NEWS
Maciej Skorza post-match press conference after the match against FC Tokyo
Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 1 match FC Tokyo Post-match comments
"It was a very disappointing result. Our aim was to start the season in a better way.
Today, the first and second halves of the game were completely different. Although we weren't perfect in the first half, I think we were able to play our style of football. Our high press was also quite good, and we had many opportunities to steal the ball from the opponent, but we struggled to create scoring opportunities after that. There were some offsides, but I think we were a little slow in our decisions or made some mistakes.
In the second half, we became a bit passive and were unable to maintain the intensity of our press, allowing FC Tokyo to play in our own half. After that, we tried to increase the intensity of our defense by bringing in fresh wingers. We conceded an own goal, but we conceded a goal while the opponent was constantly pushing us back, so I won't use the word "unlucky." After the second goal, we tried to change the flow by bringing in Shinzo (Koroki) and Takahiro (Sekine), but we couldn't do it.
I would like to analyze this match in detail, especially the second half. I think it is important not to show two very different sides in one match. I wanted to win my debut match in the J-League, so I am very disappointed and sad. But to tell you the truth, I have not had very good results in my first match with my previous team.
It was a sad day, but I saw one wonderful thing. It was the Urawa Reds fans and supporters. It was the first time in my career that I saw so many supporters at an away game. I want to thank all the fans and supporters, and I will work even harder so that the next game will be enjoyable.
[Question-and-answer session]
(Did you discover anything new while playing in the J-League?)
"First of all, I felt that the J.League has a lot of players with great technical ability and skills. And while they have skills, they also play at a very high level, with a high level of intensity. However, this was not something I discovered today, it was something I already knew. In order to prevent them from demonstrating their skills, I tried not to give the opponents any space in today's match. That was my first impression of the J.League."
(Even though we stole the ball from the opponents in good positions, it didn't lead to many scoring opportunities. Is this something we need to improve by continuing training, or do we need to improve the individual conditions?)
"I think we could have all been in a better position when we scored our own goal, but I'm not just talking about inside the penalty area when we conceded. I think one of the things that didn't go well was that we didn't keep the ball. We weren't able to keep the ball and attack, which gave us more time to run around. I think we can improve on a lot of elements like that."
(Alexander Scholz hardly participated in the attack today. Until now, his participation in the attack has been an accent for the offense, but was there a tactical reason why he didn't participate today?)
"Scholz is a player who also contributes to the offense, so it's not like we had any particular rules in place today. FC Tokyo is strong at counterattacks, so I think we were careful about that. Diego Oliveira and Adailton are very good at that kind of play, so today our priority among the center backs was to stop the opponent's counterattacks."
(At the start of the game today, Tomoaki Okubo was on the left wing and Yoshio Koizumi was at attacking midfield, but they were switched midway through the first half. What was the aim and what effect did it have?)
"In this team, Koizumi and Okubo are allowed to switch positions. When Okubo plays as an attacking midfielder, he and (Koizumi) Kaho play in a different way.
In today's case, when we were struggling in the middle zone, we switched positions to create a different shape. For me, that's a natural play, and in the future, I want to see not just two of us, but the top, attacking midfielder, and both wingers switching positions more and more. I want all four of us to fight as all-rounders."
Was that a change of opinion on the part of the players?
"Of course, there are times when I instruct the players to switch positions, and times when the players decide to change positions. What's important is that everyone understands the four positions. This is true not only for offense, but also for defense after the play is over, so even during training camp, I talked to everyone so that they would understand how to defend in each position. So, even if I don't give instructions, as long as they understand the rules, there's no problem with switching positions."
[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]
"It was a very disappointing result. Our aim was to start the season in a better way.
Today, the first and second halves of the game were completely different. Although we weren't perfect in the first half, I think we were able to play our style of football. Our high press was also quite good, and we had many opportunities to steal the ball from the opponent, but we struggled to create scoring opportunities after that. There were some offsides, but I think we were a little slow in our decisions or made some mistakes.
In the second half, we became a bit passive and were unable to maintain the intensity of our press, allowing FC Tokyo to play in our own half. After that, we tried to increase the intensity of our defense by bringing in fresh wingers. We conceded an own goal, but we conceded a goal while the opponent was constantly pushing us back, so I won't use the word "unlucky." After the second goal, we tried to change the flow by bringing in Shinzo (Koroki) and Takahiro (Sekine), but we couldn't do it.
I would like to analyze this match in detail, especially the second half. I think it is important not to show two very different sides in one match. I wanted to win my debut match in the J-League, so I am very disappointed and sad. But to tell you the truth, I have not had very good results in my first match with my previous team.
It was a sad day, but I saw one wonderful thing. It was the Urawa Reds fans and supporters. It was the first time in my career that I saw so many supporters at an away game. I want to thank all the fans and supporters, and I will work even harder so that the next game will be enjoyable.
[Question-and-answer session]
(Did you discover anything new while playing in the J-League?)
"First of all, I felt that the J.League has a lot of players with great technical ability and skills. And while they have skills, they also play at a very high level, with a high level of intensity. However, this was not something I discovered today, it was something I already knew. In order to prevent them from demonstrating their skills, I tried not to give the opponents any space in today's match. That was my first impression of the J.League."
(Even though we stole the ball from the opponents in good positions, it didn't lead to many scoring opportunities. Is this something we need to improve by continuing training, or do we need to improve the individual conditions?)
"I think we could have all been in a better position when we scored our own goal, but I'm not just talking about inside the penalty area when we conceded. I think one of the things that didn't go well was that we didn't keep the ball. We weren't able to keep the ball and attack, which gave us more time to run around. I think we can improve on a lot of elements like that."
(Alexander Scholz hardly participated in the attack today. Until now, his participation in the attack has been an accent for the offense, but was there a tactical reason why he didn't participate today?)
"Scholz is a player who also contributes to the offense, so it's not like we had any particular rules in place today. FC Tokyo is strong at counterattacks, so I think we were careful about that. Diego Oliveira and Adailton are very good at that kind of play, so today our priority among the center backs was to stop the opponent's counterattacks."
(At the start of the game today, Tomoaki Okubo was on the left wing and Yoshio Koizumi was at attacking midfield, but they were switched midway through the first half. What was the aim and what effect did it have?)
"In this team, Koizumi and Okubo are allowed to switch positions. When Okubo plays as an attacking midfielder, he and (Koizumi) Kaho play in a different way.
In today's case, when we were struggling in the middle zone, we switched positions to create a different shape. For me, that's a natural play, and in the future, I want to see not just two of us, but the top, attacking midfielder, and both wingers switching positions more and more. I want all four of us to fight as all-rounders."
Was that a change of opinion on the part of the players?
"Of course, there are times when I instruct the players to switch positions, and times when the players decide to change positions. What's important is that everyone understands the four positions. This is true not only for offense, but also for defense after the play is over, so even during training camp, I talked to everyone so that they would understand how to defend in each position. So, even if I don't give instructions, as long as they understand the rules, there's no problem with switching positions."
[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]
