Alberto Tokyo, which started the season with a completely different playing style, is about to finish the first half. If I were to give a subjective grade for the difficult halfway point of the ambitious season, it would be "65 out of 100." It is a score with some expectations for passing.
When looking at the team's current situation in terms of "points," such as being eliminated in the group stage of the Levain Cup, three consecutive losses in the league since May, and a lack of scoring in recent games, many may think that a failing grade is inevitable. However, when looking at the team's performance and changes since the beginning of the season in terms of "progress," it is clear that there has been growth and improvement.
Regarding the evaluation of positional play advocated by Coach Albert, he believes that it cannot be measured by numbers (stats) such as ball possession rate and number of goals. Although there are limitations to verbalizing and skipping the visualizable parts, the evaluation criteria for positional play that I have acquired during my 5-year stay in Spain is "whether I was able to play effectively in each situation or not?"
Soccer is a sport with an equal number of players on both sides, 11 vs 11, and it is precisely because of this equality that the key point in each situation, both in attack and defense, is "how to create a numerical advantage." For example, when we look at the starting point of Alberto Tokyo's attack, which is the build-up phase, we can see that there is no fixed formation and that the approach is flexible, adapting to the opponent's positioning and movements.
In order to build up near the final line, it is a principle to create a "+1" in response to the number of opponents' front line presses, but the pattern of "Takuya Aoki coming down between the center backs" is not fixed. The important thing is to always "create a numerical advantage of +1 by observing the opponent" and use that numerical advantage to break through the opponent's first line.
Because a situation judgment based on principles rather than patterns is required at each stage, the mental load on the players is naturally high, but the individual understanding of the players and the harmony as a group have steadily improved since the beginning of the season. In particular, the stability of the build-up, which is the starting point of the attack, has significantly increased, and critical passing mistakes in distribution from the center-backs and goalkeepers have decreased significantly compared to the beginning of the season.
However, the difficulty of soccer lies in the fact that the opponent comes up with countermeasures. In response to FC Tokyo's positional play this season, every team now basically applies high pressure to restrict them. Especially against the three midfielders, they use a man-marking approach to block the passing lanes to the center, which inevitably leads to the circulation of passes on the outside and makes it easier for the opponent to create opportunities for attacking.
Alberto Tokyo has also been practicing press avoidance by developing pass routes that do not follow the opponent's guidance and utilizing the post work of Diego Oliveira, the top striker who jumps over the midfield. It is a very effective play and a skillful press avoidance, but the problem here is that there are few players who receive Diego's forward passes.
Both Shuto ABE and Kuryu MATSUKI are midfielders who have a high work rate and can move a lot, so there are many scenes where they surpass Diego OLIVEIRA, who plays in the midfield and does post-play. However, there are also many situations where a forward-looking starting point that receives the ball and quickly accelerates the attack is not created.
An important factor in advancing the attack in positional play is the "support that creates gaps" in addition to creating passing lanes. Against high-level defensive blocks, it is not possible to advance by only passing forward to break through each line. It is necessary to also utilize passes sideways, diagonally, and behind. To do this, it is necessary to create gaps in the positioning of players. If it is not always possible to advance one step at a time, then sometimes a method of advancing by taking three steps forward and two steps back is also necessary.
In terms of defense, this season is both aggressive and proactive. They deploy a high press from the front line and execute defensive actions to regain possession in the opponent's territory. It is without a doubt that foreign players such as Diego OLIVEIRA, Leandro, and Adailton are executing such hard work as pressing and chasing with great dedication, making them undoubtedly a team with one of the best discipline in J1.
Of course, in order to put a net on the ball at a high position with a high press, the team as a whole needs compactness and a high line, and in the first half of the season, FC Tokyo has organically moved and built a defensive organization that is connected like a chain. Due to their attacking style, it is easy to focus on their attacking when they have the ball, but I believe that the most noteworthy aspect of the first half of the season is the construction of this defensive organization.
However, there are still challenges in defense. Due to the risk of creating space behind the defensive line with a high line, there is a need to lower the defensive line when the press in the front line is reversed. However, there are still many instances where the decision to lower the defensive line is made too late. In such cases, the opponent forward becomes free when they drop into the midfield to create opportunities, and it becomes easy for them to create chances. While it may be better than being in a situation where the opponent utilizes the space behind the defensive line and creates a sudden threat, it is mentally tough for the players in the midfield and forward positions as they feel that they have "recovered" the ball but end up being attacked and have to cover a longer distance to get back, resulting in a high physical burden.
Even if there is a clear defensive concept as a team, whether to raise or lower the defensive line in such situations is ultimately left to the individual judgment of the defenders, so the decision to lower the defensive line that appears "safer" based on past experience and familiar style tends to be prioritized. However, this cannot be helped. After all, changing the style is a difficult task that involves changing these small but very important habits and criteria.
However, the fact that these pains of childbirth and processes are visualized is because the style that is advocated and the soccer that is aimed for are clear and logical. It is only in the first half that we can clearly see the parts that are going well and the parts that still remain as challenges, which is nothing more than the potential for growth as a team.
There is no doubt that results are everything in the business of soccer. Fans and supporters should rejoice and be thrilled by the goals and the results of the team they support. However, rather than reactive soccer that adapts to the opponent, we aim for proactive positional play, which is action soccer created by ourselves. We want people to enjoy the process as much as the results.
Text by Jean (Football Journalist)
▼Mr. Ichiro Ozawa's YouTube channel "Ichiro Ozawa Periodista" is currently streaming a preview video of the Kashima Antlers match on 5/29 (Sunday) in a conversation with Mr. Takashi Fukunishi. Please take a look!
