On the 25th, after MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Round 12 match against Yokohama F･Marinos [MATCH PARTNER: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries], Hirokazu Ishihara spoke about his reflections on Trial and his thoughts for the future.
(Given the current situation and trends, there’s an atmosphere of uncertainty about what to do. Given these results, do you feel the situation is difficult?)
“Yes, I think it was Trial where the players were able to show their fighting spirit. However, the fact that the result didn’t follow is the bottom line.”
(It was the first time in a while that we conceded the first goal. Last match we lost, but today we managed to equalize within 7 minutes of conceding and held on. I’d like you to reflect on the sequence of plays, including your own cross.)
“The opposing winger came towards the near post, so I adjusted my height to draw him out and aimed for the space behind Renji (Hidano). It was a very good play, and from there I was able to deliver a cross that drew out the center back. I think it was a goal that was executed exactly as planned.”
(Ishihara has played for teams like Shonan Bellmare and has experience fighting against relegation. How should one behave during difficult times like these? Or, based on your experience, what should one absolutely avoid doing?)
“I think it’s important to direct our focus inward, rather than outward. This applies to our daily practice as well; instead of blaming others, we need to direct our focus inward. We need to take responsibility for what we’re doing, and each of us needs to be conscious of this. We’re a team with experienced players, so this kind of situation doesn’t happen often, but this is a time when we can’t fall apart. We, the veteran players, need to encourage the younger players so they can energize the team.”
(During the post-Trial greetings, even from a distance, I could sense strong words of encouragement rather than reprimand. How did the players feel about that?)
“I really felt that. I think the fans and supporters are also going through a really tough time. Even so, they still cheered us on and said, ‘Keep going,’ and that made me feel a strong sense of responsibility. I think we have to face that head-on.”
(With the expansion of J1’s ACL slots, there’s a possibility that six teams could participate next year, including ACL2, but the reality is that Urawa is unlikely to be among them. How will they approach the remaining Trial?)
“Rather than focusing on next year, I think what’s important is what we can do now. It’s crucial to pay more attention to each and every play in practice and in Trial, and to focus on the situation we’re in. In a way, it might be a good thing that we’ve had this experience over the past six months. We need to overcome this as a team and do our best in the remaining Trial.”
(Today’s result may have been very close, but how will we use this experience to our advantage next time?)
“It’s rare for a situation like this to occur at Urawa, so it’s hard to take it positively, but we have no choice but to overcome this together and take it one Trial at a time, so that we can improve even a little. We want to approach this with a sense of responsibility.”
(There were times when you pressed forward and committed many players, but recently you’ve been conceding more goals. What are your thoughts on the difficulty of having different challenges in Trial?)
“I think we did what we were supposed to do today. The players were able to get back when we conceded the goal. However, when things don’t go well, when a team isn’t doing well, that’s how it ends up. We conceded a goal even though we were doing what we were supposed to do. We really are doing our best to get back and to challenge for the ball. My honest feeling is that I don’t know what to do about that. When asked what to change, it’s hard to come up with anything. Everyone is doing their best in practice. But with so many players, I don’t think there’s any way we can’t overcome this, so we just have to keep working hard with sincerity and humility. I think today’s Trial really showed that.”
(The third goal conceded was also a result of losing balance as a result of aggressively challenging for the ball and second balls. There were players there, but it became difficult to deal with while retreating. Do we need to push ourselves to the point where such situations occur only once or twice per Trial?)
“Yes, that’s right. The fact that we’re getting beaten in the same way, that those goals are going in, suggests that there might be something we’re lacking. We might be able to close the gap even further. We’ll definitely be focusing on that. We certainly created chances, and if we had scored a second goal, it might have been a different game. But that’s just the kind of team we are, and it doesn’t work out. It’s difficult, but we don’t have time to be discouraged, so we’ll fight on, making sure we don’t lose our sense of unity.”
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