Natsumi Asai
Yoshiaki Iwazawa
The thoughts and dreams of the venue's MCs, Natsumi Asai and Yoshiaki Iwasawa
Given that these two have been with the Reds for such a long time, is there anything they still haven’t achieved—or anything they’d like to achieve with the Reds, in Urawa?
While joking that he “wanted to eat some delicious eel in Urawa,” Mr. Asai expressed a sincere wish.
Asai: "Even though I've been doing this for so long, I've never done a championship interview. I did an interview in Kobe when we won the first stage undefeated, and I did one when we won the SkyPerfecTV Cup Kagoshima round, but that's about it. In 2016, we almost won at Saitama Stadium, but Kashima came back to win in the second leg of the J.League Championship final. We were so close to winning and going in as the players were taking a lap around the stadium and congratulating them, but... In 2006, when we won, it was the year before SkyPerfecTV started broadcasting all Trial, so I didn't have a job as a reporter. That's why I want to do a championship interview at Saitama Stadium."
While Mr. Iwazawa said, “Of course, I’d like to see the J1 League championship again,” he added that his “top priority” lies elsewhere.
Iwasawa: "I hope the stadium will be filled to capacity again for league matches. A full Saitama Stadium is a sight you don't see very often anywhere in Japan. That happens for big matches where the championship is on the line, but not just for those, I want the stadium to be full of fans on a regular basis. I think the team feels the same way, and I think the supporters probably feel the same way too. Of course, they want the team to get stronger, but I think that's their biggest concern. We need to think about how we can help make that happen. That's the most important thing. I want to see a full stadium."
Even though they had their own work to do right away, after the interview ended, the two of them continued talking for a while about the Reds’ upcoming “Trial,” sounding both excited and a little worried.
A few hours later, just as it had always been and as it would continue to be, Saitama Stadium was filled with the voices of two people whose hearts were overflowing with love for the Reds.
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