On the 18th, Maciej Skorza director held a press conference online and expressed his enthusiasm for the Meiji Yasuda J1 League 30th Kashima Antlers match [MATCH PARTNER Mitsubishi Foods 100th Anniversary] to be held at Saitama Stadium on the 20th (Sat).

(I think it is true that the previous game against Gamba Osaka was unfortunately a loss, which made the situation very tough from the word of winning that league championship. However, the next game is coming, so again, how did you work on getting back into the mindset during the week?)
'The most recent results have made things more difficult. However, from the first day of training this week, the players have reacted very well mentally. We talked about the current state of the team, gave them feedback on the Gamba game, and talked about what we need to fix for the Kashima game, and they have responded very well mentally. Ryoma Watanabe I think we are in a very good state mentally, including the fact that (Mateusz) Savio is back and (Matheus) Savio will be back next, and I think those points will be our strength against Kashima.

(Maciej It is felt that the coach is going to fight based on a very solid defense from 2023. I sometimes wonder if perhaps what the team needs now, in the midst of a slightly difficult war situation, is stimulation, boldness, and a freshness to try something a little different from what they have been doing in the past. How do you feel about those aspects?)
I think it's a freshness to try something a little bit different from what we've done before. But I think we also need to improve on the basics and fundamentals of what we have used in the past. For example, after entering Zone 2 or Zone 3, there is a move to the back, but sometimes the pass is not made there, so I think it is necessary to improve the usual shape of the game.

Also, in the last few Trial years, we have been replacing players due to injuries, illness, or suspensions. For example, Shoya (Nakajima) has been playing very well, and Kenta (Nemoto) showed his solid defense against Kawasaki (Frontale). Isaac (Kieseterin) is gradually getting used to the team, and Taka (Takahiro Sekine) is currently doing very well. I think the number of players in good condition is increasing.

(Reds and Kashima have competed for many titles in their history, so it is a rivalry, not a derby match, but an exciting Trial. Maciej Do you have any experience of such games in your coaching career and what do you feel will be important in such a battle?)
I remember the Kashima game two years ago, and I also remember the derby match in my home country very well. As I said earlier, I think mentality will be very important. I think the big point against Kashima will be which team scores first. Kashima is a team that has a very good balance between attack and defense, so I think our solid defense will be necessary. Looking back on the Gamba game, I think we need to show stability throughout the 90 minutes.

(I would like to ask you about the Kashima game and beyond, but while winning the championship is a tough situation, numerically there is still a possibility, and I think we will be required to do enough to win it all. In such a situation, I think there are many ways to think about it, such as focusing more on stability, taking more risks, or, in extreme cases, using only offensive players, but when you have to win all the remaining Maciej matches by all means, what will the director focus on in the fight?)
First of all, I Trial I Trial have to analyze the opposing team and make the best countermeasures. For example, the way we fight against Kashima will be different from the first half against Gamba. I cannot give you the details, but we must first think about what Trial the game against Kashima will be like. We have to think about how important Trial it is for the club, the fans, the supporters, and ourselves. Standings We are 8 points behind Kashima in the table. It is also a home game. Considering all those many factors, we have to win Trial at any cost for us.

I think home games are often more open for Reds. I think we will see more courageous attacking play when we are at home. I'll be observing the players this week to determine the starting lineup, but I'll also choose it with the expectation that the first half and the second half will flow differently.

(With the championship on the line, there was quite a bit of talk from both the players and the coach about "thinking of it as a final game. This may be a play on words, but if you think of it as a final, perhaps the feeling of not losing will be greater than the feeling of winning. In any case, a draw is not good enough. How do you think about the mentality to win?)
I will try to think only about how to score points and win the game against Kashima. If we want to achieve our dream of winning the championship, a draw may not be a good enough result for us, so we must think about how we can win.

(Against Kashima, which has a good balance of offense and defense, I think the first thing that is important is where to take the ball and turn it into an attack. Maciej What is the coach's ideal?)
Considering that it is a home game and against Kashima, I would like to take the ball as close to the opponent's goal as possible and launch an attack. We would like to do so, but Tomoki Hayakawa is a very skilled goalkeeper and Taehyun Kim has a very good long diagonal ball, so I think we will have to deal with balls from the opponent's zone 1 that are aimed at Suzuki (Yuma) and Leo Ceara. I think we need to respond to that.

(I think it would be ideal to get the ball in the opponent's territory and score a goal on a short counter if possible, but will you aim to set up the game firmly in the middle zone without taking that many risks?)
(Will you try to set up a solid battle in the middle zone without taking that many risks? I don't think it is possible to keep pressing high for 90 minutes. I think there is room for improvement in defending from the middle block. Against Gamba, there were three occasions when we were able to counter three times after being taken from the middle block, but we were unable to make the final pass. We have been working on improving this situation this week. We want to make our short counters more effective.

(After the Trial match against Gamba OSAKA, both Maciej and Daniel Poyatos said they were able to control the game. I think both of them felt that way because different coaches have different ways of thinking. Maciej What does it mean for a coach to be in control of the game?)
First of all, against Gamba, we knew that Gamba would press hard until they were near our penalty area. Especially Gamba plays that way at home. First of all, we did not allow them to easily use the half-space near the penalty area, and prevented them from using it to turn and cross, for example. In the first half, I think there were many occasions when Gamba played closer to our zone 1 while keeping the ball. When we were defending in zone 1, we made a 3-2 formation in front of the goal, and there was a shot by Usami (Takashi) from a mistake we made. There were a few individual mistakes, but no clear-cut decisions were made.

In the second half, we made some substitutions and started to play higher up the field. I think we were able to create some chances. Gamba's only chances came from set pieces, and as I mentioned earlier, we had chances to counter-attack, but we could not make the last pass. Even in the period when we lost the goal, we kept the ball and created chances, but Abe (Hiiragiato)'s wonderful shot crushed our Trial dreams.

(Since some players joined this year's team mid-season, it will inevitably take some time for the coach to be able to create what he really wants to do, but at this point, to what extent is what the coach envisions taking shape?)
It's very difficult to put a number on it, but we are in a situation where we are not able to maintain a high level of play. There have been times when players have not been available due to injury or illness. For example, our top scorer Ryoma Watanabe was unavailable Trial for a long time after the (July 23, Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Section 21) game against Shonan (Bellmare). It was not easy to play without our top scorer and mental pillar during the summer. We have been fighting with different players and different combinations, but I think there were some positive aspects, even though it was a bit chaotic. And from here, I hope we can enter a stage where we can be consistent and win consecutive games, as we did in April."

(You mentioned that Kashima is a well-balanced team offensively and defensively, but I think Kashima has been unstable defensively this year, playing very competitive games and losing heavily at times.)
I think Kashima's four defenders are very solid defenders. For example, in the away game against Albirex Niigata, they pressed very hard at the beginning of the game, got the ball, and Suzuki scored within 3 minutes. In the (YBC) Lewan Cup game against Kawasaki, we made two zone 1 mistakes and conceded a goal. We must avoid that kind of thing. Basically, they are a team that can play such a solid defense, but they are not machines either, so they make mistakes. Niigata's equalizing goal came from a big mistake by Kohito (Nagano). If they make mistakes like that, we want to take advantage of them.

(Kashima has scored 44 goals in the J1 League, but Leo Ceara and Suzuki have combined for 24. These two also scored on penalty kicks, which is quite different from the distribution of goals on Urawa Reds. The Reds have 39 goals but no PKs. The top scorer is Watanabe with 7 points, but there are several players who have scored 4 goals and many players who have scored more than one goal, so the shape of the game is changing to where you can get points from anywhere, right?)
I think we have to keep Suzuki and Leo Ceara in check in order to keep Kashima from executing the shape they want to play. I think these two will be the key players when it comes to Kashima's attack.

(Reds also scored early, or scored soon after the start of the second half.)
(What do you think about that?) "I think it is a positive thing to score early in the game. We have struggled in the last 10 minutes this season. Throughout the season, the loss against Gamba was the 13th goal after the 80th minute. If we can improve that, I think Pos will improve. In the first match against Kashima, Yasushi (Matsumoto) scored in the added time of the first half from a great assist by Sekine. However, we conceded a goal one minute before the Trial end, and they caught up with us. I think we should double our concentration even more in that last 10 minutes and play with high motivation.

(Gamba OSAKA I felt in the game, Hiiro Komori, I thought it was questionable that Sekine, Nakajima and other players who I felt had potential to score after coming back from the U.S. were not on the pitch at the end of the second half. It is true that Watanabe is the top scorer, but considering Trial the second half, I feel that just the three of them, or the two top players of Isaac Kiese Thelin player and Komori, and the top player of Nakajima would be a threat to the opponent, what are your thoughts on that point?)
I think they are becoming more dangerous for the opponents. Like (Jose) Kante two years ago, I think Isaac needs time to adapt to the J.League, so we will keep a close eye on him. We will keep a close eye on him.

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]