On November 11, Maciej Skorza coach held a press conference online and expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming Meiji Yasuda J1 League 29th Gamba Osaka match at the Panasonic Stadium Suita on (Sat) the 13th.

(There are only 10 Trial remaining in this season. Unfortunately, there are no more cup games, so you will have to concentrate on the league. Gamba OSAKA What do you think about the team's condition for the game and the status of the players who were unable to play in the YBC Lewan Cup due to medical or physical reasons?)
First of all, for us, we have had some hard days since the last Trial. Not being able to continue to play in the Emperor's Cup and the Lewan Cup is a difficult situation for us. As you said, there are 10 Trial league games left, and we want to inject all our resources into them and focus on fighting. We have talked about it with the team, and we want to get as many points as possible while avoiding simple mistakes, especially Trial at the end of the game. After a tough loss, we have tried to create an atmosphere as if we were playing a final against Gamba. I think our goals are achievable and we can improve our Standings position.

Regarding players, first of all (Mateusz) Savio is suspended for the Gamba game. Ryoma Watanabe The good news for us is that (Mateusz) Savio is close to returning to action. Samuel Gustafson We also have the good news that (Mateusz) Savio is back and ready to play. The players have been training with a very good attitude during the past week, and we can see that they are ready to stand up and fight once again here, so I think we can aim for three points against Gamba.

Another good thing is that the Kai Shibato incident was not too serious and they are still participating in practice today and are ready for the next Trial."

(Looking at the rest of the schedule, many of the matchups with the top teams are home games. On the other hand, as with this Gamba OSAKA game, the key may be how many away games you win, which you are not good at, what are your thoughts on that?)
'We have 6 Trial away Trial games left and so far the results have been far from what we expected. If we think we have achieved our goal, we must change the trend of away games. In the game against Gamba, we will try to maintain a good performance all the way from the referee's kick-off whistle to the final whistle. As you said, I think Trial like the Gamba game will affect the final Pos."

(In the second game against Kawasaki Frontale in the YBC Lewan Cup, Shusaku Nishikawa player made a painful mistake. He is an experienced player, so I think he can recover himself, but Maciej how does the coach see the goalkeeper playing a challenging game? Hasn't he changed his mind about leaving it to him until the end?)
I think mistakes happen as we build up from zone one. We had feedback on the Kawasaki game, and we talked about how to avoid such mistakes. I hope that will be the last time we lose a goal like that this season. Shusaku is a great goalkeeper with a great personality and a lot of experience, so I believe he will be the strong point of the team until the end of the season."

( What are your impressions of Gamba OSAKA)
Gamba is quite an aggressive team and they have scored 8 goals in the last 2 Trial. However, they have also scored 6 goals, so that is also important information for us. (Daniel) I think coach Poyatos is quite an aggressive person, but he has changed his defensive style a bit during this season. Especially at the wings. However, I think Gamba is thinking about how to score first. They have the ability to build up well from the defensive line. For example, Fukuoka (Shota) is a good example. Handa (Riku) and newcomer Hatsuse (Ryo) are also attacking side backs. However, I think Gamba's best features are both wingers and Usami (Takashi). I think that will be a key point in the next Trial."

(I think there was a time in the second game against Kawasaki in the YBC Lewan Cup when Isaac Kiese Thelin and Hiiro Komori were used as the top two, and I got the impression that Komori kept a good balance while moving hygienically around Isaac. Do you have any thoughts on adopting the two top players in the future?)
'We were trying out a two-top in training before this last Trial. And we decided that it works. So I think it will be an option in the future, and we may use it against Gamba."

(You haven't won an away game this season, but do you remember that two years ago you didn't lose an away game, although there were 10 Trial left and the AFC Champions League was also there, so there was a long 10 Trial left?)
'I honestly didn't remember. But it is very positive news."

(Maciej coach took over the remaining 10 Trial of the league in 2023 had two defeats, but took 16 points from the win)
I remember that the home game against (Vissel) Kobe was painful, there were situations where the VAR (Video Assisted Referee) could not check us."

(Maciej When the coach was reappointed, he regretted that the team became tired at the end of the season two years ago, which he attributed to the training in the summer.)
I think that this season is going better in the summer than the one in 2023. This season I made a little mistake, it was the week of training for the Kashiwa (Reysol) game. I think I overloaded the team by trying to train every aspect of the game. I have that impression of the summer season, and as a coach, the summer season in Japan is not my favorite time of the year. Even if you try to fix the team, you have very limited time to execute."

(There have been seven seasons in the past since the J1 League reverted to a one-season system, and since then Reds' winning percentage for the remaining 10 Trial seasons has been about 40 percent, with a little over 30 percent in losses and 30 percent in draws, or 4 wins, 3 losses and 3 draws, but how fast do you want to win the remaining 10 Trial seasons this season? How much do you hope to win the rest of the season?)
I've honestly stopped thinking in that direction, we're trying to fight one Trial at a time, and I think that's the best way to do it. As I said once before, I always want my teams to focus on the next step, the next Trial. I think this year's J-League season is very unique. With 10 Trial to go, many teams still have a chance to win the title. We are approaching the time of year when the teams that are favored to win the championship will be participating in the ACL (AFC Champions League). I think that could affect Pos and we are trying to focus the team towards 1 Trial 1 Trial without thinking too far ahead. Of course, after the Gamba game, we have the Kashima (Antlers) game, and then we have two difficult away games, but when I talk to the team, I try to keep them focused on the next game.

(How does the coach think about the opponent Gamba Osaka, which is not his favorite away team and Maciej which the coach is good at with 5 wins and 1 loss in 6 matches?)
'We lost our only recent home game to Gamba in May. We also won an away game Trial where we played with 10 men. However, I remember that every Trial against Gamba was a tough game, especially the away game, and I expect it will be Trial like that."

(Reds participated in the FIFA Club World Cup and then there was the EAFF E-1 Soccer Championship that Japan's national team went to, but Reds players were not selected because of their physical condition and schedule. No Reds players were selected for Japan's tour of the United States this time either. What do you think about the hope and possibility of Reds players being selected for the FIFA World Cup team?)
It would be a great honor if a Reds player were to become a member of the national team. Interesting players are in the Reds and I have seen many times the national coach visiting the Reds Trial. I hope that in the near future Reds will be in good enough condition and performance that some of these players will go to the national team."

(I heard the same thing in 2023. Maciej How motivated is the coach to send players from the club to the national team?)
I have high motivation for that. When a player is selected for the national team, it is usually a sign that the team is doing well, that they are doing a good job, and that they are growing as a player.

(Japan national team coach Kazu Moriyasu said that Reds participated in the FIFA Club World Cup and that the staff members have been very helpful in sharing and discussing the information they gained from their trip there with the Japanese national team. How do you feel about the significance of Reds being able to return the experience and information it has gained to the Japan national team?)
I know that the Reds staff is in close contact with the Japan National Team staff. If there is information needed by the Japan national team, we are always ready to share it."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]