Head Coach Hasegawa: "I'm really disappointed that we couldn't win. We were playing at home, and there were a lot of supporters there, and I'm sure they had high expectations, so I'm really disappointed that we couldn't win.
I didn't want to make this comment, but we played Gamba-style football, created chances, and were just one step away from scoring, especially in the second half, when the opponent came from the other side of the world and was slow to move because of the heat. If we could have scored a goal, I think we could have really kept the momentum going. Anderson PATRIC Aguiar Oliveira had a chance in the first half, and it's unfortunate that I always end up making comments like this about Japanese football, but I think the difference in our ability to score led directly to the result of today's game. In the first half, it was a little hard to tell whether the opponent would be aggressive or would stay back and defend because of the heat, but they came in very aggressive as usual, so we were a little flustered at the beginning and made some mistakes, but before the game, I told the players that even if we made mistakes, we shouldn't run away from them and should keep passing the ball well. If we use long balls, it will drag on, so we had to react to the ball as a whole under the tight pressure of the opponent, and even if we made mistakes, we would cover for each other, and once we get used to the strength of the opponent's contact and speed, we will definitely be able to do it. As time goes on, we will be able to play our own style of football, so instead of avoiding it from the beginning, we talked about playing football together. We were penalized by a few mistakes, but it was in a good way, and neither Jonya nor Myo (Myojin) were bad, and we had to make up the two-goal deficit, so in the second half, Yosuke was promoted to defensive midfielder and Haru (Fujiharu) was used as a full-back. There were many unknowns about Ideguchi, but he played confidently in the second half, and I think he did a good job that made me think he could be used in the top team, and I think Fujiharu and Kurata played like they were really representative of the national team today. It really regrets making such comments, and River is a world-class club, but unless J.League teams can beat them, even though they have home-field advantage of course, I don't think it will lead to the national team winning on the world stage, so when we end up playing a good game, it regrets making such comments, but I think it will just be a comment that they managed the game very well and won, so we still have the Asian ACL to play in the CWC at the end of this season and I want us to all work together from here on out so that we can get revenge.

Q: As the Head Coach said, the number of scoring opportunities remained the same, but with the score at 3-0, there was a moment of uncertainty, and you mentioned Japanese football. In order to close the gap, what will Gamba need to do going forward? And I think this experience of the match will lead to the ACL, but what do you think was the biggest takeaway from it?
A: What should we do about our decisiveness? I think it's an eternal issue. However, I think that one of the biggest gains was that we were able to break down the defense and create solid chances, and I think that training is the only way to do that. I think that calmness in those situations is what makes us different from the players of the top South American clubs, and unless we fill that gap, I don't think Japan will be able to play football that can win in the world. In terms of gains, as I said earlier, Yosuke and Kurata played very well in the middle, and Futagawa played very well even though it's been a while since his last game, and players who haven't had many chances until now were able to play in the game and show their presence, so with that in mind, the schedule will be even tighter in the second half, so I would like to use the players while watching their condition.

Q: Regarding the opponent's move, I think you had done some scouting, but was there anything unexpected? You mentioned that a little earlier, but was there anything else that was unexpected or unexpected?
A: Nothing unexpected. They probably didn't know anything about Gamba, but we were able to watch the Libertadores Cup final and the Argentine League matches, so we weren't particularly taken aback or anything unexpected. However, this heat is probably tough for the River players, so we weren't sure how they would start the game as usual, or whether they would make a solid block and aim for a counter attack. We talked about how we would play our own style of football no matter what, so although there were a few times when we were overwhelmed by the pressure, it was a good experience for us. I don't want to say it, but I think that if they can play well under that kind of pressure, they will become the real deal.