Sports “New Verdy” started. Atsuhiko Ejiri, General Manager of Strengthening Department, talks about his vision for comeback

　The announcement of Tokyo Verdy's new system was distributed on the club's official YouTube channel on January 16th, and President Takaaki Nakamura, Director Takashi Hori, and new players have announced their plans for the 2022 season. spoke of abundance.　The team had a tough year last season, placing 12th in the J2 League, but the new season started under manager Hori, who has been in charge of the team since September last year. Towards the long-cherished desire to be promoted to J1, we have welcomed 11 new forces so far. Under what kind of strengthening policy does the new Verdy proceed with team building? We interviewed Atsuhiko Ejiri, who was in charge of the team formation and was also on stage at the announcement of the new system.

The most important thing in building a team is "competition"

──One of the major features of this season's team formation is that many of the main players remained. In the past two or three years there have been cases where core players have left the team. Ejiri: Verdy had a lot going on last year, including a management change. If I were to say whether I was able to provide the players with an environment where they could concentrate on football for a year, I would only be left with regrets. Still, Hori was appointed as manager in September, and in the end, we were able to finish the season in a very good way. Especially in the last few games of the league, I think the players felt a sense of relief. That's why, during the off-season, some of the players are asking themselves, ``Can we continue playing football with the kind of response that we saw at the end of last season in the new season? I think there was a feeling. I had an interview with them, but I was like, 'Will anything change in terms of football? ', 'What will happen to the director? was the majority of the questions. We conveyed our vision to these players: 'This is the kind of football we want to play.' I think we were able to realize this kind of organization precisely because they understood that. As a priority, Director Hori asked us to keep the strength we have, and when we thought about how to use the limited budget as a strengthening department, we welcomed new players and foreign players. Rather than spending money on the current players, I wanted to continue the current form. This lineup is the result of a combination of these factors.

──At the presentation of the new system, the strengths and challenges of the team were explained in detail using data. Did you tell the players about the direction the team should aim for in that way? Ejiri: I haven't told you about the detailed numbers. I think the players were worried about what I would say at that time, but it is more important how the players themselves feel and interpret what we say than what we do. The logic that I talked about should be felt most directly by the players, and I hope that they will see it as an issue for themselves. The purpose of this explanation at the announcement of the new system was to visualize what we have been doing over the past year in numerical terms so that the supporters who support us can clearly understand the team's strengths and challenges. There was also.

──What was the most important thing you were aware of when proceeding with the organization? Ejiri: To put it simply, it's a vision. When I announced the new team last year, I announced that I would aim to be promoted to J1 within the next three years, but to achieve this, I needed a clear vision. From my experience as a player and manager, I believe that a vision is necessary to bring the group together. If you don't present it, no one will follow you. Of course, it is also important whether the vision is realistic and whether the plan is within reach. And that's what the players want. It's unavoidable that players like Joel (Joeru Chima Fujita) and Shion (Shione Inoue), who were the core members of the year before last, went to the next stage under good conditions. However, as a club, we have to make the players think that they can challenge J1 even if they stay here. I suspect that many of the players who stayed on the team this season think so. "Of course, there are also challenges." We have to think about how to fight with a limited budget, and at the same time we need to make efforts to increase the cost of reinforcements at the site. Since last year, I have been communicating closely with President Nakamura and Acting President Joji Morimoto, and I think we are doing well. I believe that such changes are being conveyed to the players, and I think they are beginning to be conveyed to the supporters as well.

──With a limited budget, we welcomed new forces to each position. What was the reinforcement theme for this off? Ejiri: In building a team, the most important thing for me is “competition”. Don't give players a safe haven. I dare to bring a rival to a position where there is a player who has achieved results. This is also the teaching of Ivica Osim. "Athletes feel at ease without competition." The strengthening side also tends to calculate, ``This player has achieved good results, so he will do it again next year,'' but there are many cases where he is cross-legged and tripped. Based on that, I'm going to make a team formation that says, ``If you don't always do your best, you'll be robbed of your position.'' In fact, one week has passed since the new team started, but there is still no player who can say, ``Don't play in the game.'' I look at such situations with a smile (laughs). It's a competition anyway. I believe that there is no progress without competition.

The overall evaluation of the formation is 60 or 70 points, that is the current reality of Verdy

──Last season, Ryoga Sato and Daiki Fukasawa, who are university graduate rookies, have become an indispensable force since their first year. Defender Hideto Taniguchi (Kokushikan University), midfielder Ren Kato, midfielder Tetsuyuki Inami (both Meiji Univ.), defender Yu Miyamoto (Hosei Univ.), forward Yoshito Kawamura (Nippon Sport Science Univ.) and five players University graduates have joined the team, and it is becoming a new trend to strengthen the team. Ejiri: I graduated from Meiji University, so I thought, 'You're collecting Meiji players, aren't you? ’, but the most important thing is whether or not the player has characteristics that we don’t have. What is lacking in the team, specifically, whether or not we can show our attitude to fight on the pitch without giving up until the end is important. As long as you're a professional player, you have to stick to winning and show yourself doing your best on the pitch. “Is that normal? ’, but the reality is that we cannot take it for granted. What I look for in them is personality and humanity. The quality of play on the pitch is of course important, but in addition to that, how much rebound mentality do you have? Even if you can't play in the game, keep trying to get a regular, and don't give up until the end and chase the ball. I intend to gather players with that kind of personality. I expect that the effect will appear as a result after one year or two years.

──Verdy has traditionally valued players from the academy. This season, Ryo Nishitani has been promoted from the youth team, and Maaya Sako, who is in his second year, has returned from a temporary transfer destination. What do you think about the importance of the academy? Ejiri: I'm from somewhere else, but Verdy's training system and the abilities of the players coming out of the academy are wonderful. I think that the youth players, including Taniguchi, who came back from Verdy youth through college, will lead the team in a good direction, and I would like to continue to cherish it. The reason why I asked Tadashi Nakamura to return to the post of head of coaching this time was because he wanted to make the academy even stronger through discussions with Academy Director Mayumi Teratani. As a result, we have more college graduates this year, but I would like to increase the number of players coming up from the bottom up in the future.

──In the transfer group, DF Kohei Yamakoshi (Omiya Ardija), FW Toyofumi Sakano (Matsumoto Yamaga FC), MF Vasquez Byron (Iwaki FC), GK Kato Takagi (Varen Nagasaki) 4 people have joined. What do you expect from them? Ejiri: For example, Yamakoshi has height and interpersonal strength that Verdy has never seen before, and he is a ready-to-play player with his build-up ability, which is one of our strengths. As for Banno, he is someone I really wanted to bring along as someone who would cut in to the competition between Hitoshi Hanato and Ryoga Sato. If we can create a situation where Hanno can get into the regular battle, Hanato and Ryoga will be able to grow even more. He's a striker that Verdy didn't have, throwing his body and jumping in against crosses, so I think it was a great reinforcement. I had been concerned about Vazquez Byron for some time, and immediately moved to acquire him when it was decided that Ryoya Yamashita would leave the team. Dribbling breakthrough and cross on the side, which is also his feature. And a through pass on the left foot from the cut-in and an expansion to the opposite side. I expect that kind of play. Goalkeeper Kazu Takagi didn't have much of a turn in Nagasaki last season, but when he played against him in the previous season, his sense of stability was astonishing. I was with him in Chiba, but he was a player with a very good personality from that time. After that, he has grown a lot in Nagasaki, and he is one of the players I always wanted to talk to at some point. We have four goalkeepers, Mateus, Yuya Nagasawa, and Hisaya Sato, but we have created a situation where it would not be strange for anyone to play regularly.

This season's new strength: From the left in the front row: Nishitani, Kazu Takagi, Yamagoshi, Hanno, Vasquez, Taniguchi, From the left in the back row: Kato, Inami, Sako, Kawamura, Miyamoto [Photo] = Tokyo Verdy

──How many points would you give yourself if you were to grade the results of this season's team formation? "Do you feel that you have come close to what you envisioned?" Ejiri: I have a lot of respect for the players who came, and I think we were able to reinforce them really well. I used to be a coach myself, so I know how high the level of J2 is. The reality is not so sweet. In the future, how will we prepare the strength to aim for J1 while increasing the budget? That's the big challenge facing us. We need to carefully assess the gap between the ideal and the reality, and make a comprehensive decision while keeping in mind the need to improve during the season.

──I think many supporters are looking forward to this season's team composition. What kind of team do you want to show your fans and supporters, what kind of football do you want to show them, please express your determination for the 2022 season. Ejiri: Take a match that seems to end with 0 points to 1. Take the place that is likely to be 1 point to 3. On top of that, he wins at his home taste studio. That kind of soccer is ideal. Again, reality is not sweet. While firmly facing that reality, we will make a severe game a thing. As the person in charge of the enhancement department, I would like to focus on that part. "Of course, to do that, it's important to build up every day." A stack from last year, a stack up to the opening, and a stack after the season started. I think this will lead to results. I would like all of our supporters to take a look at our commitment, and if we are not doing well, we would like to ask for your encouragement. Without it, the players will not grow, and I myself will always feel the pressure and want to achieve results. Rather than just talking about idealism, I would like to make this season a season where people can actually feel that they are half a step closer to their ideals.

Interview and text by Hiroyuki Kunii