On February 2nd, ahead of the opening match of MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE, the "MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Opening Event" was held at MUFG Stadium. Players representing all 20 J1 clubs gathered at the venue. Shusaku Nishikawa of Urawa Reds participated and spoke about his enthusiasm for the opening match against JEF United Ichihara Chiba, which was scheduled to take place five days later.



The event was held in two parts. In the first part, a talk session was held between J.League Chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura and the first J.League Chairman Saburo Kawabuchi, followed by an appearance by players from each club for each opening match. Players were interviewed about their enthusiasm for the opening match and their impressions of the opposing teams.
When asked what kind of Trial he would like to put on in the opening match against Chiba, Nishikawa said, "I think it is very important that we win the opening match in order to have a good season. Our goal is to return to the Asian stage, and this Centennial Plan League gives us that chance, so it is very important. I want to play while feeling the joy of being able to play at JEF's home ground for the first time in a long time." He expressed his excitement for the opening match as well as his strong determination to participate in MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE.





In the second part, media responses (surrounding interviews) were conducted in booths for each match.
When asked again about his impression of Chiba, Nishikawa said, "They have a lot of young players and are full of energy, and looking at last year's playoffs, they are a team that performs well, especially at home." He continued, "Last year we had Trial where we couldn't win away from home, and this year we have three games away from home from the start of the season, so we want to fight while learning from our mistakes." He spoke about his thoughts on the upcoming away matches that have continued since the start of the season.

Regarding the introduction of penalty shootouts in MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE he said, "Whether we win the penalty kick and get two points or lose and get one Pos will have a big impact on the rankings, so it's a chance for goalkeepers to show off, and I think this will be a season in which we can increase the value of goalkeepers."

When asked about the fact that his record for total appearances in the J1 League, which currently holds the second-highest record in history, will not be updated in MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Nishikawa stated, "Whether it's counted or not, the importance of each Trial is the same for the players, so it's important to continue playing with health as our number one priority. Our aim is to return to the Asian stage, so we'll just fight Trial Trial that goal."

When asked about the state of the team, he replied, "We have more players of what is considered mid-career age and young players, and they are getting good results in training matches, so we are training in a very good atmosphere.Hopefully we can put them in good shape for the opening game."



The opening match of MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE against JEF United Ichihara Chiba will kick off at 1pm on (Sat) the 7th.
The team has been steadily preparing for the opening game since starting on January 5th, and has since had a training camp in Okinawa. As Nishikawa said, the first game is crucial to having a good season. Winning the first game will be key in fighting through the roughly four-month season. With four days remaining, the team will be fully prepared for the opening game.

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]