Post-match comments for the 2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 11 Trial against Yokohama F･Marinos

“I think we started well and were in control of the game, but it was a very evenly matched game with both teams creating chances in the final third. However, neither team was able to create enough chances to score.

We were patient and kept applying high pressure, and then (Matheus) Savio scored a very clever free kick. I think it was one of the key moments of Trial.

We were able to take the lead, but at halftime I told the players to press harder and try to get a second goal. Although the goal came from the opponent's mistake, I think we played well enough to deserve it.

After that, we stole the ball in the middle zone and created several chances. One of them was a shot by (Matsuo) Yusuke. However, we conceded a goal from a quick restart by the opponent, and we were in a bad situation. F.Marinos sensed that this was an opportunity to score another goal, so they pressed forward. Our defensive position was very low, but I think (Asahi) Uenaka's shot was very lucky.

When we substituted the players, the instructions were to press higher and defend further from our own goal. Then, from a loose ball after a corner kick, (Haraguchi) Genki put in a great ball for (Danilo) Bosa to score, which made things a little easier for us.

The players worked hard with a great attitude and did a great job. There were some scenes today where we could say we were lucky, but the players played with determination and high motivation. They showed a high conversion rate when they had chances.

Although we have now won three games in a row, we were a little too quick to create chances for the opposition today. We need to work hard to fix that.”

[Question and Answer Session]
(F.Marinos used to build up with three players, which didn't work well against Kashiwa Reysol and Shonan Bellmare, but maybe they've become more patient instead of going all out and getting kicked out?)
"The high press can change depending on Trial. For example, in today's Trial, we started pressing when the ball was passed by the goalkeeper. The F.Marinos goalkeeper (Park Ik-kyu) is the type who takes a high position even in zone 1 and is actively involved in the build-up, so I think that by not going forward when the ball was passed to the goalkeeper, it appeared that we were patiently waiting and waiting.

Other than the second goal, we weren't able to seize the ball close to the opponent's penalty area very often, but we did manage to steal the ball near the halfway line and launch short counterattacks on a number of occasions.

In the match against Kashiwa Reysol, the pressing technique I prepared didn't work well. You have to prepare things like that while taking into account the characteristics of the players you have."

(Recently, Yoichi Naganuma has been used more and I thought he was great in today's game. He seems to be a player who is conscious of keeping the ball when winning.)
"He's a player who originally played on the winger and is better at keeping the ball than the defenders. I think he has a good combination of skill, intelligence and reading the game. It's good to see him doing well, but it makes things a little more difficult for Takuya Ogiwara."

(During the second half, you called on Samuel Gustafson and Genki Haraguchi to give instructions, and it seemed like the momentum settled down from there, but what kind of instructions did you give them?)
"The instructions were simple: push forward and press from the front, and defend further from our own penalty area. (Matsumoto) Yasushi was getting behind the defense on attacks, but when the score became 2-1, the line dropped a little, so I told the players to not do that, but to go further forward, even when making substitutions."

(Matheus Savio and Ryoma Watanabe are important players, and when they get tired, the team loses control. What adjustments do you think are needed?)
"I think the coordination between Savio, Ryoma and Yusuke is improving with each game. We had played three consecutive Trial of very high intensity in seven Trial, but we took the risk of not changing the starters today. With the idea that if we started well in the first half, it would be easier from then on, we used 11 players who could be considered our current best 11 from the first half. We were lucky to score two goals, towards the end of the first half and at the start of the second half. However, in the future, if there are opportunities like two or three days between games, I think we will rotate the players more."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]