Coach Katanozaka (substitute for Head Coach Hasegawa who was unable to attend)
"First of all, the Head Coach Head Coach left the game and I was the substitute, so what he thought and what I thought might be different, but honestly, as a team, I'm really happy that we were able to advance to the semi-finals.
The match was really intense, just as we expected, with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors putting up a tough fight, and I believe we also prepared ourselves before the match so that we wouldn't lose in the fundamental aspects of football, and fought until the end.
After conceding an away goal, we knew we had to win, so we prepared for the match thinking about what to do if we scored first or if we were conceded first, and although we conceded a goal early on, I think the players kept their cool and played the game well. After conceding the first goal, we had to catch up and turn the game around, so we made substitutions, made the players make decisions during the match, and Endo and others were thinking about how to deal with the opponent, and in the end, we scored a goal in added time that everyone's thoughts were put into it, and we advanced. Jeonbuk was a really strong team, and they had some special players with strong individuals, so I think it's a great achievement for Gamba to have been able to advance in such a tough match, and I think there will be tough battles in the future, but we will prepare well and do our best to become champions.

Q: Watching from the high vantage point in the press box, I noticed that from the first half, the opposing team had two defensive midfielders, 17 and 25. 25 was more of a defensive player and was often absorbed into the defensive line, while 17 was more of an offensive player around the defensive midfielder position, and I thought that there were chances only in that space. What was your impression from the bench?
Coach Katanozaka: "Jeonbuk was quite defensive, and I expected them to man-mark our players when they were defending, but in that situation, they followed wherever they were being marked, and Endo and others were clever enough to pull back a little to create space, which we were able to use well, and the players up front were also devising ways to receive the ball while moving instead of just standing still, which I think is because we were able to deal with Jeonbuk's defensive style well. If we had been able to use those gaps a little better and provided more effective passes from there, I think we could have had more chances, but I think the players handled it well under those circumstances."

Endo: "I'm glad we won. Our goal was to make it into the top four, so it was a tough game, but I think we all showed that we didn't give up and were determined to win until the very end, so although I'm not completely satisfied, I think it was great for the team that we were able to achieve our goal."

Q: In the final goal scene, you passed the ball to Masaya. There was a player coming up from the right, but you chose Masaya. Can you look back on that goal scene from your own perspective?
Endo: "First of all, I was able to confirm that Masaya was free, and ideally I had the image of running forward and being 1-1 with the GK, but my ball was a little short. However, rather than going to the side or making that choice, we didn't have much time, so we took a gamble and went forward, and once we had that starting point, Masaya trapped and passed the ball in a way that is unusual for a defender, so I think the tenacity of those two guys won out from there."

Q: You've played a lot of matches so far, but how did the dramatic ending of this match make you feel compared to similarly exciting matches in the past?
Endo: "I think it's best not to experience it as a player if possible, but I think the spectators enjoyed it, and I myself have won many games, both with my team and the national team, by scoring goals in added time or in the last play, so I can't really compare it to that, but winning such a dramatic way in such an important game gets the team excited, and I personally think it's good for the other players too that we can continue to play at a higher level in Asia."