2019 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 28th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Montedio Yamagata

Match Report

Last week, Verdy earned a point in the most dramatic of fashions. This week, they ended a streak of home matches with the hope of presenting their supporters a win as they faced upper-table opponents Montedio Yamagata at Aji no Moto Stadium. After picking up an injury last match, Kanya Fujimoto was unable to recover in time, meaning that a new approach to squad selection was necessary. Rihito Yamamoto was placed on the right side of the back line, while Yuhei Sato was chosen at anchor. The front holding midfield roles were filled by Koki Morita and Ryota Kajikawa, each playing behind Hiroki Kawano on the right wing of the attack and Junki Koike on the left.

As the match began, Verdy saw more of the ball but were still pushed back on the counter as Montedio Yamagata threatened the goal with runs by Jefferson Baiano. In the 6^th minute, Jefferson cut inside from the left and hit a shot that was on target but kept out by a fine save from Kamifukumoto, who reacted sharply to get an outstretched hand to the ball and deflect it away. From that point, Verdy began building a greater share of possession. With Sato pulling the strings from the anchor position, the players used the full width of the pitch and began to stretch the Yamagata defense. More than merely exchanging passes, the players also made attempts to run at the defense and put pressure on goal, while also developing combinations in the final third, but their moves for the most part broke down before the finish could be applied. In defense, the emphasis on attack left space behind the back line, but Naoya Kondo and Tatsuya Uchida worked together to challenge and cover, preventing Jefferson from gaining freedom in the box. Even when the back line was breached in the 12^th minute, Kamifukumoto was quick to leave his line and hurl his body at the ball, blocking the ensuing shot. The first half thus ended with Verdy in control and a goal looking soon to come.

As the second half resumed, Verdy once again dominated the ball. Stretching the defense with their quick ball movement, the players were able to create space and increase their share of possession to an even greater percentage than the first half. In the 57^th minute, Yamamoto made himself the center of the passing play and put the opposition on their heels by playing a cross into the box for that Leandro met with a header. The effort went over the bar but still signified Verdy's increased attacking threat. In the 66^th minute, the team would again create a chance from a corner kick. Sato played a swift ball to the near post that found the head of Kondo, but his effort would just shave the bar and failed to find the net. In the 80^th minute, a mistake in the players' combination play led to a dangerous counter-attack for the opposition and as the ball holder created the angle for a shot, Kamifukumoto once again came to the rescue by throwing himself forward and forcing the effort to cannon off the post. With little time remaining, the Verdy players would once again resume their passing play and force Yamagata into their own half. However, the final whistle would sound before they could find the finish.

After two consecutive draws, the team may be left with more frustration than anything else. However, the precision with which the players carry out their possession-based style is on the rise. The only issue that remains is at the finish of their attacking moves. How can the team put the ball in the net, how can they break down their opposition, and how can they share greater imagination? As they seek the goals needed to win, Verdy must next prepare to face another upper-table club in Mito HollyHock.

Manager Hideki Nagai

Your thoughts on the match?
It was a very difficult game to judge. In my own mind, I could sense that the players understood the kind of football we want to play and felt that they executed it well. aaa

How do you think the players performed in terms of breaking down the opposition?
Honestly, I still feel that we have not achieved the kind of attacking play we consider ideal. As the players try to fully follow my instructions, there should come a moment when they can also break from form in a positive way and do something surprising.

What do you think is the reason for the shortage of shots and runs at the defense?
From my perspective, I feel like that aspect is improving, even if only little by little. Hereu2019s what I told the players in training and before todayu2019s match. Our fundamental rule is to play the ball into the spaces our opponents have not filled. To do that, we have to improve our ability to see those spaces and judge where the ball needs to go. In terms of taking up the right positions and controlling the ball from there, I think we have finally made it to the start line. Our next step is to dominate both the ball and the space. In that sense, while we have developed the basics of controlling the ball, our spacing or ability to control the space has not yet matured. To become a team where both the ball and the players are constantly moving forward, which is our core goal, I think we still have a lot of work to do. At the present moment, we are playing stereotypical possession football. The goal we actually want to pursue is progression, and our forward momentum will be important and something that needs our focus as we train.

Can you tell us your focus for selecting who plays at wide striker?
The biggest difference between now and when I was a youth coach is that I canu2019t keep my job by playing good football alone. As such, I have taken on the difficult task of aiming for both positive play and positive results. Of course, the final objective behind all of this is winning, but we canu2019t win if we donu2019t play well and I donu2019t think there is a shortcut in that regard. The changes I made to the side attacker positions were done in response to the opposition. We refer to the ends of the oppositionu2019s back five as #1 and #5. We knew that they would try to press us from there, so I wanted someone who could flick the ball past them quickly and thatu2019s why I played Rihito (Yamamoto) on the right. Heu2019s left footed, so heu2019s capable of flicking the ball wide immediately with his first touch and so I switched him from left to right. I played Sato at anchor for the first time, today, and when I first announced the decision, my coaching staff responded with u201chuh?!u201d However, I didnu2019t feel it was strange at all. His strong point is his 360-degree vision and he controls the ball well. So, I didnu2019t have any doubts, but it was enough to surprise my staff, sou2026Still, as I keep stressing, I want my players to experience many different positions and deepen their football understanding. In that aspect, the decision was made on the same basis as the others.

What is your objective in making changes to the way the squad lines up with every match? Is it something that you are doing to help the team build or is a reaction to the opposition?
The biggest difference between now and when I was a youth coach is that I canu2019t keep my job by playing good football alone. As such, I have taken on the difficult task of aiming for both positive play and positive results. Of course, the final objective behind all of this is winning, but we canu2019t win if we donu2019t play well and I donu2019t think there is a shortcut in that regard. The changes I made to the side attacker positions were done in response to the opposition. We refer to the ends of the oppositionu2019s back five as #1 and #5. We knew that they would try to press us from there, so I wanted someone who could flick the ball past them quickly and thatu2019s why I played Rihito (Yamamoto) on the right. Heu2019s left footed, so heu2019s capable of flicking the ball wide immediately with his first touch and so I switched him from left to right. I played Sato at anchor for the first time, today, and when I first announced the decision, my coaching staff responded with u201chuh?!u201d However, I didnu2019t feel it was strange at all. His strong point is his 360-degree vision and he controls the ball well. So, I didnu2019t have any doubts, but it was enough to surprise my staff, sou2026Still, as I keep stressing, I want my players to experience many different positions and deepen their football understanding. In that aspect, the decision was made on the same basis as the others.

Please tell us your criteria for selecting who plays at center back.
In my opinion, the most important attribute for a defensive player is the ability to read the game and make the right decisions. As long as we have our center backs push up, so that we can maintain possession, weu2019re going to get hit on the counter several times and there will be a large amount of space at the back. In some ways, itu2019s only natural that the opposition will take advantage of that, but from my perspective, thereu2019s only one ball on the pitch at a time and that means thereu2019s only one player who can start the counter. If we can manage the space and read where that first position will be, we can prevent them from breaking quickly. So, for me, the best center backs are the ones who can read the game in that way and who wonu2019t make bad decisions. I will continue with that criteria as we move forward and itu2019s something I want the players to improve at as well.

MF 16Koki Morita

Your thoughts on the match?
We were in control of the play, but the important thing is to end our moves with a goal.

You had a shot on goal, yourself. Did that largely happen as planned?
I don’t think there was any problem with timing. The fact that I missed the shot was my mistake, alone.

You are getting into good areas of the pitch, but what else can be done for more decisive play at the end of moves?
I did get into the box and make a shot, but I also think I can take more efforts from mid-range or contribute my own ideas for breaking down the defense by being more involved in the combination play.

What do you think about the fact that the opposition had more decisive chances, despite your having a much greater share of possession?
Personally, I don’t feel like we’re rushing things too much. On the contrary, I think we had a lot of time and freedom on the ball due to our possession. The opposition didn’t score either, so I think the important thing is for us to not spurn the chances that we do create. With that said, Kami(Fukumoto) rescued us several times, today.

The match against Tochigi unfolded in largely the same manner, but it felt like you had more clarity on what you wanted to do, today. However, given that the season is more than half over, it could be said that the team needs to be improving at a faster rate.
I think we will improve the quality of our play and individually, we will each improve our tactical understanding. When we do that, I know that we can play good football, so we have to treat each match with the utmost importance. If we can’t express our football within the flow of the game, then it means nothing. I want us to become a team that can execute our ideas on the match pitch.

MF 9Yuhei Sato

You did a good job of evading their press and moving the ball into the opposition half.
We have different objectives for each match, but I think we’ve achieved our intention of controlling the ball in the opposition half. As the manager said, however, the final product is the most important thing in football and it is there that our true strength as a team will be reflected. There are times where we won’t be able to break down our opponents without doing more than what the manager asks of us, and there are other times where the patterns we work on will be effective. I’d like us to improve in both areas.

It seemed like you were caught offside more than usual, today.
For today’s match, we made a lot of use of the space behind their back line and that’s something the manager often asks of us. Today I played at anchor, but I tried to put the ball into pockets of space in the wide areas whenever I was able to face forward with the ball. I think Kaji(kawa) and Koki (Morita) were probably mindful of the same. The manager often tells us that we “half succeeded” and since playing the ball behind the defense is part of our plan, we did half succeed at that, but if we’re caught offside, I think it’s also half failure. If we can build better timing when we push deep into their half, I think we will have more opportunities to end our moves with a shot. It’s not like the manager is telling us not to shoot and in fact, we’re told to look for shots as much as possible. The fact that we, the players, haven’t accomplished that is a problem with ourselves. The manager’s instructions are not to blame. A lot of us have expressed the opinion that we should take more shots on goal, but at present, we keep electing not to do so.

This was your first time to play at anchor.
A midfielder has to be able to play at any position and to a degree, the manager provided me a model for how I should play during our meetings. I know what sort of things a midfield anchor does and what things a shadow striker does, so it wasn’t awkward for me at all.

MF 19Junki Koike

When playing at wide striker, is there a difference between playing on the opposite side and your normal side?
Even when I play on the right, my goal is to cut inside and put in shots. However, I have to coordinate that with the players behind me. Today, I was on the left and I know that Nara(wa) will take high positions, so if I can cut inside at those times, it will draw defenders away and give him freedom. I tried to be mindful of that, today. With that said, the more I do that, the less likely I am to get on the ball and make a direct impact. I wanted to run with the ball more and I ‘m disappointed that I did not have more chances to do so.

You seemed to be caught offside more than usual, today.
I do think I needed to be more patient. Those runs were something that we’ve worked on as a team, but the timing is difficult and I have to consider how long the motion is of the player making the pass and match my first step to that. I have the feeling that I can still beat my defender, even if I make the run a beat or two later. With all that said, I want to continue making runs. In today’s match, we once again finished at 0-0 and had few shots on goal, so I have to do more things like pass and move inside, or be more dynamic. Otherwise, there will be no difference between myself and the other players. I have to work on expressing my individual strengths more.

After playing as a side back recently, you seemed to be focusing on improving your defensive abilities, but today you played in a more attacking role as a wide striker.
The plan was for me to make runs and free up space for Nara(wa) and we combined well to get me the ball in the middle at times. However, I wanted to receive another pass at the end and then move the ball to the right. If we don’t do things like that, I don’t think we will frighten the opposition. That’s something I will work on as we move forward.

The match against Tochigi unfolded in largely the same manner, but it felt like you had more clarity on what you wanted to do, today.
When we have possession for as long as we did today, I’m certain that it’s harder on the opposition. However, if we could have threatened the opposition more at the end of moves, as well, I think we could have gotten at least one goal today. Overall, I think we are making progress bit by bit.

Do you have the impression that the team is lacking, both in terms of executing the patterns your work on in training and in producing individual ideas that go farther than what the manager asks for?
Since we have focused so much on learning the patterns, lately, I feel that my individual qualities have not shown in-match. I have to recognize our tactics and then, on top of that, take initiative on my own. In those terms, I don’t think I have done enough during the last few matches. I’d like to break that pattern in a positive way in the future and show more individually.

MF 38Ryota Kajikawa

Your thoughts on the match?
In terms of finishing moves, we’ve been working on different ways to combine, but we haven’t yet been able to accomplish that with precision. Because of that, we will have to rely more on individual ideas. If we have a firmly established base, it’s not a problem for an individual to choose a different idea, but at this time, I still think we need to work on the fundamentals more.

Today, each player seemed to be placed in a different position than in the past.
Individually, our roles don’t change, no matter who is on the pitch, and I think our understanding of that aspect is growing deeper.

The match against Tochigi unfolded in largely the same manner, but it felt like you had more clarity on what you wanted to do, today.
We were determined to find holes in the defense and then play the ball there. That means stretching the play wide and switching things to the opposite side. Compared to the previous matches, I think we did a better job of that, today. However, we also have to execute what comes after that. We have to make sure that we are not just passing the ball for its own sake and Coach Nagai has told us that he doesn’t want us to be a purely possession-based team and to focus on ending moves with a shot. We have to develop a better understanding in that area.

While it wouldn’t help to simply take bad shots, what do you think is the reason for the low number of efforts on goal?
It’s comes down to players’ decision making in the end. Coach Nagai has never told us not to shoot and instead has emphasized the need for judgment on whether it is better to shoot or pass when both options are available. I’m sure it looks like we are electing to pass at all times, rather than take shots, but that’s not due to the manager’s tactics. Rather, I think it’s a problem with those of us on the pitch. The football we’re aiming for is not to pass the ball endlessly and we need to work more on finding space for shots and making late runs. It was the same in the match against Tochigi. Watching from the bench, I did find myself thinking “shoot!” several times. The fact that many times we elect not to shoot means that we’re being too careful, or at least that we’re choosing to pass. Whatever the case, each player has to develop the judgment necessary to generate a goal.

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