On the 17th, manager Maciej Skorza held an online press conference, where he spoke about his enthusiasm for the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 34 match against Tokyo Verdy, which will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday, October 17th.

(After the previous match against Cerezo Osaka, you said, "I don't want to talk about my impressions," "I won't talk about tactics," and "I want to prepare in the next two weeks," but what kind of approach did you take in those two weeks?)
"It was a very interesting time for me. The players worked really hard during that time. We looked for the best form for the match against Tokyo Verdy, focusing on build-up and attacking shapes. We also played a red-white match on Saturday, where we implemented measures against Tokyo Verdy. I think we are making progress in the right direction, but there were times when everyone couldn't participate due to injuries. Even so, I think it was a good time. I think the players are also making progress in the right direction. We will be able to see the results of this preparation on Saturday, but we tried some slightly different forms than before."

(Until now, you have often used Genki Haraguchi as a defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder or central midfielder, but has the past two weeks seen any opportunities for him to be used in other positions?)
"As I said before, I want him to play in the center first. I want him to be able to use his skills, experience and intelligence in the center of the pitch. Of course, there are different times in the game, so there is also the possibility that he will play on the wing."

(Coach Maciej said that he sees the four games up until the previous round as the first phase. There are four games between the next match against Tokyo Verdy and the next international match week, so it could be seen as the second phase. What do you want to focus on next after the results during this period?)
"Fighting stably throughout the 90 minutes is also an issue. I think that is one area for improvement. There were times during the game when I lost confidence and was unable to come up with ideas. We are not in the best position right now, so mentality is also an important issue. I think we need to regain our confidence. For example, after conceding a goal, our performance sometimes dropped when we were not in the best of form. I say stabilization, but I think we need to show our ideas throughout the 90 minutes in any situation, such as in build-up. Over the past two weeks, we have been training on build-up, where we used the space behind the opponent and the space between the lines with the cooperation of wingers, strikers, and attacking midfielders. I hope that we will be able to show a different style of play from before, but our next opponent is Tokyo Verdy, who defend in a cohesive 5-4-1 block, so I think it will be difficult to create many chances. I would like to see more cooperation between our attacking players than ever before."

(Some coaches resort to solutions that rely on individuals during difficult times. For example, they may try to give simple balls to strong forwards, making it easier for players with high individual abilities to play. However, Coach Maciej is different. He always seems to resolve issues as a group. Do you think that this is the way problems should be resolved in football?)
"First of all, we want to win games. I think it's common to take a simple approach in difficult times, but I believe we have enough strength here to get out of situations like this. At the same time, we want to use this time to build something that will be the backbone of our team next year."

(These three matches may be coincidental, but they conceded goals in the 17th minute against FC Tokyo, the 16th minute against Vissel Kobe, and the 17th minute against Cerezo OSAKA, and have not scored or conceded any since. They conceded goals not from a breakdown in their game, but from set pieces and penalties, and it seems like it would be difficult to fix this and turn things around, so how did they go about it?)
"We have made many adjustments over the past two weeks, but the main focus has been on build-up. Defensively, we have focused on high pressing and set pieces. Other than that, I think it's about overall game management. What to do when we have the ball, and the timing to go for high pressing when we lose it, we haven't been able to do so well in the past four games, and I think that has used up a lot of our energy. Another thing I have emphasized is communication on the pitch. I want the players to be able to manage things well on the pitch.

Another issue is that we had some injuries. Marius (Huibraten) was unable to play in Saturday's match due to injury, but he has joined training this week and is preparing for the match against Tokyo Verdy. Samuel (Gustafsson) and Brian (Linssen) also did not play in the match due to injury, but they are back this week. I think their return will also lead to improvements for the team."

What was the atmosphere like in the team these past two weeks?
"The atmosphere is not the best right now. I think many people are frustrated and angry about our current situation. However, I sense a strong determination from the players to change this. With that determination, I believe we can win Saturday's game and move up the table."

(What is your impression of Tokyo Verdy? You said that "it's difficult to create many chances because they defend in a cohesive block of 5-4-1," but are there any points you think about in terms of breaking down their defense?)
"I think they are a very solid and cohesive team. They are particularly difficult to beat when they are defending in zone 1 or zone 2. We have been analysing their games, and I think it is important to utilize the space behind the defensive line and the space between the lines. We conceded two goals against Shonan (Bellmare) on counterattacks, but I think that counterattacks are also an opportunity for us."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]