While Kakeru's team continues to compete in the inter-high competition,
Nadeshiko Japan played the league selection team.
When Mai Murasaki joined the team
along with the new coach, Takeda,
her unique plays and penetrative power made it an easy match.
Though the team's cooperation suffered,
we came back and won under Ishiki-san's leadership.
I believe the team has become stronger, once again.
Now, it's Enoshima's, and Kakeru's, turn.
Iron Wall!! Four Rows.
The kickoff of Enoshima versus Shonan
for the top 8 is about to begin.
I've done everything I can to
prepare for our match against Shonan.
Believe in your own strength.
Right!
Also, I've prepared a strategy I'd like you to try.
Araki-kun.
Huh?
What a typical Iwaki-chan idea.
Araki is really into it.
Iwaki-chan said all that to him yesterday.
He's gotta be fired up.
Is that guy one of the main players?
Yeah, it's Asuka-san, right?
It looks like it's going to be an interesting match today, Takajo-san.
And there's the kickoff! Enoshima has possession.
Don't slack off.
Don't go crazy, Kariya.
Araki takes the ball onto the opponent's half.
Force him to the sides. Don't let him pass.
Fill those spaces.
Who will Araki use?
On his right he has the technician, Matoba;
on his left: the Enoshima Tower, Takase;
and in the middle: Kudo and Hyodo
both waiting for the pass.
I won't let you through!
Wait!
Don't try to take it. I'll join your mark!
He's past!
He slips past Shonan's Taira with one feint
and he's not stopping.
Araki sends a pass to the middle,
but it looks like it's a little short.
It's a mispass. It's mine!
No, it's not. That's a...
It's a chop kick!
The back spin returns the ball to Araki.
Araki continues to take the ball deeper into opposing territory.
What's he doing?
He couldn't be...
He's past another!
Less than one minute since the kickoff,
he's made it past four defenders and is nearing the penalty area!
Araki-kun, following the kickoff,
I'd like you to penetrate with your dribble alone.
Dribble penetration?
Coach, the opponent has the Four Rows.
Even Araki couldn't...
On the contrary, the opponent will bring out
their weaker forwards or midfielders.
But if we cannot make it past the Four Rows,
what chance do we have?
It's fine if he can't make it to the goal.
Huh?
This is a trial strategy.
All right, Araki-kun?
I don't even have to get to the goal?
That's just boring, Coach Iwaki.
If I'm going in with a dribble, I'm going all the way.
No matter how many defenders, I'll make it past all of them.
He's past another! The fifth!
But beyond this point are the four Kanagawa fullbacks:
the Four Rows!
Don't get ahead of yourself!
You're done for!
Amazing!
He could do it!
Once Araki-san gets going, he can't be stopped easily.
He's five meters away from the penalty area.
He can't be fouled in there!
What a side step!
He controls the ball without losing any speed!
But Honda's with him.
He's just outside the penalty area!
He's through! He's in the penalty area.
Shoot, Araki!
The defense is on him! Even the keeper steps out!
It's mine!
He shoots...
Enoshima's first point or...
It's clear!
Less than a meter from the goal line,
Koichi Hibino clears it!
Hibino...
What a play.
Ryuichi Araki took the ball past
five defenders and to the goal line by himself.
With a magical through pass,
the man known as the magician on the second line,
now back to his original physical condition and penetrative skill,
has penetrated with his dribble.
I want to play, too.
Of course you'll play.
Huh?
Kakeru-kun, you're our ace in the hole this time.
I'm expecting some of your plays.
Yes!
It's a corner kick.
Another chance for Enoshima.
Who will Araki use this time?
Will it be the usual Enoshima Tower, Takase?
Go!
Araki kicks!
It's to Takase!
But Hiruma of the Four Rows,
who won't lose in a competition of height, is marking him!
I won't let this chance pass me by!
You're easy!
It's no good. His approach is wrong. It'll be cleared—
No, this is...
This is a direct shot!
The keeper Komada deflects it.
The ball is still alive.
Kudo charges in!
I won't let you!
Nishio clears it out the side!
So close.
From a zero degree angle...
Today's Araki-san is amazing.
Well done, Enoshima. Amazing work, Ryuichi Araki.
With the favored Shonan as an opponent,
they've undoubtedly shown their strength.
He's dangerous.
Coach's instructions: We'll go with formation two.
Understood.
I, Michael Honda, won't let Araki play anymore.
I see.
They play well enough, as Suguru suggested.
But it's also true that they didn't score with two chances.
You don't hold back.
Enoshima still has more to show.
Kakeru hasn't gone out yet.
Yusuke, you put Kakeru on a pedestal. Right, Takajo-san?
The ball is thrown in on the right side by Makoto.
Araki-san!
Honda intercepts the pass!
Ema!
You're marking me from here?
Is it okay for the Four Rows to
concentrate their attention like this?
It appears you don't understand
the meaning of the Four Rows yet.
What?
Your time to shine is over.
Go! Go!
Here comes Oda with his forecheck!
Will we see his long feed?
Takuma and Ema from Shonan go out to meet him.
If he can get past them, this will be an opportunity!
It's over their heads!
What?
High ball?
He passes it!
Takase's header sends it to Hyodo!
Then to Yakumo.
Over Honda, covering Araki, and to the right side!
Could this have been too long?
No, it's saved by the right wing, Kaoru Matoba!
But the midfielder, Taira, is right behind him!
He slips past!
He heads towards the middle with a speedy dribble!
Matoba cuts apart the opponent with skilled dribbling.
Go!
Another opportunity!
Will the third time turn into the first point?
I can do it!
When it comes to speed
I won't lose!
Daisaku Nishio from Shonan
overtakes Matoba with speed and stops his dribble!
It's cleared to the side!
Close, first year.
Enoshima looks like they're in a pinch, right, Asuka?
I wonder.
As it stands right now, Enoshima will be shut out.
Huh?
Just watch.
With an attack like that, the Four Rows will not fall.
So close.
Even though they went up the sides so cleanly,
why do you think Matoba-kun cut
into the middle instead of crossing?
Well, Kaoru-kun is good at dribbling
and maybe he saw an opening?
That may be true,
but I don't think he could have crossed, even if he wanted to.
What?
Araki-san, who was aiming for a run by the second line, had Honda-san.
Takase-kun had Hiruma-san, who was just as tall,
and at center forward, Kudo-san,
had Hibino-kun on him.
Mako-san was double marked by two midfielders,
so Matoba-kun had no choice but to dribble.
It may have appeared to be a big opportunity,
but the Shonan defenders
were doing their job properly.
You might be right, Mishima-san.
Coach Iwaki?
If we think of this lightly as a series of openings,
we'll get caught up in our opponent's tricks.
Mako-kun!
As long as Araki-kun is being marked,
be more aggressive.
Okay!
Oda-kun, attack more aggressively as well!
Right!
No matter what, I have to find a path to attack.
The first thing that comes to mind would be...
getting Michael Honda off of Araki
and letting Araki play to his abilities.
And also,
doing the job that I need to do!
What should I do?
I could stop Oda's attack.
Oda is unstoppable.
He continues to penetrate!
No, I can't.
The coach said to stay tight on my mark.
I won't let you go, Araki!
As expected.
If you had diverted your attention for a second,
I could've slipped past you and received the pass,
but if you're going to stay tight on your mark, no matter what,
I'll just help with Oda's attack!
I won't let you past here!
Araki and Oda have switched places.
What kind of play will you show us, Ryoma Oda?
I'll stop him!
Oda is surrounded.
But, looking for a pass, Sawamura overlaps on the left side
and in front of him is Takase.
If Araki is a midfielder that can create a
chance with just one pass or a dribble, then I'm...
How unexpected!
Instead of sending the ball to his two teammates on the left side,
he sends it to the open space in the middle.
I'm the conductor who employs the movements
of all 11 players!
I'll do my job as the director!
There goes Mako-san!
That's what he was aiming for.
Instead of aiming for a high risk through pass or dribble,
Oda-san went for the direction with the best result.
This is a big opportunity!
Kaoru-kun with technique and speed on the right,
Takase-kun with height on the left,
and Kudo-san with strength in the middle.
The defense won't know where to defend!
Kakeru's right. But why...
why doesn't the defense look worried?
Hyodo!
All right.
He can do it! It's a perfect pass!
I'll definitely get a goal!
It's Hibino!
Move!
The Four Rows' Koichi Hibino sends Kudo flying!
No luck, it's cleared!
I won't let you clear it!
What tenacity by Kenya Kudo!
Bring a stretcher!
Kudo just took Hibino's kick to the knee!
Is he all right?
Isn't that a foul?
He kicked the ball,
and he put out his leg after the kick had begun.
Kudo, are you okay?
Sorry.
Hey, Hibino. Don't you have something to say?
I don't. It's not like I fouled.
You!
Hyodo, stop.
Kudo...
He's right.
From here on out, I'm counting on you.
Unfortunately, this will be a substitution.
The crowd cheers Kudo off the field.
Way to go, Kudo-kun!
This is bad. It may have been the ball,
but he took Hibino-kun's kick, the Cannon Free Kick,
to the knee.
Kakeru-kun, I'm counting on you.
Kakeru-kun?
Kakeru.
Yes?
Please go in.
Substitute in for Kudo-kun.
Yes.
He seems a little off.
Coach, I talked to you about it before.
About Kakeru's trauma.
Yes.
The one he injured was Hibino-kun.
So that's what it was.
He probably remembered it while watching Kudo-san just now.
The way I heard it, it was just like that.
So he probably...
I hope it doesn't affect his playing.
In for the injured Kudo,
the promising first year forward, number 20,
Kakeru Aizawa!
So he's in.
Score the first goal against the impenetrable Four Rows!
Our new star from Enoshima,
the fresh striker: Kakeru Aizawa!
Just one goal to start.
I'm a striker.
Even if I'm against Hibino, I'll definitely...
Kakeru, I've been waiting for you.
For the chance to play against you on the field.
At 10 minutes into the first half, Takase has the throw-in.
Captain Sawamura takes the ball.
Forward, forward!
We're going through, no matter what!
A pass to Oda?
Sawamura doesn't pass to Oda, but dribbles through!
Shoot.
He can do it. There's a chance!
Sawamura to Takase!
From Takase to Matoba on the other side.
He's going up the middle.
Matoba sends a pass to Araki who's suffering
under tight defense.
Can Araki get the ball from Michael Honda?
He won't get it.
The Araki I know isn't about dribbling or long passes.
Don't think you can keep the ball!
The thought never crossed my mind.
What?
Even Suguru acknowledged it at Nationals.
Ryuichi Araki's weapon,
even while being marked,
is a direct play!
There it is!
Araki's direct pass.
To Takase?
No, it's going to the left...
to Aizawa!
All right.
Go, Kakeru!
Put it in!
I've been waiting for you, Kakeru.
For this moment.
Hibino.
I'll crush you!
Damn it!
So close!
That was a great play as well.
Kakeru Aizawa has already shown us a game highlight!
Highlight or not,
it means nothing if he doesn't score.
I could've scored that.
He, Suguru's brother, hesitated for a moment.
That's why he failed to score.
This will hurt them.
Shonan may win this one.
Kakeru...
Damn.
So that's how it is.
What is, Asuka-san?
The target of the Four Rows.
That makes sense.
As it is, Enoshima won't score a point.
So our opponent will be Shonan.
Did you want to play Enoshima, Onimaru?
Didn't you, Asuka-san?
It didn't seem like we could lose to Enoshima.
It's the same result no matter who we play.
In the three years I've been here,
we've never failed to be in the finals.
Enoshima throws in.
Hey, Kakeru.
Yes.
You should've scored with that sort of timing.
I'm sorry. I'll score next time.
I'm counting on you.
Kakeru...
What did you think of Kakeru-kun's play, Mishima-san?
It looked as though he avoided going up hard against Hibino-kun
and momentarily withdrew.
If that was because of his past trauma...
But I know how much Kakeru has overcome since then.
Kakeru won't lose.
Not to Hibino-kun and not to his
guilty feelings towards Hibino-kun, so...
I know.
Coach Iwaki.
Kakeru-kun has teammates who believe
in him and who he can believe in, too.
Let us on the bench believe in him,
and in his teammates as well.
Yes.
Kakeru!
Yes.
Kakeru-kun.
Okay.
Kaoru!
The Enoshima forwards can't seem to move the ball forward.
Do you understand, Yusuke?
What the Four Rows are doing?
It just came to me.
The defense always plays one-on-one.
Exactly.
Then the same plays over and over again won't work.
Unless they come up with something unexpected, they won't score.
What can they do? If I was an Enoshima midfielder...
Here's Oda's long feed!
As expected, Oda-san. I would've done the same thing.
This is Oda's specialty.
The ball looks like it'll reach the penalty area.
Nice, Oda.
Back!
And just at that moment,
number 20, Aizawa, comes running in.
He started moving for the long ball from that position!
I'll get a goal this time.
Kakeru's got something.
No matter how pressured he was,
he always created openings.
Letting him go is dangerous.
Hibino's attacking hard!
Aizawa's ready! What a first class play!
I won't let up this time!
The ball is cleared!
In a clash like that, the difference in power really shows.
That's not it.
Kakeru probably held back for a moment this time, as well.
This is bad!
Huh?
The clear has become a great pass into Enoshima's side.
All right!
Sosuke Taira from Shonan takes the dribble.
To the forward, Kariya!
No way, no way, no way!
What?
Horikawa scrapes Kariya's foot.
That's a foul.
This will be Shonan's free kick.
This is bad.
This will be a chance for our opponent.
As I thought.
They did that intentionally to bring out
Hibino-kun's Cannon Free Kick.
Hibino...
Just watch, Kakeru,
and see what that hesitation brings you.
Here it is, Shonan's one and only,
number 4, Koichi Hibino's Cannon Free Kick!
This is my fault! Damn it!
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Cut it out, Horikawa.
That was their good play, not your fault.
But...
We were attacking the whole time and I was getting bored.
Let's show them the results of our training.
That's true, Kaiouji-kun.
Even if it costs me my body, I'll kill, kill, kill!
Horikawa-kun, a little more to the right.
Mako-kun, to the right.
That's right. Like that.
Enoshima looks nervous, and for good reason.
The last defender to take a ball to the face
was taken off the field with a broken nose.
My heart is beating.
My brother wouldn't flinch at something like this.
This nervousness is mine.
Damn it. Don't be scared.
Kakeru?
You've got guts, Kakeru.
You're planning on taking my free kick from that distance?
Kakeru...
Hibino, don't focus on Aizawa and lose your concentration.
We'll have plenty of chances after this.
I know, Honda-san.
I'll do it like I usually do.
I'll set the stage.
As long as you understand.
Don't forget we have a secret strategy
against opponents we can't easily defeat.
Yes.
It's time.
Here it comes.
I won't run. To the end!
Okay, Hibino?
Kick it with the intention of knocking out anyone who's in your way.
Okay!
Bring it, Hibino!
Don't hold back on us!
I won't forgive you, if you go easy!
Here I go!
Are you all right?
Idiot! You held back!
What?
Hibino, don't go taking our jobs from us
just for your stupid sympathy.
Senpai...
For those of us who don't get to play on the field,
this is our fight!
Next time, come at us ready to kill!
Yes.
My free kick carries the hard work of the players
who gritted their teeth for me.
Here goes Hibino.
This match's first Cannon Free Kick.
How will they stop a ball with enough power to kill?
Don't be scared!
There it goes!
Kakeru!
Next Episode: Appearance of the Phi Trick
During the fateful showdown,
Kakeru transforms into what seems like Suguru.
Against that Kakeru, Hibino tries his best in
his fight to overcome his trauma.
In the big opportunities that
visit repeatedly during a close match,
Kakeru's secret feint appears.
Between Kakeru and Hibino, who will be victorious?
Next time on Knight in the Area,
episode 20: "Appearance of the Phi Trick."
Seven, I'm not alone!