2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 4 match against Kashiwa Reysol [MATCH PARTNER Polas Group] Post-match comments

"We didn't start as well as we would have liked. At home, in front of our fans and supporters, we wanted to go out stronger.

We haven't had very good results in our last few games, so I think we were a little nervous in today's game and weren't able to start calmly.

And even on days when we don't have a lot of pressure from the front line, we need to be a little more stable in defense. The first goal we conceded was a great shot from the opponent after a side change, but we need to get closer. The second goal we conceded was the same as the one we conceded against Shonan Bellmare.

However, there were also times when we were able to steal the ball from the opponents during high pressure. For example, the pass from (Haraguchi) Genki to (Maeda) Naoki was made after the ball was recovered from the high pressure.

Today's match may have been one in which we needed a trigger. In the Shonan match, we played well and scored goals, but if we had scored a goal just before the end of the first half, the match may have been different.

At halftime, we brought on two fresh players, Takuro Kaneko on the wing and Samuel Gustafsson at defensive midfield, and we tried to use the spaces between the lines or the wingers to get behind the defense and use diagonal balls to attack.

That's what I wanted to do from the start of today's match, but at halftime I told my fullbacks, 'Let's play more offensively.' We created chances in the second half, and I think we could have caught up, but we just didn't have enough decisive power at the end.

After four games, we are in a very difficult position. After the opening game against Vissel Kobe, I had higher expectations of the team. But in this consecutive three games in one week, we lacked the energy and attitude we had at the start of the season.

We have four days of practice before the match, and Matsuo (Yusuke) is now able to play longer, and we hope that Watanabe (Ryoma) will also return. Ryoma is a very important player.

First of all, we need to think about how to stabilize our defense. My team's strength is originally its stable defense, but I want to fix that as soon as possible. If we can stabilize that, I think the whole team will be able to fight with more confidence."

[Question and Answer Session]
(Shonan in the previous match and Kashiwa today had the ball in a similar way, and I think the Japanese team was good at keeping the ball and often missed the press. When the defense was stable two years ago, they defended in a low position, and it is clear that they are challenging, but what are your thoughts on the process to make the current defense function more effectively?)
"That's a very interesting question. Now that we've played four games, I'd like to take a look at the data and see what happened when we lost the ball. Two years ago, I think we were very good at what we did after losing the ball. I'd like to see whether we're still able to do that.

Of course, we want to move forward with attacking football, but I believe the foundation for this is stability.

Another thing I need to analyze is whether the tasks I give to the new players suit them and whether they can do them. If they don't suit them, I think we can make better use of the players, who are our resources, by adapting them to the players."

(What do you think is the reason for the impression that they made a comeback in the second half following the Shonan match, but then suddenly started to pick up steam after being scored on first? Is it because of a poor choice of starters that they were unable to land an early lead and were only able to show their true strength in the second half?)
"There is not one single reason. I think there were several. One of our aims in today's match was to bring on three fresh players. Our plan was to be determined and apply aggressive high pressure from the start, so we thought we would need fresh players to do that, and so we did.

The question may be asking whether the game would have been different if we had used Takuro from the beginning. I think that is also an important point. We want to play a game like the Kobe game."

(I think you spoke about distance in the pre-match press conference, but today in the first half you didn't seem to have a very good sense of distance. I think things got better after you corrected that, but what are your thoughts on that?)
"Distance is also an important factor. When we apply high pressure, defensive distance is also important. We have to stay compact. There were times when we applied good pressure, but if we made one or two mistakes, Kashiwa Reysol, who are able to play in an organized manner, would take advantage of that. That was particularly the case when we conceded the second goal.

Our sense of distance is something we need to improve. It's the most basic of basics, but we need to improve there."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]