Today, we beat Urawa Reds at home because our players really fought until the end, and it was great to be able to present the victory to our fans who came to the stadium. We scored at a good time, and then our line dropped back a little. However, in the first half, we were aiming for counterattacks, but we wanted to play more aggressively, so we brought Nagasawa in early in the second half, and he really created opportunities behind the defensive line, played aggressively defensively, and I think he gave the team momentum to move forward in a very stalemated situation. In that situation, Endo showed a surprising moment, or inspiration, and I think scoring an additional point from that free kick was a big additional point for the team.
We were pushed back in the final minutes, but we had a chance to score the third goal, but we couldn't score the final goal, and there were some dangerous moments at the end, but I think Higashiguchi made a series of super saves like a god today, and I think the players played with the feeling that they were going to get revenge against the Reds at home until the end. With this, we can look forward to Wednesday's match against Guangzhou Evergrande in good shape, and some players were rested today, and some players couldn't play in that sense, so we'd like to build up our members again, win at home, and work hard to advance to the finals.

Q: Endo, you had a great free kick, but you've been performing well despite being physically exhausted and having a tough schedule. How do you evaluate your performance after 500 games?
A: With the score at 2-0, he was one of the players I wanted to rest, but he's hard to replace, and I think just having him on the pitch calms the team, and he's really been a central part of the team, starting in the line-up so far. The same goes for Nakazawa of Marinos, but I think young players should emulate their play, and I think it's a really great record.

Q: As a team, you are very good at switching between defending and attacking, but how do you evaluate the players' judgment in this regard?
A: It was a tough battle, and many players came out during the schedule, and we lost some league matches, but we made it to the final of the Nabisco Cup and got this far in the ACL, so I think the players have grown stronger, and I think Nagasawa, who transferred and couldn't get results, trained with frustration because he didn't have a chance to play, but the fact that such a player came out onto the pitch and showed his determination will be a great asset for the team as the season comes to an end. If we don't do our best here, we won't be able to finish off the results of all the hard work we've done so far in a good way, so I think the players fully understood that and went into the game, and although there are still tough games to come, I hope we can all work together and fight.

Q: Today, you had players tired from the consecutive games, some who were away with the national team, and some who were suspended. Did you originally try to stay back and defend, or were they just sluggish and that's what happened? What was your initial strategy?
A: No, I didn't think about retreating and defending at all, but since we scored early on, I think the players had to find a balance and play the game. Also, Yatto was not a defensive midfielder but an attacking midfielder, so I think he was unable to create a starting point or build up momentum there, but I think Ideguchi was able to show his strengths in the game.