I want to make a move in Tokyo's soccer with a fresh team

　The preseason match with FC Bayern Munich from the German Bundesliga will be held. Doi, Shigeki, Konno, and Kaji are absent due to their activities with the Japanese national team. Jean, Lucas, Toda, and Kanazawa are missing due to injuries, but "the members who played in the 6 consecutive matches in July are still fatigued. First, we want to have a fresh battle with fresh members, bring it to an exhausting match, and then bring in players who are accustomed to the game at crucial moments," said Manager Hara, explaining his strategy.

　FC Bayern Munich is one of the top clubs in the world. They boast the highest number of championships in the Bundesliga and dominated the league in the 2004/2005 season. They also won the German FA Cup, achieving a double crown. The lineup includes GK Kahn, MF Ballack (both German national team players), FW Makaay (Netherlands), and other national team players from various countries, making it a truly world-class team. They arrived in Japan immediately after competing in the semi-finals of the German League Cup on July 26th (Tuesday), raising concerns about their condition. However, Coach Hara expressed his expectations for their dedication, saying, "Bundesliga players do not slack off even with a slight decline in condition. There will also be individual player appeals and position battles leading up to the league opening on August 5th."

　Today, the registered members will be limited to 22 players, with a maximum of 6 substitutions. Tokyo's new signing, Sasa SALCEDO, made his first appearance as a starter. Endo made his first start in an official match. Bayern lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with FW Macai as the lone striker. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium with Tokyo's kickoff at 19:34.

Bayern, who are not tired, allow a 2-goal lead in the first half

　2 minutes into the game, Ishikawa boldly challenged a 1-on-1 duel on the right side after a side change by Miyazawa, winning a corner kick. Suzuki Nori entered from the short corner and won another corner kick. In the 3rd minute, it was Miyazawa's turn to take the corner kick. Asari picked up the loose ball and aimed for a shot, but it went wide to the left. Tokyo started the game aggressively, but Bayern gradually found their rhythm. They moved well, connected passes, and developed plays in front of the goal without being affected by fatigue. The game mostly saw Bayern dominating possession, and it progressed within Tokyo's half.

　In the 11th minute, Bayern's center back DF Lucio shot from the left area. Endo made a save. In the 12th minute, DF Ismael headed the ball from a free kick. In the 18th minute, FW Makaay shot again from a free kick, but Tokyo DF defended well and did not allow any clear chances. However, in the 19th minute, Fujiyama, who received the ball from the GK, tried to pass to Fujita on the right side, but it was intercepted by Bayern's right MF Karimi, who advanced into the area. After attracting the DF, a negative cross was sent to the front of the goal, and FW Makaay easily scored, taking the lead.

　In the 23rd minute, Suzuki Nori sprinted down the left side and sent a strong ground cross from an angleless position, but no one could get on the end of it in front of the goal. In the 28th minute, Bayern's right midfielder Daisler -> right, the central midfielder Jeremyse who had drifted to the right launched a quick attack. The return pass was finally cleared by Asari for a corner kick. In the 29th minute, from this left corner kick, defender Lucio jumped in with a high header and scored a goal. They were now trailing by two points.

　In the 32nd minute, the opponent's defender cleared Miyazawa's free kick. Baba picked up the loose ball just outside the area and played a soft floating pass to the front line. Sasa, with his back to the goal, attempted a volley shot, but it hit the crossbar. In the 34th minute, Ishikawa made a run to the front line and tried to connect with a free kick, but it didn't hit. In the 40th minute, a free kick from the left side of the opponent's field. Baba passed the ball back to the center with a ground pass. Asari made a daring shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's defender. In the 43rd minute, Ishikawa persisted on the right side and won a throw-in. Sasa kept the ball inside the right area from Fujita's throw-in. The pass hit the opponent's defender and couldn't be finished. Tokyo also tried to counterattack persistently, but they couldn't go on the offensive against Bayer's accurate play without losing the ball even under pressure. In the first half, Asari had two shots and Sasa had one shot.

Although we grasped the rhythm with Kajiyama's introduction...

　In the second half, Tokyo substituted Kajiyama for Asari. Bayern also made four substitutions, including the goalkeeper. In the first half, Tokyo had no support for the player with the ball, who was afraid of the opponent, and either dropped the ball or had it half-heartedly taken away. However, from the start of the second half, everyone started actively receiving the ball, and Kajiyama, with his excellent ball control, began to establish a good rhythm in the midfield. In the 49th minute, Baba, who had drifted to the right, took a bold shot from outside the box. It hit the defender, but Baba picked up the loose ball and crossed it. Sasa jumped in near the goal and attempted a header, but missed the target. In the 54th minute, Sasa intercepted the opponent's ball. Kajiyama connected with Ishikawa on the right side, who took a daring shot, but it went across the goal. In the 57th minute, from Nori Suzuki's free kick, it went to the right corner kick. Miyazawa attempted to connect with the loose ball from Baba's kick, but missed the contact.

　Finally, we were able to create an attacking shape and bring it to a shot. In the 60th minute, Miyanosawa and Oyoku were replaced by Miura and Kurisawa. Kurisawa entered as the left MF and Nori Suzuki entered as the left SB, and we launched a counterattack. On the defensive side, in the 64th minute, Otter's sharp cross from the side change from Bayern's left to right was cleared by Mashima with a sliding tackle. In the 66th minute, Endo saved the shot from left MF Salihamicic, which came from a quick attack. In the 71st minute, Kondo Yu was substituted for Sasa. However, just as we were trying to increase our momentum with the substitution, in the 73rd minute, the entire DF line stopped against the through pass sent to the goal from Bayern's left, and Nori Suzuki's handling was sluggish, allowing FW Guerrero to steal the goal.

　In the 74th minute, just after conceding the third goal, left midfielder Salihamedzic jumped out from near the halfway line to meet a lofted pass from midfielder Barak and took a shot against Bayern's counterattack. It went into the bottom right corner of the goal, and Tokyo conceded their fourth goal. Still, in an attempt to get a goal back, in the 78th minute, Ishikawa passed the ball to Fujita on the right front line. Fujita, who had advanced forward, crossed the ball parallel to the goal from a deep position, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. In the 89th minute, Kajiyama passed the ball to Baba, who then passed it to Kurizawa, and Kajiyama, who had moved to the center, attempted a shot but it curved to the right. In the 80th minute, Kobayashi was substituted for Ishikawa. Kajiyama picked up the loose ball from Baba's right corner kick in the 81st minute, but he was surrounded by opponents and lost possession. In the 83rd minute, the quick attack went from Baba to Fujita on the right, then to Kobayashi, and Fujita, who had moved forward, tried to return the ball, but was blocked by the opponent's defender and resulted in a throw-in.

　In front of Bayern, who never let their intensity drop, we couldn't execute fast attacks as they were intercepted midway and couldn't reach the goal easily. In the 42nd minute, Noriyuki SUZUKI, who picked up the loose ball, aggressively aimed for the goal from outside the box, but it hit the crossbar. Despite overall fatigue, Bayern had few mistakes, connected the ball well, and demonstrated their ability to develop the game. Ultimately, Tokyo couldn't control the pace throughout the 90 minutes and couldn't showcase their strengths. As a result, they suffered a defeat, which can also be attributed to their own mistakes, conceding four goals.

　【Player Comments】《Sasa》"The condition was not bad overall. Of course, I was determined to win, but it was the first official match for me, and we played mainly with young players. Honestly, I felt that the opponent's level was high, but I think it was meaningful to gain experience. I'm happy to be able to play in an official match for the first time. Our goal is to restart the league in August, so I want to continue training and do my best."《Mashima》"I think we were able to crush the opponent in the first half. In the second half, when we started to get tired, it became a one-on-one situation, which was a challenge. We stopped the defensive line and ended up being scored on freely. I was impressed by the quick movements of FW MacKay and MF Barrack. Especially MacKay left space for a wedge, and when we aimed for it, DF Lucio sent the ball behind us. That combination was amazing."《Endo》"We conceded 4 goals, but they were our own mistakes. Personally, if we were going to be scored on, I wanted it to be a spectacular goal... However, plays that I thought were dangerous were cleared by Fuji-san and Ryuya. I think we were able to concentrate for the full 90 minutes without hesitation, but looking back now, I should have encouraged from the back more and tried to intimidate the opponent... I'm reflecting on that."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I thought we fought with all our might, but the individual abilities of Bayern Munich's players, as well as their competitiveness in ball contests, which they call 'Tsubai Cup' in German, stood out. In the J-League, we were able to take the ball, but they took it from us most of the time. Even considering the length of their legs, when we played with the sense of the J-League, their legs would come out and take the ball away. From the stands, we were told to 'shoot', but when we tried to shoot, they closed in on us. They had that strength in ball contests. Also, the timing of Center Forward McKay's runs, and as we saw in the second half, when we tried to defend against FW Pizarro and FW Guerrero, even if we tried our best to close in, we couldn't reach them. I once again felt the strength and breadth of play from world-class teams and top players. Despite arriving in Japan just yesterday, they were truly impressive... to be honest. We fought with all our might, but it was all about learning. Since we have many young players, I hope they take what they learned from playing today as motivation for the future. I want them to learn that there are still many strong players in the world and use that to strengthen our team in the future."

　[Summary of Bayern Magath's press conference] "I am very satisfied. We were able to convert all the goal opportunities, scored 2 points in both halves, and met the expectations of the fans. I am very happy to end the first game in Japan with this result. (What is the significance of this tour?) We are very aware that the season is about to start, so we are focusing on building the team for that. Of course, the content of the football is important, but there is also the fact that this Japan tour is an opportunity for the Japanese people to get to know the team and also serves as a commercial purpose. I am satisfied with that. (Did you change the players and the way they played in the first and second halves?) Both were difficult. I think FC Tokyo fought well, and they have been under pressure for a long time. So there is no saying which one was better. Both can be considered good, and both were equally difficult. I can't say that I know much about FC Tokyo, but they have good players and a lot of young players. They need experience. I hope they will gain more experience as the season progresses and improve."

　"《Bayern FW Makai》"I am satisfied with the good game. Although I can't say I wasn't tired after a long journey, I was able to approach many goals and even score. I think it was a good preparation for the league match that will start in a week. (Was the audience too quiet?) That's not the case. I received good support and warm encouragement. (What is your impression of FC Tokyo?) I felt the difference in level between European and Japanese teams from the first half. But they also worked hard." "《Bayern MF Barrack》"I am satisfied with the result. It's only the second day since I arrived here. I think there are players who are tired, but they fought well under such unfavorable conditions. Many players had a long preparation period before departure, and it has only been a day since they arrived, so they might be even more energetic now. The next Saturday's game might be more dangerous (laughs). FC Tokyo had some good players. They were fast and had players who came forward."