Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 30 match Gamba Osaka Post-match comments

"The fight that our players showed today was amazing. Our goal today was to win the game, and we were able to achieve that.

We struggled in our first zone for a long time. However, we showed a very high level of defensive organization and team spirit in this match. By taking three points today, we have improved our position in the table. We have just finished this difficult away game, but next up is our home game against FC Tokyo. Hopefully we can win there as well.

I think we were able to control the game pretty well in the first half of today's match. Gamba Osaka only had one chance, a shot by Issai Sakamoto. Then in the second half, we brought on offensive players like Naoki Maeda, Yusuke Matsuo, and Thiago Santana, making substitutions as planned. The game plan was to go for the points with them, but we brought them on while we were leading, which was a bit different from the scenario, so they were also asked to do defensive tasks. It may not be their strongest point, but they did a good job there.

I believe that as time goes on, we will be able to play more openly and aggressively, but at the moment we are fighting for points and this is how things have gone.

I would also like to thank the players and the whole team for their incredible hard work today."

[Question and Answer Session]
(It was a great result with no goals conceded, and I think the back block was particularly tight. What areas did you emphasize in your coaching during the one week preparation period?)
"We have been focusing on defensive organization and defense within the penalty area. These are changes from the system used by the previous coach, Per-Mathias Hoegmo. We also worked on build-up play, despite the limited time we had. I think today's goal was the result of very good play, but that is also the result of good work by the previous coach, Matthias."

(Last year's defensive coach, Wojciech Makowski, has not yet joined the team, but his translator, Maiki Hayashi the coach and analyst, must have been a great help.)
"(Wojtek) Makowski is the head defensive coach, but in his absence, I asked coaches Ikeda (Nobuyasu), Maesako (Masato) and Hayashi to work extremely hard. They gave me a lot of advice, including information about players I don't know very well yet, and I was able to take on this match with that advice."

(Maybe it was because you were tired towards the end of the game, but you often lost the ball after winning it?)
"The players' physical condition is also a topic of discussion. Before I arrived in Japan, I had the players undergo tests to check their physical condition. So I have an understanding of their current situation. However, if they could maintain their shape a little more, I think we could reduce the number of times they had to run. Tactically, today's game was not perfect."

(Haraguchi Genki came on as a substitute and played for the Reds for the first time in 10 years. He played as a defensive midfielder, but what was your plan for putting him in the team?)
"I talked with (Haraguchi) Genki about how we need him as a defensive midfielder in the next few games. He is an experienced and skilled player who also shows high motivation on the pitch, so I think he will be a great support for the other players. And what he showed on the pitch today was exactly what we expected.

Right now we need points, so we're playing it safe, but by getting to know the players better, I want to be able to make better use of them. I hope that by the end of the season, we'll be able to make the most of the players, including the system.


[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]