Although Gamba lost 0-1 to Hiroshima, where they were aiming for their fourth consecutive win, the fans gave them a warm round of applause for the way they fought despite being outnumbered.
Despite being down one man, Gamba continued to press Hiroshima, and in the last 45 minutes, when everyone on the pitch fought with a common understanding, Gamba's renewed passion was apparent, which is why the Kobe match, which will be a fresh start, is so important.

"A loss is a loss, but we all played a game that will lead to the next one. However, strong teams don't lose consecutive games, and I want to be able to say that we won because of that game," said Yamashita, looking ahead to the Kobe match.

Gamba needs to win to catch up with the leaders, Kashima, who are scheduled to play at home this month, but "the first thing I expect from the players is personality. I want them to never give up and to show their individual colors. At the same time, I want them to stay focused in both offensive and defensive duels" (Head Coach Poyatos). They will take on Kobe, who are currently on a winning streak.

Although they lost 0-1 in the EMPEROR'S CUP final last season, they are undefeated in the league with one win and one draw. The key to victory against Kobe, who have a different fighting style to Gamba, is their "style."
The manager is skilled at scouting and exploiting space, but with Kobe having attackers up front that need to be watched out for, he declared, "Instead of playing while thinking about Kobe, I want to think carefully about what Gamba can do and what the current players can express."
It will be an extremely difficult task to completely eliminate Kobe's style of simply distributing the ball up front, but by not playing it passively but rather taking control of the ball, as they did in the match against Nagoya, where they showed impressive ball possession led by Ravi, they will naturally be able to shut down Kobe's strengths.

Suzuki will be suspended after being sent off in the previous match, but Mitsuta, who has been making his presence felt in the defensive midfielder position, spoke about the key to victory.
"We have to take the initiative. If we keep the ball and attack, I think we can create a lot of chances."

On the other hand, the battle for second balls is unavoidable in the match against Kobe. It is unclear whether Kobe's ace, Osako, will be used in the front line, but with inside half Miyashiro scoring two goals and providing two assists, and Ideguchi also shining brightly, it will be essential to respond well to second balls. Fukuoka is also full of energy, saying, "The opponent's strength is picking up second balls, but we have no intention of feeling weak in that area."

Meanwhile, Kobe is currently in 10th place, despite having played two games less than Gamba. They lost to FC Tokyo in the previous round, suffering their first losing streak in about a year, but they had won four games in a row before the losing streak, so their strength cannot be underestimated. Gamba is familiar with Kobe's style, but they need to be especially wary of Erik, who joined this season on the right side. He has the most goals on the team with three goals and two assists, and Fukuoka, along with Kurokawa, intends to shut him down, saying, "I think Kobe has one more offensive option now."

With Head Coach Poyatos, Gamba has broken past bad jinxes many times, but under Poyatos' management, they have yet to win an away game against Kobe. Third time's a charm -- this time, Gamba will be declared the winner on the enemy's turf.