Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「#20」
In terms of latent talent sitting right underneath their noses, Tatsumi didn’t land nearly as big of a sleeper in Tsubaki as Dulfer did in Kubota (Yamanaka Masahiro). Well not yet anyway, until Tsubaki shows us what he’s truly capable of. For now, it looks like Kubota is not only the odd one out in terms of appearance and personality in Osaka’s forwards, but also the key player to their offense with his ball control. Even tasking Sugie to cover him and leaving the huge Dutch import Hauer to Kuroda doesn’t seem to be enough, as Kubota is able to get the ball by ETU’s top defender with a fair bit of ease. An unsuspecting back pass is pretty slick however, so credit needs to be given where credit’s due in the Gunners’ highly touted forwards. More so than actual goals, the first wave of onslaught ETU endured emphasized that it’s Osaka’s ability to sustain pressure by tracking down loose balls that is key to their success, which Kubota seems to excel at. Hauer’s all about using his size to his advantage, whereas Katayama and Hatake are so into themselves on their goal count that Kiyokawa and Ishihama are able to keep them to the outsides most of the time and take away their scoring chances. The other three are undoubtedly the ones that will end up putting the game away, but Kubota is clearly the one to be concerned about for giving them their second and third chances.
At this point, it’s pretty hard to imagine that ETU can pull off a win. The fact that all the odds are against them both statistically and in the opening minutes does make it all the sweeter if they do though. In terms of building up suspense by dissecting the game down to every pass, this episode got that point across crystal clear. It’s probably safe to say it’s going to be a steep uphill battle hereon, as ETU will have to try to get by Osaka’s national team players in the midfield and their defense if they can somehow get out of their own zone. Incidentally, I’m still holding onto the firm belief that they’ll overcome the challenge before them, so I appreciate how the game’s quickly gone from bad or worse for entertainment purposes. The tensions are flying high and that translates into the makings of an exciting game. The individual battles on the field are a nice touch as well, with Kuroda and Hauer’s trash talking that transcends the language barrier being a good one for comic relief.
For the opening portion of this match, the entire focus was on setting the stage of what ETU’s up against. The convincing goal from Hauer’s header and Tatsumi’s frustration over Kuroda taking the Katayama’s bait helped reiterate that fact, leaving the only glimpse of ETU’s offense being a pass from Gino that was too long for Tsubaki. However, the lack of emphasis on ETU’s two forward formation as well as Natsuki and Sera’s screen time in general has me expecting big things when their moment in Tatsumi’s strategy comes around. I’m hoping to see some big plays from Gino too, since he’s been touted to have the skills of a national player with his work ethic being the only thing that’s preventing him from making the team. Judging by the pacing thus far, the match will likely span several episodes just like the Nagoya one and be the big finish of the series. Such an ending probably won’t feel very conclusive, but I’d wager it’ll be exciting every step of the way. Next time it looks like Kubota’s going to get even more limelight, so it doesn’t seem like there will be a momentum shift just yet.
* Note: There was an art mishap with Tatsumi and Dulfer’s handshake prior to the start of the match last episode. They shook with their right hands, but that somehow became their lefts during the photos. Oops?
Preview
 |
 |
 |
Dear god… how do they fail at CLEARING THE BALL. They can’t even force a throw in.
Kubota’s everywhere at once!
Are you suggesting that he’s….MAGIC?
All they need to do is kick it out of bounds to stop the pressure a bit… it’s not like Kubota is 30 feet tall and can block any ball going toward out of bounds.
This is so much fun. Can’t believe this can be the last match! There will be too many loose ends if they end the season with this game. We want more ETU.
If you’re observing all the clears, Kubota gets them every time. He has a good read of the ball. Btw, is that true? This is the last match of the Giant Killing Season? You’ve gotta be kidding me! They have so much material to use at the moment >_<.
Show Spoiler ▼
I seriously don’t quite get why Tatsumi is using 4-4-2 formation for his team. If he really watched all the previous Osaka’s games then he should know that his defense will be overwhelm by Osaka’s offense with 4 forwards. I’m assuming that Osaka Gunner is using 3-3-4 formation or more like 3-3-1-3 formation by playing Kuboto as supporting strikers role. He should play something like 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation and use one of his midfield to play as defensive role to help out his team defense. Other than that, he can try 4-1-3-1-1 with diamond formation in the middle. All of these 3 ways, his team can control the midfield area better. Also, since Osaka plays with only 3 midfield, Tatusumi should use wing style play tactic so Sera and Natsuki can get more support from the midfield this way because right now they don’t get any.
Oh well, since this is an anime, I’m sure that they will somehow manage to make a good comeback regardless of the formation of style play. Anything can happen in anime =)
From my understanding, they normally do play 4-5-1 with the midfielders in a diamond formation like you mentioned in the 4-1-3-1-1 setup. ETU is apparently known as a defensive team that clogs up the midfield. I guess that’s why everyone was surprised Tatsumi went with two forwards this game to try and compete with Osaka on the offense side.
That may be true. However, in majority of the game, if any team win the midfield battle then they will likely to win the match. I’m not sure if they really play 4-5-1 formation most of the time. I was thinking more like 4-3-2-1 formation with Tsubaki and Gino as the supporting striker role. Although, Tsubaki just ran all around the field so it’s really hard to tell what is really his role. I personally think they should play 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 and put Tsubaki on the wing due to his fast pace. Osaka has only 3 midfield so if ETU use 5 midfield players then they should be able to hold on and cut down Osaka’s passes. Otherwise, play Sera behind Natsuki because he has a fast pace. This way they can counter attack better. Right now, 4-4-2 doesn’t really work because neither Sera or Natsuki will move back to defense or get the ball themselves and that’s pretty much stop ETU’s attack.
It’s fun to see that Tatsumi make a risky move and make the story more interesting. However, in real life, I doubt any manager will do that.
Not sure if you saw my other post, but I listed all the starting players’ positions there. Tsubaki plays Center Half and runs up and down the entire field with his quick legs.