Post-match comments from MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Round 15 Trial against Kashiwa Reysol

"Both teams are possession-based, so I think the first half was a good opportunity for both sides to showcase their strengths. In the second half, we scored the first goal, but after that, Kashiwa's possession-based play caused us a lot of trouble. I told the players this, but I'm grateful that they responded to various situations today by changing their system and so on."

[Questions and Answers]
(Today's opponent used a five-man defense, a different system from the previous two Trial. What did you tell the players to keep in mind when they were in possession of the ball and when they were defending?)
"Basically, I'm aiming for a ball-possession style of play, so I had given them instructions regarding the defensive formation, and the five defenders in the back in particular responded very well."

(Was it a five-man defense towards the end?)
"yes"

(Some might argue that it was still too early, but what were the reasons for that decision? Also, there might have been some differences between this and the style of football that Coach Tanaka aims for?)
"In terms of defense, our original plan was to drop back into a block, and then we had planned how to deal with the opponent's five or six players coming forward, but it didn't quite work out, so we had a Plan B in mind. We discussed it with the analysis team watching from above, and in the end we switched to a plan to hold on for a 1-0 lead."

(You changed four players from the starting lineup today compared to last match. I assume you consider various factors like fatigue when selecting players, but are there any specific criteria you use?)
"We do pay attention to the amount of playing time, for example, if a player has played 90 minutes straight. However, we try to select the team members while considering the players' toughness and work rate. Position might also be a factor."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]