On the 10th, manager Maciej Skorza held an online press conference, MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Round 10 match against Tokyo Verdy which will be held at Saitama Stadium on the 12th (Sunday) as part of the [MATCH PARTNER National University Seminar].

(In the match against Kawasaki Frontale on the 5th, two center backs were unfortunately sidelined within the first 15 minutes. Will they be able to recover for the next game? Or will players be rotated from other positions? Will they consider using defenders who haven't had much playing time so far, such as Eiichi Katayama, Yoshitaka Tanaka, or Luka Didulica?)
"We are considering several possibilities while encouraging Danilo (Boza) and Miya (Yuta Miyamoto) to recover. The situation is still unclear. We have been training in other ways this week as well. We have our last training session tomorrow, and we want to consider all possibilities until then."

(MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE has a small number of teams, so the intervals between matches are short. Trial against Tokyo Verdy just a month ago, but that last match was the first time this Trial you faced a team with a three-man defense, and it seemed like you struggled in several ways. After playing several Trial since then, what aspects have you improved or emphasized in your preparations this past week?)
"When the opponent plays a 3-4-3 formation, our build-up play changes slightly. I think we've improved since our last match Tokyo Verdy. We have to consider not only the opponent's system, but also how they defend. For example, Tokyo Verdy and Kashiwa Reysol defend differently. For instance, when we are building up play, the pressure from Tokyo Verdy 's wingbacks is quite intense. So, for example, some of the things we prepared for Kashiwa might not work against Tokyo Verdy. We also trained to defend with a five-man backline in their Zone 1, and to attack in our Zone 3. The key was how to exploit the space behind them. Tokyo Verdy is a team that can defend in an organized manner. Therefore, it will be difficult to create many chances. To create chances, we will need coordination, timing, and speed of play."

(There was a goal in the Kawasaki match that was disallowed for offside after a VAR review shortly after the start of the second half, but I think that attacking sequence was the best of the season. I feel that if we can repeat attacks like that, and make them automatic, our results and attacking stability will improve, but how do you think about the balance between utilizing the players' ideas and implementing a team design?)
"There are things we repeat in our training every week. These are also for the purpose of automating our play. While repetition is important, the opponent's reactions change from situation to situation, so I think the ability to make decisions in the moment becomes crucial. For example, in this week's attacking training, we were working on changing our play based on the movements of the opponent's defense. I think the Reds are good at building up play, but their decision-making on the final pass is often poor. Especially in the match against Tokyo Verdy, when we have the ball open in the half-space, I think it will be necessary to exploit the space behind them early on. I think it's true that we're struggling because we haven't yet automated that play."

(Assuming that Boza and Miyamoto would not be available, Kai Shibato was hastily deployed as a center back for the Kawasaki match, and in the recent open training session, Kaito Yasui was also seen playing as a center back. Of course, Katayama is also a possibility, but what kind of play do you expect each player to bring to the center back position?)
"We also have to consider the characteristics of Tokyo Verdy 's strikers and attacking midfielders. They are very fast players. Someya (Yuzuki) is strong and can keep possession of the ball. So we are thinking about which combination would be best. I think Shibato played very well in the last Trial. This week we have been trying out various other options besides him in training."

(If you were to use Yasui as a center back, what kind of performance would you expect from him?)
"It's about aggression. Also, it's about reading the game and switching from a 4-4-2 to a man-to-man high press. And what's required of any center back is to react quickly when the high press is broken through, and to contain Someno in the penalty area."

(What kind of play do you expect from Katayama?)
"I expect the exact same thing. Ei-chan is an experienced player. When you consider the build-up play required at Tokyo Verdy, Ei-chan has different characteristics from the other two. We've had many discussions with the coaching staff regarding the center back position, but we want to make a decision after hearing the final medical report following the last training session."

(Earlier you mentioned there's a slight issue with the final pass. Could you be more specific about what the problem is? Matheus Savio makes a lot of through passes compared to other players in the league, but what specifically do you see as a problem?)
"It's about making decisions when you have the ball open in a higher zone 2 or zone 3. Making runs behind the defense is something that all players, including the fullbacks, need to do. If you watch our Trial, you'll see that when we switch the play and the ball goes into the half-space on the opposite side, we can't make a through pass unless there's a run behind the defense. So, the winger or fullback on the outside needs to make a run behind the defense at that moment. We have plenty of chances to make a through pass, but about 90% of the time when the ball goes into the half-space, we pass to a wide player on the opposite side. We need to increase the amount of running behind the defense when the ball goes into the half-space."

(In terms of the pass receiver and the passer, which side do you think has more problems?)
"I'm more of a receiver, someone who goes behind the scenes. That's where I have a bit of a problem, or rather, a difficulty."

(Tokyo Verdy uses a three-man defense, and some say it's easier to play against a team with a three-man defense if we also adopt a three-man defense. As you mentioned earlier, when Tokyo Verdy sets up with a five Maciej?)
"Regarding what you just said, we sometimes use a three-man defense when building up play. That's one of our build-up options. However, we don't always use three center backs and maintain that formation. We try to create an advantage by using a four-man or three-man build-up depending on the height of the opponent's attack."

(Since Miyamoto was absent from the Kawasaki Trial at the last minute, we didn't get to see Boza and Miyamoto as center backs, but what were people expecting from these two?)
"We were hoping for defensive stability and to contain Ellison. The center backs play a very important role in the build-up play. I think the coordination between Miya and right winger Takuro Kaneko was improving as we played Trial. When the injuries occurred, we had very little time to make decisions. Of course, we can't know now what would have happened if neither of them had been injured and could have played. We can't go back in time and check, so we want to think about what the best course of action is going forward in the current situation."

(When there are no wins, there tends to be a lot of negative talk, but I've tried to organize what I've seen and felt after watching the nine J1 100-Year League Trial, so please correct me if I'm wrong. What manager Maciej is aiming for, and what the team is aiming for, is high pressing and the high defensive line that comes with it, as the manager just mentioned, they are introducing a fluid system of 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, plus a three-man defense when attacking. I also heard about this last week, but they are actively using young players, which I think was seen again with the use and performance of Hayate Ueki. With three university graduates playing, I think they are showing a style that has not been seen much before in the 100-Year League and the Challenge League. Also, the number of players from the youth academy playing is increasing, which is a negative thing to hear about the Reds' weak youth development, but for example, in the match against Mito Hollyhock in the 5th round, four players from the youth academy were on the pitch at the end of the match and scored a goal.
Looking at the play and working backward from the goal-scoring opportunities, I think there are many goals that are highly repeatable. Counter-attacks, central breakthroughs after interceptions, set pieces—I see these as some of the most repeatable goals so far. Also, last year's goals were heavily skewed towards the right, but this year there have been many goals and chances created from the left side, and there have even been instances where right-sided players have scored, so I think they've overcome last year's weaknesses in this regard. I've just talked about a lot of the good points. As for the bad points, there's the tendency to slow down towards the end Trial and the ineffective substitutions, but I've talked about the visible positives. What are Coach Maciej 's thoughts on these points?
"Thank you for your question. When working at Urawa Reds, I always consider multiple factors. I've been trying out various changes since before this season started, and this involves risks. Looking at the performance, there have been Trial that I'm satisfied with. As for the results, that's not the case. At this point, 11 points is far from what we were aiming for. You also mentioned the management of the final stages of Trial and substitutions, and we are struggling a bit in those areas. I understand that it is a difficult situation for young players with little experience to be on the pitch in the final stages of a match. In the last 15 minutes of the home game against FC Machida Zelvia, we may have put too many young players on the pitch at the same time. However, there have also been cases, like the Kawasaki match, where bringing in experienced players didn't lead to a result."

Considering our potential, we've lost Trial Trial close to 90 minutes or in added time. I think that's too many. Analyzing Trial since the Kashima Antlers game, we've consistently performed well until the 70th or 75th minute. In the recent Kawasaki match, we scored two goals during that time and were leading 2-1. However, in the last 15 or 20 minutes, when the team is getting worn out, I haven't been able to help them with my management."

(I'd like to ask Guido Buchwald, who happened to be visiting Japan this week, about this, but in the history of the Reds, there have been times when they hastily acquired two players who had experience as world champions. However, if you ask whether things improved immediately after two world champions joined, the answer is no. Longtime Reds fans and supporters know from experience that even with world-class players, it's not easy to make a team win. Conversely, the Reds may not have had much experience in developing young players and having them become key players. I think there are many responsibilities in managing the Reds, but wouldn't it be okay to ask for a big name sometimes?)
"No comment."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]