Your thoughts on the match?
I think we achieved about half of what we set out to do.　We were able to push into their territory and move the ball, but we couldn’t do the other half, which was to set up the finish. We have to be more aggressive. Otherwise, we won’t be a threat, no matter how well the ball moves. That’s how it felt. In the first half, both wing backs made diagonal runs behind, but the ball never seemed to come. My job is simply to make runs whenever the ball holder is free, so whether the ball comes every time or not, if I keep moving in that way, I believe it will come eventually. Other than that, there is the matter of communicating with the players making the passes. Either way, those sort of runs will annoy the opposition and I want to continue making them.

In the second half, you moved to the wide striker position. What were you conscious of in that role?
In general, my role was unchanged. My job was to stay wide and far enough forward that their wingbacks couldn’t get up the pitch. At a certain point, Koike started making more of the runs, so when that happened, I tried to make runs into the box and see if I could finish. In the second half, you were more successful at building on the wide right. The stats tell the story. We only had one shot on goal. We were moving the ball, but in the second half too, we did half of what we wanted and couldn’t do the other half.

The shot you made in the first half didn’t get counted in the stats as a shot on goal.
I guess it can’t be helped, since it ended up as a throw-in. Mon (Leandro) had a good look at it and he told me afterward that I could have controlled it instead of hitting it first time. I think he’s right, I did have time. To tell the truth, I wanted that to be counted as a shot.

This was your first appearance since registering with the squad three matches ago. I’m sure you had strong feelings about being on the pitch.
I had learned from Nagai when he was even still a player, so when he became the manager, I wanted to help him realize his brand of football. With as much competition as there is right now, I think the players who receive a chance need to give 100% at all times. So I think the best thing for us, right now, is to keep intensifying that competition and work together to achieve the manager’s philosophy.

This was your first official match since Ajaccio completed their season. How are you feeling, condition-wise, and in terms of sharpness?
I re-joined Verdy as soon as I came home and had two months of preparation. I was able to raise my condition then and have been communicating well with the other players. I had been preparing to be at my best whenever the chance came my way. I didn’t have any anxiety in that regard.

What aspects of your game do you hope to show us in the future?
I want to be more aggressive in challenging for the ball. In terms of today’s match, if this had been Ajaccio, I think we would have created more chances in front of goal and that aggressiveness is what the team is lacking right now. Individually, I want to show my desire to score.

Your thoughts on the match?
Even looking only at the stats, you can tell that we didn’t create enough shots on goal and we all feel that we haven’t yet progressed to the level that we can break down a team that plays with a defensive approach. However, even though we were lacking in terms of creating goals, maintaining possession of the ball means that the other team doesn’t have a chance to attack either, so in terms of dominating the play, I think we did well. Still, there’s a lot of room for improvement in terms of getting goals and if we can get better, I think we’ll be a much more dangerous team.

You kept a clean sheet, despite playing with a somewhat hastily assembled back line.
Everyone’s roles were clear and I think Coach Nagai made the decision to change the line after analyzing our opponents. Tamu(ra) was substituted quickly, but up to that point, he had done a great job of stifling their attacks and encouraging everyone to concentrate. That prevented our opponents from finding any gaps to exploit and I feel it made a big difference in the way we competed. Our goal is to become a team that maintains a high level of quality, no matter which players are on the pitch, and I think it means a lot that we were able to compete against an opponent like we played today with this lineup. If we don’t play as a unit, this league can be very difficult, so I really am glad for that.

It must have been difficult to manage risks as you essentially played a half court drill in the second half.
To be honest, I felt that even when we lost the ball, as long as we maintained good separation, we could quickly win it back. When I’m playing that high up the pitch, I’m sure the opposition has to make the choice to use quick players and aim behind me, rather than trying to control the ball in front of the defense. I did it with the intention of covering, but there are aspects where it went well and others where we needed to raise our precision. That’s something for me to work on, individually, but if we can learn to do it throughout the whole team, we can completely shut out our opponents, so I want us to work on it.

In the past, as well, you have tried to play as an “11th field player”, but is there anything that’s changed for you with the team’s new approach?
The two managers have different styles, but in terms of wanting to dominate possession, they were the same. It’s the team approach that’s different and it’s important that we make the right decisions with that in mind. Coach Nagai places a big emphasis on observing what our opponents are doing and that applies to me, the goalkeeper, as well. I do think that observing the other team is important and we’re trying to get better at it. We have to observe them and spend 90 minutes putting the ball in areas that are difficult for them to deal with. In that aspect, I want us to improve our decision making as a team.

Next week, you have a rematch against Kyoto, the team to whom you conceded the most goals earlier in the season. Considering that both teams like to keep possession, this should be a good test of how far you’ve come under the new manager.
For me, individually, it’s a match that I’m excited for. I’m sure we’ll take turns keeping possession, but in terms of how we develop our play from there, it should be quite fascinating. More than anything, I think we need to prepare for many different scenarios. That means analyzing our opponent. I also think it will be a test of observing our opponents as we play. With the way we play now, each of us has our own strong points and we need to express them to be the better team and get revenge for the last result, even though it’s an away match. Regardless, I want us to play our game and be the better team.

Did things feel a bit stagnant in attack?
While this wasn’t the case in the first half, against an opponent like today’s, we have to use the full width and length of the pitch. I did have opportunities to make a run behind a few times, but if I can run at them when Junki (Koike) or Naoto (Sawai) have the ball, we can stretch them lengthwise and that will enable us to recycle possession and control the center more. Rather than always try to go through the middle, I think we need to be patient and spread them wider and longer. Then we can attack the middle. That will be most effective.

Were you not able to draw them out as much as you thought?
They were much more poised than we were. On the contrary, it felt like we were lacking in poise. Despite having plenty of time, we tried to force the ball in attacking areas and made mistakes, which set them up for dangerous counter attacks. While it’s an extreme example, there are even teams that pass the ball for 90 minutes and then score in the final minute. I think Coach Nagai would say the same and if we continue passing the ball, I don’t think we will lose. Our opponents will grow tired and start making mistakes in defense. That may sound too logical, but it’s one possible conclusion. I think we should have remained patient and moved the ball.

Was precision at the end of moves or a lack of combination play responsible for your difficulties in attack?
I think those elements were part of it, but more, I think there were too few moments when we took the initiative. I also think we didn’t make enough runs behind. Despite the fact that our ball holders were given space to make passes, we ended up moving the ball to the player behind us in most cases and I think there were many instances where there was enough time to make passes to the players who were making forward runs. Some of it was due to the environment in which we played, but that applies equally to the other side and I think it was probably harder for the them as the team chasing the ball. I wanted us to get behind the defense and set up more opportunities where we were one v one or two v one with the goalkeeper.

Against a team like today, to do what you’re talking about and stretch them lengthwise would surely require a lot of precision and the proper timing.
There were mistakes with precision and combination play, but I think we only had one official shot on goal. If we don’t place shots on goal, they won’t raise their defensive line. It’s true that pinning their line deep is actually one of our objectives, but once that’s accomplished, if we don’t take the opportunity to shoot when the angle is there, it becomes difficult to break them down.

Why do you think you struggled to put shots in?
I think we focused too much on breaking them down. Coach Nagai did tell us to beat them by moving the ball, but what he means is that we have to force them back by moving the ball and then go for the kill once they retreat. As part of that process, he’s told us that we are free to shoot whenever we have the chance and I don’t think we need to pass those opportunities up and continue aiming for a complete defensive collapse. If we are able to completely break them down, we’ll definitely score, but if we lose the ball, we get hit on the counter, so I think once we succeed at pushing them back, we need to shoot, and if they raise their line in response, then we can try playing balls behind. I don’t believe we’ve developed that sort of common understanding, yet.

Since you’ve played under Coach Nagai in the past, do you think the squad is currently trying too hard to do what they’re told? Or is it more that there is some misunderstanding?
I do think we saw a lot of the former, today. Players were afraid to make mistakes or were so wary of turning the ball over that they passed up shots. There were too many instances where we did not take the initiative to make something happen. Of course, no one wants to make mistakes, but if you put yourself in the opponents’ shoes, they don’t want to be dealing with shots flying in from all angles, either. They also don’t want to deal with one-two combinations. We need to think about things from their perspective.

Does that mean that when Coach Nagai tells you to observe your opponents, it includes doing things that will make things difficult for them?
Yes. Up and down the pitch, left and right, where is everyone standing, how are they responding to our moves? With football, you have to watch those things. The fact that we pushed them that deep today and had so few shots is itself evidence that we’re not seeing the game properly, yet.

How did you go about dealing with their attack?
In the case of Henik, I left him to Taira, while I marked Oguro. I had to respect his ability as I do so, but in terms of today’s match, I don’t think we allowed him to have a big impact.

In attack, the opposition’s defensive plan seemed to cause you trouble.
Coach Nagai’s philosophy is to keep the ball and make our opponents run. Other than that, it’s about what we can do in the attacking third. Today, we didn’t have many shots, so that’s something we have to work on, but if we’re looking for positives, I think we achieved the first stage of the plan. Now, we need to figure out what we do from there. In some ways, they let us off the hook today and not everything was perfect, but the issues we have were borne from everyone trying to achieve what the manager wants, so I don’t we should be too negative in our outlook. Next week we play Kyoto. I’m excited to see how we approach that match.

As your opponents retreated into their own third, I’m sure you made some changes to how you managed your defensive line.
In some ways, we could have taken more risks from the back, but we also have the option of forcing them to chase before making the pass. To create two v ones in the wide areas, a center back needs to have a bit of technique. So, I do think we could have done more in that sense. I’d like to have a look at the video. Nagai football has a lot of interesting elements and there’s a lot to learn, even for someone my age. Still, to win requires playing exciting football and having your share of the ball, so that part is the same as before. I hope we can increase our achievement level.

The back line today came together in a hurry, but in the end, you earned a clean sheet.
I had never played at the center of a back three before, but Coach Nagai has a number of different plans and likes to find different ways to use Rihito (Yamamoto), so while it was a bit sudden, putting Junki (Koike) at right side back energizes the attack and I want us to work on getting close to the penalty area and figuring out how we break them down from there. There were a few moments of danger that could have led to a loss today, so it was actually a difficult match.

Including the concerns over pitch condition, do you think the scouting report on the opposition was pretty accurate, today?
They dropped back even further than we expected. We expected them to press from the front a bit more and try to win the ball, but they never came at us. There were no problems with the pitch. In some ways, everything was comfortable, but while we were trying to break them down, we didn’t get the ball to Mon (Leandro) enough. I wish we had done that a little better.

What instructions did you receive before coming on in the second half?
We changed the formation and I came on as a right side back. The first to do was gain a high position and after that, work well with Sawai. When he made diagonal runs, the opposition would follow him and that gave me space to run behind the defense. All that remained was for someone to make a late run.

You succeeded in pushing them back into their own third.
We pushed them pretty deep. However, they had a clear plan to be tight and not take risks. We couldn’t break them down.

Halfway through the second half, you did have a clear chance and shot on goal with a late run. Was that more effective?
It’s something we’re always mindful of and I wanted us to at least get something to show for it. I wanted us to create more opportunities like that as we moved the ball. We had possession for an extremely long period today, so rather than lose patience and turn the ball over, our plan was to move the ball from side to side and then take advantage of late runs. However, we just couldn’t create a lot of shots. That’s something we have to work on and if we can break our opponents down better in their own half, I think we will reach the next level as a team.

At the beginning of the second half, you tried putting in some early crosses from the right wing.
We don’t necessarily have tall players in the middle, so we just have to move the ball short. Of course, it’s not that it’s bad to cross, but in training, we worked on keeping the ball moving and using the player closest to you to get behind them. We’re still working on that. Of course, I would have liked to win, but I think we need to stick with this approach.

Looking at the stats, there was a big gap with your opponents in terms of the number of passes made and your percentage of the possession. Is that the style you’re seeking?
Dominating the ball and increasing the amount of time we’re in control is one theme. However, that’s not the same thing as a goal. Rather, it’s the process by which we get a goal. In that sense, we didn’t take near enough shots. The purpose of keeping the ball is to get shots in, so we have to work more on making runs or supporting each other. We did that to a degree, but we have to do it more.