On October 16th, manager Maciej Skorza held an online press conference where he spoke about his enthusiasm for the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 34 match against Yokohama F･Marinos, which will be held at Nissan Stadium on (Sat) the 18th.

I think the previous match against Vissel Kobe was a good one, and it would have been nice to have Trial that continued in the same vein, but we now have a break. What have you focused on most during the break, and how do you feel about it?
"We have been focusing our preparations on teamwork in Zone 3. The coaches have also worked hard. Coaches Ikeda (Nobuyasu) and Maesako (Masato) have been putting this into practice using a variety of training methods, and I think we are seeing improvement. We played a training match against Tokyo Verdy, and we were able to see the results of our training there, so I view that as a positive."

(What are you looking for in Zone 3?)
"We're asking them to move. They must always be ready to get in behind the opposing defensive line. We're also asking them to launch attacks from the flanks and quickly change sides if they get stuck. We're also working on individual players, for example, getting them to move after making a pass and then moving again. We've also been doing counter-attack training in the first week of this break."

(What is your impression of Yokohama F. Marinos and what are the key points?)
"Yokohama F. Marinos are a very interesting team, and their current Pos is sometimes surprising. For example, in the recent match against Kashiwa (Reysol), they applied courageous, intense, and high-intensity high pressure. And when they were applying high pressure, players like (Ryotaro) Tsunoda and (Jason) Quinones courageously took up fairly high positions and caught out the opponents. I expect they will apply that kind of strong pressure, especially in the first half. When the opponent applies high pressure, I think we will have to get behind them."

Yokohama F. Marinos Marinos is one of the 10 teams that have never been relegated to the J2 League since the start of the J.League, but what do you think you can take advantage of and what you need to be careful of when playing against opponents who will be under pressure?
"This season we have been concentrating on our own performance rather than on our opponents. Especially since the match against Kashima (Antlers), I think we have been able to play in the direction we are heading in. In the remaining five Trial, we want to focus on how we can improve. We will do that regardless of the opponent's style. Yokohama F. Marinos Marinos will be under pressure and will fight with their lives on the line, but what we need to do is to do our best, no matter how many minutes each of us is on the pitch. I spoke about that to the players today."

I think the Reds have done well against opponents who press like Kobe, but it's often difficult against opponents who form a block and defend. I don't think it's a bad thing for the Reds that Yokohama F. Marinos Marinos presses, but what do you think are the times when you do well and the times when you don't?
"There are various situations, times when things are going well and times when they are not, but players have to make decisions in each situation. It's true that against teams that apply high pressure, if we get the ball to the front line as quickly as possible when we win the ball, we can take advantage of the opponent's high position.
We also apply high pressure, aiming to win the ball as high up the field as possible and deliver it to the front line as quickly as possible. However, for example, when the opponent is waiting in the midfield, it's important to play without rushing. In such cases, we need to draw out the opposing defender, create a gap, and exploit that. But where we're struggling is timing. The timing between the passer and receiver, and the timing of receiving the ball while getting behind the defense, is not perfect at the moment.

We have been training in these areas for the past two weeks, and hope to show the results in the match against Marinos. I think that judgment and management in such situations will be important. Another thing we have been working on over the past two weeks is long possession, keeping the ball for longer depending on the situation. If both teams keep Trial between stealing the ball and attacking, stealing the ball and attacking, it will become a chaotic situation, so we want to minimize that as much as possible."

(The remaining five Trial will be suspended, so it will be a two-Trial, one-Trial, two-Trial situation, but I remember that coach Maciej said he wanted to give various players a chance. Is there a plan to do this if nothing happens?)
"We have a list of players we would like to give playing time to in the remaining Trial, but we also take into account the style of the opposition when deciding on the squad. Also, medically, being able to play is an important factor."

What do you think about the lack of injuries this season?
"The physical coaches and medical staff are doing a great job of taking care of me and preventing injuries, training in the gym and taking care of me."

(High Performance Coordinator Seigo Ikeda said that the team is "very well-balanced." He has worked as a staff member for many teams, so I feel he is looking at Urawa Reds this season with a level-headed perspective. What do you think about the team being well-balanced?)
"I think that's also thanks to Seigo's work. He came to the club as a physical and medical supervisor, and I think everyone has become more attentive to the details. I also think that there is good coordination between the staff in the various departments within the team. We are able to plan endurance training and strength training after understanding the players' fatigue and situation."

(Looking at the season, I think that both coaches and players tend to think about themselves more and more, and that they are increasingly taking risks in their play that will affect next season and the future. But aren't these things being controlled this year? For example, with regards to Hiroki Abe, I think that even if he plays in Trial, if it seems that his injury will recur, he will be stopped.)
"In the case of Hiroki Abe, all of our staff are providing special care. In the last two months, there have been two occasions when it seemed like Hiroki Abe was close to playing in official matches, but both times the risk was avoided. However, I am confident that Abe Hiroki will be on the pitch and playing in the league by the end of the year."

(I'm sure you watched the Japan national team's Trial, where they beat Brazil. Coach Moriyasu Hajime made a series of offensive substitutions during Trial when the team was behind, which was something I was proud of as a Japanese player. What did you think of it? Players from FC Machida Zelvia, who we'll be playing against, and Suzuki Junnosuke, who you played against this season as a player for Shonan Bellmare, also played. What did you think of them?)
"Although it was a friendly Trial, beating Brazil is always something special, so first of all I would like to say 'congratulations' to everyone in Japan. I have been watching Moriyasu's work since I came to Japan, and I am not surprised to see the Japanese national team develop so much. Even at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, even though we were trailing in the first half, I think we were able to think 'It's okay, we can fight in the second half', and the match against Brazil was a similar process. This may be Moriyasu's way of fighting.

We are currently grasping the overall picture for the Machida match, and are considering which players who have been on the bench until now will be able to play. Right now, we are concentrating on the Yokohama F. Marinos match, so we would like to avoid going into the details of the Machida match.

(I would have liked to see a rematch with Carlos Augusto of Takuro Kaneko Milan, who I played against in the FIFA Club World Cup as a member of the Brazilian national team.)
"I hope that Kaneko won't be the only player to face a player like him, but that we'll see more than one player from the Reds."

(It may be different between clubs and the national team, but generally speaking, the Brazilian national team has many players who play in Europe, and I think their strength lies in their orderly play. However, I think Japan is actually stronger when they intentionally create chaos, as they did in the second half. What do you think, Coach Maciej?)
"I haven't finished watching the video of Japan's match against Brazil yet, so I don't want to go into too much detail. I'll make sure to watch it before the next press conference."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]