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MATCH

2019 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 27th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Kagoshima United FC

Match Report

Last week, Verdy suffered a major 0-4 defeat to Kyoto Sanga F.C. As they began preparations to deal with the loss, they were also hit by the news of Kota Watanabe’s transfer. The difficult circumstances required the team to show a rebound mentality and the squad that took the pitch had minor adjustments from the previous match. Naoya Kondo and Tatsuya Uchida were chosen to pair at center back, while Yuta Narawa and Rihito Yamamoto played as wide attackers on the right and left. Shion Inoue took a place at midfield anchor, while newly minted captain Kanya Fujimoto and Ryota Kajikawa were chosen at inside half. Finally, Leandro was given a free role on the front line with Junki Koike to his right and new signing Kang Soo Il on his left.

 

The match began with Verdy dominating possession of the ball and pushing into opposition territory. The players maintained tight spacing as they passed the ball and searched for avenues to break down the defense. In the 8th minute, an entry pass found its way to Leandro, who responded with a backheel ball into space that was picked up by Fujimoto. The latter looked to have broken free with a good chance to finish, but his shot was blocked and the threat ended. Until that point, the match had been fairly uneventful, with few shots on goal for either side, so the positive move seemed a glimmer of hope, but unfortunately, Fujimoto picked up an injury and could not continue, leaving Verdy without their young general and newly appointed captain. The setback forced an early change of direction and the manager addressed the overall balance by changing the formation, moving Yamamoto to anchor and Inoue to the wide attacking role. Moments later, the rain began to intensify, and the ball became difficult to control, allowing for play to breach the defense but no crosses that could be met in front of goal. In the end, the first half came to a close with the team unable to fill the void in attack.

 

The second half again began at Verdy’s pace. In the 48th minute, Kondo missed a near opportunity from a set piece and in the 53rd minute, Yamamoto played a one-two with Inoue that freed him in the final third for a mid-range shot that threatened the goal. It would be the other side, however, that claimed the advantage first. It was the 57th minute and Verdy’s attempts to pass at the back were cut out, allowing the opposition to bare down on goal from the short counter and score from an unmarked shot. After that, Verdy kept possession once again and moved the ball in the opposition area, probing for a weak point. However, Verdy would concede again in the 74th minute and leave themselves down two goals with only 20 minutes remaining. The player chosen to come on and change the momentum was Hiroki Kawano. Slotting in on the right as a wide attacker, Kawano ran at the defense and pulled markers away, allowing the attack to develop rhythm. In the 85th minute, Kawano stretched the defense on the left and received a pass from Inoue before dribbling into the penalty area. After cutting inside from the byline, the Verdy attacker hit a final pass across the face of goal that Leandro turned in first time. The Verdy resurgence didn’t stop there. Moments later, in the 87th minute, the ball was played from Kondo at the back line to Koike on the right and finally to Yuhei Sato. The latter ran with the ball to the left and then cut back, hitting a low shot from mid-range that had plenty of power and stung the hands of the goalkeeper before finding the net. Verdy had thus returned from the brink to bring the match back to parity. Still the momentum did not slow. The referee signaled four minutes of additional time and after the first minute, Kajikawa played a through pass from the center, behind the right side of the defense, where Koike broke free and found himself in on goal. The Verdy forward tried a strong pass into the middle but the effort was blocked and eventually fell in front of Kawano. As the ball descended, Kawano hit the ball with a first-time volley that found the net and succeeded in giving Verdy the lead.

 

Oh, but the gods of football are nothing but fickle. In the 93rd minute, Leandro tried to keep the ball on the front line but was brought down with what looked like a foul, allowing the opposition to play the ball in front of goal and score. The shock was clear on the faces of the Verdy players and their legs grew heavy, leading to them conceding a penalty on the final play of the match. It was an incredible pinch. However, the final penalty kick that would decide the result failed to find the target and the match was brought to a close at 3-3.

 

Over the last two matches, Tokyo Verdy have had few shots on goal and struggled to find ways to attack. On this day, the team managed to connect their passes and manipulate the defense. It was the patient continuation of that action that led to the goal rush at the end of the match. As the manager and players each spoke about at the end of the match, closing out the game after taking the lead is a difficult task. However, their ability to finish on this day, and the way they continued moving the ball until the end, eventually claiming several goals in quick succession, was a big step forward. It goes without saying that such steps forward are not the same as defending a lead and earning the full three points. Still, the fevered attempts to develop their new style since the change in manager have clearly gained speed. Watching the team earn the lead in such dramatic fashion and then lose it so quickly definitely hurts, but the players cannot hang their heads. They have shown that they can earn goals by playing with their style. Now they must prepare to win while doing that.

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Post-match comments

Manager Hideki Nagai

Your thoughts on the match?
We learned the other day that Chairman Kano of Yell Create, who had once saved this team from being dissolved, had died. To mourn the loss, all of the players approached today’s game with a high level of passion. We’re all aware that this year is the club’s fiftieth anniversary and that there are so many people from previous generations who contributed to our history, enabling us to be here today. I told the players to express their respects by wearing these new uniforms and by giving everything they had on the pitch. There are many things to be said about the game itself, but the most important thing for me is that we were able to finally break them down like that in the end. The way the goals finally came is an indication of how hard the players have worked over these past three weeks and I am grateful to them. With that said, we still have much to learn about the way we need to play, including in terms of game design. Once you are in a position to win, like we were today, it’s important to think about what kind of football we need to play. Finishing the match off is also part of game design, so I take responsibility for our inability to do that, today.

Can you give us your opinions on how the team were able to bounce back from losing key players and their continued difficulty to make the right decisions on the pitch?
It goes without saying that in trying to get the players to play my style of football, we are in the process of incorporating many new elements. Among those, the one I continue to emphasize the most is for the players to “observe” their opponents. It’s clear that they are still having trouble seeing the game and engaging in a back and forth. I believe that the only thing we can do is continue working on that until we improve. At the same time, I have no plans for us to shrink away from the difficult y of the task by playing easy, conservative football. I want us to improve in every area, including observing our opponents. This may sound like a platitude, but my goal is to create a team that can maintain the same level of performance no matter who is on the pitch. So in terms of Kota (Watanabe) leaving, Kanya (Fujimoto) picking up an injury, and then Rihito (Yamamoto) as well, if we think about it in positive terms, it means finding three new players or developing three new players, so that’s something I’d like us to be excited about.

Since taking over as manager, you have chosen players from the youth team as captain and vice-captain. Can you tell us about that?
Of course, there are many ways to think about this, but in my mind, creating a new Verdy means injecting something new into the mix. However, I also understand, more than anyone, that J2 is not a league that you can win with young players alone. Before selecting our new captains, I gathered the veterans together in a meeting and told them my thoughts. I expressed that without the fresh strength of the young players, we wouldn’t be able to create a new chapter in the club’s history or secure our future. Despite that, I still believe that the stabilizing presence of the veterans and more experienced players is important for us to win. I hope to continue working on that balance in the future.

Kang Soo Il made his debut today. In what way did you aim to use his strengths as a player?
Actually, the player at whom I was most angry at half time was Kang Soo Il. Of course, that is also a reflection of how high my expectations are for him and I told him that his performance in the first half was not acceptable. I realize that part of this is that I haven’t successfully communicated to him what I want the team to do or his role in that, so in that sense, I think he did well for us, today. However, my expectations for him are much higher and he is someone that I am excited to see develop in the future.

Can you tell us why you made such major changes to the formation after Fujimoto’s injury?
To push our wide attackers high up the pitch, I felt that we need Rihito (Yamamoto)’s passing range and while it was only for a short time, another important decision was that I felt Shion (Inoue) was not seeing the whole pitch while playing in the center. I decided to push him into a wide striker role and try to develop the game from there. I told him to create space for Junki (Koike) to make runs.

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Post-match comments

MF 33Hiroki Kawano

Tell us about your assist.
I think Leandro did really well to get a touch there. The cross was traveling pretty fast. However, I had been able to slow things down and see the defense before I hit the pass, so I’m happy that Mon (Leandro) was able to get into the space and finish.

What about your goal?
I think I got more of the ball with my foot than my shin. I tried not to swing too hard and aimed just to get in on target. The ball was very slippery at that point. Honestly, the flight of the ball was such that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I missed, but I somehow willed it in.

You came on with the team down two goals. What did you focus on at that time?
I just called for the ball as much as possible and since I had noticed that we weren’t running at them with the ball through the middle, I felt that it was necessary to approach the goal as much as I could. We can move the ball all night without that leading to a goal, so I just tried to get into the penalty area and play balls off of Leandro as a way of breaking through the defense. The sole focus at that point was on claiming a goal.

You held the emblem on your shirt after scoring.
The president of the club had spoken to us before the match and I understood that we were to express mourning through our play, today. There were many things that went through my mind as I did that goal performance. Yesterday, we lost someone who had supported the club through a very difficult period and hearing that story enabled me to carry his pride onto the pitch. I would have liked us to win… but we will continue to do our best in training in order to get a win next time.

Your last appearance was your first under Coach Nagai and I’m sure it was a difficult one for you. What changes did you make before today’s appearance?
Last time, I didn’t yet have a good understanding, so I just did what I was told. If that’s all I do, however, there’s no reason for me to be on the pitch ahead of anyone else, so I tried to add something different to the team during training. That’s part of the reason I make the bench in the first place, so I told myself that the next time I played, I needed to have a meaningful impact and that change in mindset was probably the biggest difference.

In order to break the opponents down, someone like you who has individual skill on the ball is needed.
Everyone on this team is excellent at passing the ball, but watching from the bench for a few matches, I felt that the presence of someone who could beat their man one v one was what was missing. I myself had been choosing to pass instead of running at the defense over the last few times I played, so while I was on the bench, I had time to think about what was missing at the center of the pitch and take a hard look at my own play. I hope I can continue to recover some of my own individual strengths as the season goes on. I’m just glad I was able to achieve results today and I will train hard to do it again.

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FW 50Kang Soo Il

Tell us about making your debut.
I’m grateful to the manager for giving me my first appearance, today. I wish I had been able to guide the team to victory in the process and am somewhat frustrated that I could not.

We’re told the manager had some instructions for you at half time. What he did tell you?
The manager pointed out that I wasn’t tracking back into the right positions in defense. On top of that, I was playing as a wide striker, so I needed to make more runs behind the defense. I wish I had been able to carry out his instructions…

Were there any problems with your condition?
Not really.

Can you tell us what you need, individually, to start getting goals?
I think it’s important for me to gain a better tactical understanding and develop deeper communication with the other players. Understanding the team approach is particularly important, though. That’s what I want to work on first.

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MF 8Tatsuya Uchida

You played as one of two center backs, today. What did you focus on?
I’m certain that I was there to improve our build up. Of course, it’s a defensive position, so that role is important as well, but the reason for placing me in that position is to help with the build up, so that was my focus.

You did aid the defense with several sharp interceptions in good areas, though.
That’s my game, regardless of what position I’m in, so I always hope that I can do it. I was able to do it in good areas of the pitch, today, so I think I’m in good condition at the moment and I want to do that more.

At the end of the first half, you got forward with the ball and put in a close shot on goal. Was that something you always intended to do?
It’s best if I can and it takes advantage of an area the opposition is looking to exploit. If I can do more to read their intentions and flip things on their head at those times, it will be better for the team.

You struggled to finish the match off after taking the lead.
Of course, all of us had the intention of finishing the match off, there, and this was a game where we really had to do it. We need to reflect on that and I don’t think we can continue as we are, without improvement.

You’ve become better at getting past the first line of the high press.
That’s what makes getting the opening goal important. Also, even though we only did it after going down two goals, we showed that we have the power to score three, so we really have to stop conceding so easily. Since I’m playing in a defensive position, I have to fulfill those duties. Other than that, we have to be more dominant and decrease the amount of time we spend in defense.

In terms of defense, it seemed like you were pushed back a little too easily more than once, today.
I think we were too weak at closing them down. As a team, we have so many players that are strong in attack and it’s up to the players at the back to make their voices heard. Defense, too, is important in football and there will always be moments when we have to defend. The players at the back have to talk to the others at those times and as a team, we have to be strong in closing them down. There are many things we have to do as a team. That’s why we’re at the position in the table we’re in, so I think all we can do is address each issue one at a time.

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MF 24Yuta Narawa

Your thoughts on the match?
We’ve only had a few matches under Coach Nagai and I’ve had limited appearances due to injury. I think that among the matches I’ve had recently, this was the one where I felt the best.

You played on both sides of the pitch as a side back. Were you able to smoothly carry out that transition?
I’ve played on the left side most of the time since joining the team, but before that, I had played on the right mainly, so it doesn’t create a lot of stress for me to be on that side.

What image did you have for combining with Kang Soo Il?
I want to spare him from his defensive duties as much as possible. That’s because I wanted him to express his strengths in attack. However, at the end of the first half, I ended up causing him a bit of stress in defense, so I regret that.

Compared to the past, you pushed high up the pitch in the wide areas and got involved with the attack a lot, today.
Coach Nagai refers to the side back position as a side attacker. More than defend at the back, I think he wants me to get forward and be involved in the end of moves. In those terms, I have to do that a lot more.

How did you expect to push them back and get goals?
I think our goal is to push them back and keep the ball, as well as win it back immediately when we lost the ball. Part of that was also because of the circumstances, though, and the fact that they had the lead. However, over the last few matches, we’d tended to lose energy when we fell behind. That didn’t happen, today. So I think we’ve made progress in that sense.

Tell us what you think needed to be done to win after claiming the lead so dramatically.
At the end of the match, we needed to take as few risks as possible. As long as we play with this style, all of us will have to be independent and make our own decisions by judging the circumstances. This match was a painful reminder of that. With regard to today, we were too focused on maintaining possession and dominating the match. When it comes to the penalty kick, there are many ways to look at my decision to make that pass, but ultimately, I think it was something that I shouldn’t have done. As one of the more experienced players, I really felt my own immaturity at that moment.

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