CRZ Blog

Cerezo Osaka fansite

What Kazuyuki Toda told us on Twitter

Posted at — Apr 29, 2019

A team’s poor performance always makes that team’s supporters disappointed or angry, no matter which team it is. Many, if not most, Cerezo supporters also feel in such a way and there is no wonder in it because of the simple fact that they just won 8 points in 9 games so far.

But as an old saying suggests, Rome was not built in a day. When the club announced the signing of Miguel Angel Lotina, everyone must have known that he needs some time – not sure how long, but definitely not a short time – to instill his style of play.

I am not familiar with the tactical aspects of football, so I just think both are right. I don’t think it’s very fun to watch their recent games, but this may be something like the pain of childbirth.

Then, let’s listen to what a football expert talks about Cerezo.

Kazuyuki Toda is a former Japan international who played at such clubs as Shimizu S-Pulse, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Tottenham Hotspur. He was known as a player for his intense play style and red mohawk hair, but as a commentator he is very calm and has deep knowledge of tactics. He is probably seen as (at least) one of the best football commentators in Japan now.

Toda posted several tweets after watching Cerezo’s match against Oita Trinita, which ended in a scoreless draw – a boring result for some people. But he is still positive. The game might be seen as a boring one and it’s not necessarily wrong, he thinks, but he is “looking from a different viewpoint.”

He said “managerial change means everything changes. The players are given totally different playing principles than before, and they don’t fully understand and respond to the plan which changes game by game yet.” Even if they understand it, they still “need more time to express it physically.”

But manager Lotina is realistic – maybe too realistic for some people – so “at first Cerezo are working on defense and intentional build-up which serve as a base.” Toda believes it’s very important to “create a stable base,” not something like an organization relying very much on individuals, which is destined to fall. That’s why he said we should “first look at (the fact that they just) conceded 8 goals in 9 games.”

After creating such a “stable base,” they can proceed to the next step, but according to Toda’s opinion, Cerezo still have a problem in build-up (well, according to my impression, it is a problem Cerezo have had for years, so they may need enormous efforts to fix it). Also, they need to improve high pressing, but that is not a priority right now, Toda tweeted.