possible. Do you feel that you can compete in this first group? Do you think it would be better to change players and set up a new team? Do you feel that you need to make new changes to your options for scoring goals?)
"After nine Trial, we need to think about what our potential is and what our current situation is. Also, with injuries and other issues, we have to adapt to our opponents. I think you all saw that we were giving different players a chance in some positions, for example at fullback. We were also rotating in the midfield, but I think that with (Watanabe) Ryoma's return we will be able to regain stability. Rather than trying out a new formation, sometimes we have to make changes because of injuries. After nine Trial, the group of starter candidates is starting to solidify, and we are looking for the best combination from within that."

You said that the fight for the second ball will be important in the Machida game, but I think that is one of Machida's strengths. What will the Reds need to do to compete against that?
"I think the timing of the movement in the fight for the second ball will be important. To that end, the sense of distance between the midfielders, including the wingers, will also be important. Especially in defence, if Machida picks up the second ball, he will be looking for the space behind us, which will create a very dangerous situation, so I think it is important to recover the second ball."

(I think there were Trial Trial where you were able to pick up second balls well, such as the match against Vissel Kobe, but when you can do that and when you can't, is that the difference between when you have good and bad balance, as you mentioned earlier?)
"When we think about game control, recovering second balls is a big factor. Looking at Machida, I think they have changed compared to last year, but they often use long balls to Oh Sehun. At that time, I think the two shadow players Nishimura (Takuma) and Soma (Yuki) are dangerous. They can dribble, shoot, and pass the ball to advance. I think that's something we need to suppress. However, at that time, Machida is also on the offensive, so if we can pick up the second ball, I think we can use the space behind the opponent and launch a dangerous counter attack."

(The match against Machida is an away game, but how do you feel about playing at the National Stadium?)
"The National Stadium is a special place to play soccer, so I hope we can compete there with high motivation."

(After the Machida match, you will have five consecutive home games. Is there anything special you are aware of since the Machida match is the first Trial before the home games? Also, how do you feel about playing five consecutive home Trial?)
"First of all, it is very disappointing that we have not won any of our six away games. We are playing an away game against the league leader Machida at the National Stadium. I think this is a golden opportunity for us to break our current streak.

As I always say about home games, our Saitama Stadium is a big advantage, so I think it's great to be able to play five Trial in that environment. Also, I want to play more aggressively at home, and I want to aim for that in a stadium where I can get the support of our fans and supporters."

(I understand that you have discussed the role with Gustafsson, but what role does Coach Maciej expect Gustafsson to play?)
"Samuel has the qualities and the ability to be a leader on this team. I can't go into too much detail about what we talked about the other day, but we did talk about how he will be able to demonstrate more leadership once he has some stability. We were just talking about how we can achieve that."

(What do you think is the reason why the team is not able to fully utilize Gustafsson's potential?)
"Until now, Samuel has played a different role in a different system. By incorporating him into my system, he will have more defensive roles. And he is trying hard to adapt to my style, so I am very grateful for that, but considering the new standards and opponents of the J.League this season, we also need to adapt to those."

(Looking at Trial so far, I think there have been good and bad results, as well as improvements and issues, but I feel that in many Trial the Reds have been more tired than their opponents. There are probably many reasons for this, but what do you think about this, manager Maciej?)
"I think that's an interesting perspective. I completely agree with you about the previous match. I think there were times when we struggled physically after 30 minutes of the first half and after we conceded a goal. I don't think we reacted well enough in the fight to catch up. However, I don't have that impression from Trial before that. I'm always looking at the data and talking with the physical coach and others, but I don't think the data shows anything like that."

(When Maciej was in charge of the Reds in 2023, the young players said that he would keep an equal eye on players who were not Trial. As the manager of a professional soccer team, it must be a difficult task to keep an equal eye on everyone, but what do you keep in mind?)
"First of all, I think it's important to have good communication and build good relationships with the players. When it comes to relationships with each player, there may be some that are very good and some that aren't so good. However, I think that awareness is necessary on both sides. I try to communicate with the players as much as possible. Of course, it's difficult to talk to everyone, but we have a talented staff, and we ask the Japanese coaches in particular to communicate with the players who are not playing in Trial. I think that Nobu-san and Coach Ikeda (Nobuyasu) in particular are very important in that regard."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]