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 replaced Asari with Kajiyama. Bayern also made four substitutions, including the goalkeeper. In the first half, Tokyo had no good moments as they were afraid of the opponent, lacking support for the player with the ball, resulting in either passing back or being dispossessed halfway. However, from the start of the second half, everyone became proactive in receiving the ball, and Kajiyama began to show his strong ball retention skills, creating a good rhythm in midfield. In the 49th minute, Baba, who drifted to the right, took a bold shot from outside the area. It hit a defender, but Baba picked up the rebound and delivered a cross. Sasa dove in at the near post to head it, but he couldn't hit the target. In the 54th minute, Sasa cut off the opponent's ball. Kajiyama connected, and the pass went to Ishikawa on the right side, who took a bold shot, but it went across the goal. In the 57th minute, Noriyuki Suzuki's free kick led to a right corner kick. Baba's kick was spilled, and Miyazawa tried to connect but couldn't make 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, Tokyo suffered a counterattack from Bayern. Left MF Salihamidžić, who had made a run from near the halfway line, received a lob pass from MF Ballack and took a shot. This found the bottom right corner of the goal, and Tokyo conceded their fourth goal. Nevertheless, in an attempt to pull one back, Ishikawa passed to Fujita, who made a run down the right flank in the 78th minute. Fujita, advancing, delivered a cross from a deep position parallel to the goal, but it was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 89th minute, a series of direct passes from Kajiyama to Baba to Kurizawa led to Kajiyama making a shot from the center, but it went wide to the right. In the 80th minute, Kobayashi was brought on to replace Ishikawa. Kajiyama picked up a loose ball from Baba's right corner kick in the 81st minute, but was surrounded by opponents and lost possession. The quick attack in the 83rd minute went from Baba to right-side Fujita to Kobayashi, but Fujita's attempt to return the pass was blocked by the opposing defense, resulting 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} "My condition was basically not bad. Of course, I was focused on winning, but I was fighting mainly with younger players, and it was my first official match. To be honest, I felt that the opponent's level was high, but I think it was meaningful to gain experience. Above all, I am happy to have been able to play in my first official match. My goal is still the league's restart in August, so I want to train hard again." {Masushima} "I think we were able to suppress the opponent in the first half. The challenge came when we got tired in the second half and went into a man-to-man situation. The fourth goal was conceded because we stopped the defensive line and were caught off guard. I was impressed by FW Makaay's run and MF Ballack's momentary movement. Especially Makaay opened up space for the wedge, and when we aimed for that, DF Lucio sent the ball behind. That combination was amazing." {Endo} "We conceded four goals, but it was due to our own mistakes. Personally, if I was going to be scored on, I wanted it to be spectacular... However, the plays that I thought were dangerous were cleared by Fujisan and Tatsuya. I think we fought for 90 minutes without hesitation, but looking back now, I regret that I should have inspired more from the back and given the opponent a sense of intimidation..."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I felt that we fought with all our might, but the individual abilities of Bayern Munich's players, as well as the competitiveness in the air, which is referred to as 'Zweikampf' in German, were outstanding. In the J-League, we could take the ball in certain situations, but they took it from us almost every time. Including the length of their legs, when we played with a J-League mindset, their feet came out and took the ball. From the stands, we were told to 'shoot,' but when we tried to do so, they closed the distance. They had that kind of strength in the air. Also, the timing of center forward Makaay's runs, and as seen in the second half, when forwards Pizarro and Guerrero used their bodies, even when we tried our best to close in, we couldn't reach them. I felt once again the strength and breadth of play of the world's top players. Honestly, even though they arrived in Japan yesterday, they are impressive... We fought with all our might, but there was so much to learn. Since we have many young players, I hope they will take what they learned from actually playing today as motivation for the future. I want us to learn that there are still many strong players in the world and use that as our strength moving forward."

　[Summary of Bayern Munich Coach Magath's Press Conference] "I am very satisfied. Everyone was able to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities, and we scored two goals in both halves, which was great to meet the fans' expectations. I am very happy to end my first match in Japan with such a result. (What is the significance of this tour?) I am very aware that the season is about to start, so we are focusing on building the team for that. Of course, the quality of soccer is important, but it is also true that this Japan tour serves as a commercial opportunity for the fans in Japan to get to know the team. I accept that. (Did the players and the way of playing change between the first and second halves?) Both were very challenging. I think FC Tokyo fought well and put us under pressure for quite some time. So, I can't say one was better than the other. Both were good, and both were equally challenging. I can't say I know much about FC Tokyo, but they had good players, and there are many young players. They need experience. I hope they 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."