For the annual Enoshima High cultural festival,
even we took a break from soccer
and threw all we had into a maid cafe produced by Kota-kun.
Or that's what we had intended,
but to save the acting club from a pinch,
Kakeru and the others hurriedly acted
as Romeo and Juliet in a play, which turned into quite a riot.
It was a struggle since they had no time to rehearse,
but it turned out to be popular.
I think the soccer club
was able to spend some valuable time together.
And today, we're starting our training camp at Kamakura University
for some final preparation before the championships.
New Challenger
Expect no less from Kamakura.
These are top class facilities.
Are we free to use
all these facilities as we please, Coach Iwaki?
Yes.
However, it's just for today and tomorrow.
Iwaki-senpai.
Hasegawa-kun.
We'll be counting on you.
I'm the captain, Sawamura.
Thank you for having us.
Not at all.
I've heard about the great things Enoshima has been doing.
When we played before,
even though you were holding back,
it took all we had just to tie.
All our members are excited to see how Enoshima High
has changed, at our afternoon practice match.
Please don't hold back today.
Yes, of course.
Now then, everyone,
leave your gear at the camp
and assemble on the field.
Yes!
As you all know,
Araki-kun will be attending the
U-16 Representative Training Camp starting next week,
and from there straight into an overseas tour.
As you can see,
I've completely brought my weight down.
You don't have to worry about me getting kicked out.
You say that,
but isn't it about time for your rebound?
Here.
Don't tempt me like that!
I guess you're still one step away from your best condition.
Let's confirm that we're a team
that has practiced to be completely able
Kamakura Enoshima
to fight without Araki-kun at this afternoon's practice match.
Yes!
With nice facilities like these,
they're more into practice than usual.
It's not just that, Coach Kondo.
Araki is going on tour.
Yes. If the U-16 team
makes it to the Asia tournament,
Araki-kun's return will
be delayed until the semifinals.
Everyone's desperate to fill that hole.
It looks like they'll be making
great progress in the face of adversity.
It'd be a shame
not to use this equipment, since we came all the way here.
We don't get this opportunity often.
It's nice to have equipment that you can use with ease.
It makes you want to use it, doesn't it?
I didn't have to come all this way to do this.
I have all this stuff at home.
Whatever~
K-Kaoru, is your family...
Everyone, it's time for lunch.
I'm spent!
Let's call it off, Araki.
You're giving up already?
If you push too hard, you'll hurt yourself.
Stay out of my business.
First Half Second Half
Kamakura Enoshima
It's our first practice match in half a year,
but we look forward to a good game, Kamakura.
Yes!
No holding back today.
Let's give it our all, from the start.
Yeah!
All the guys from Kamakura sure are huge.
You don't have to be scared.
We've played against them before.
But they won't be holding back, like last time.
That's what's great.
Huh?
We'll surpass this opponent and win the championship.
You're different since you got back from
the representative training camp.
Am I?
You're more positive than before.
It's a great feeling.
I won't lose this time.
You're starting to seem more like an ace.
You're thinner, too.
Almost like a different person.
I can get it.
Damn, they are good.
Individually, they've each improved.
Move up!
Today's volante is doing a good job.
Here we go, Takase.
Yes!
Amazing.
They blocked our huge Takase-kun,
with just one defender.
It doesn't look like they'll let us get a goal easily.
Unlike before, everyone knows what their job is.
Their teamwork has improved, as has their speed.
I'd expect nothing less, Iwaki-senpai.
I won't lose!
What choice do I have?
Now, what'll you do?
Here we go.
As I expected.
No surprise, from the intercollegiate high scoring king.
I'll take that!
We did it!
Nice, Araki-san.
You've really changed. I hardly recognize you.
Thanks.
Now, it's a little early, but, Kakeru-kun,
substitute for Araki-kun.
Yes!
I'm leaving the rest to you.
Yes, I'll do my best.
Good work, Araki-kun.
Not at all.
I'm hardly tired. That didn't even amount to a warm up.
In just half a year,
your cardio-pulmonary function has really improved.
If you want me to, I can still keep running.
Leave it to everyone else today.
No way, no way, no way, no way!
It's that move!
Kakeru.
The Phi Trick failed.
What kind of striker is he if he's not going to shoot?
That was some particularly impressive pass work,
so I really hoped Kakeru-kun would score.
Against someone of Hasegawa-san's level,
the Phi Trick doesn't work anymore?
You've gotten stronger, Enoshima Soccer Club.
I can't use the Phi Trick here.
Takase-kun!
Okay.
Kakeru!
Finish with a goal!
Against Kamakura, we were able to
Kamakura Enoshima
hold on to our one goal lead,
but without Araki-san, we wouldn't have had that first goal.
The Enoshima Soccer Club has undoubtedly improved,
but as for me, the Phi Trick's weakness
is becoming more and more apparent.
What did you think of our team?
It's like a completely different team.
I didn't think we'd be beaten this badly.
Hasegawa-san, if you have any advice for us,
we'd love to hear it.
Not particularly.
As a team, you're pretty solid.
You'll continue to improve as you participate in real matches.
Yes.
You weren't here at the last match.
I forgot to introduce myself.
I'm the co-captain, Ryoma Oda.
It's not advice,
but if I were to say one more thing,
your changeover was fast and you organized the team well.
Thank you very much.
That was nice of him.
Thanks for the game.
Just now, the second tournament schedule was announced.
We're up against tough opponents right from the start,
but with your strength, we should win
and move forward.
The problem lies here.
Tsurumaki West Shonan Sagamigaura Ohwadai
If we continue to win,
we'll have to play against
one of these four teams for the top four position
in the quarter finals.
No matter how strong we are,
aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?
Don't count your Arakis before they hatch.
What'd you say?
Stop your idiotic fighting.
We've practiced all this time to make it to Nationals.
It's never too early to discuss the top four.
Oda-kun is right.
Before we concentrate on winning the Nationals, I want you all
to pay close attention to this opponent.
Sagamigaura
Sagamigaura...
As I recall, at the inter-high tournament,
they were defeated by Yoin
and didn't make it to the Kanagawa Top Eight.
That's right. However, Sagamigaura
scored the first goal in the first half,
and pressured Yoin throughout the match.
I've recorded the critical moments against Yoin.
I'd like you all to see it for yourselves.
The match occurred a few months ago,
but let's take this opportunity to see it.
Where did all those...
If you look carefully, most of Sagamigaura's
players are towards the middle.
What kind of tactics are these?
Forgetting position and chasing the ball in numbers...
He's going for a volley shot from that side change?
Are you serious?
What's going on?
An amazing move like that in high school soccer?
I didn't believe my eyes either.
The first goal was scored
barely five minutes into the game.
All to attack and all to defend.
They're attempting to use what was once called
the ideal strategy for soccer.
"Total Foot," used by the Netherlands in the seventies, right?
Isn't everyone using all to attack and all to defend nowadays?
No, the real Total Foot was a strategy so dynamic,
it was called an impractical theory.
Sagamigaura is trying to play soccer
so that all the players have to think individually about
their position and role, and how to change them.
I'm sure of it.
Well, watch a little more.
Sagamigaura appears to be full of holes,
with players concentrated in the middle.
Most of the defenders are
above where the volante would be.
So attempting a through pass to one of the
open areas would be an offsides trap.
Three defenders again?
It's "ball hunting."
Like a pack of wolves closing in on prey,
they come after the player
and take the ball with sheer numbers.
Then they all transition into offense and move into attack.
The key players are these two.
Number 14, Tsuguhide Tendo-kun
and the ace number 10, his brother, Kazuhide-kun.
Twins?
They passed again instead of heading up the sides?
That's the critical point.
That's right.
Sagamigaura does almost no dribbling.
Before the opponent attacks,
they quickly pass the ball, so it's difficult to steal.
Then, following "ball hunting," it's "goal hunting."
All the players wait for a chance to attack the goal.
Amazing. I thought they didn't stand a chance.
If it wasn't for Asuka-san just now,
it would probably have been a goal.
To think that another
high school in Kanagawa was using tactics like these...
Yoin Sagamigaura
Sagamigaura was undoubtedly
pressuring Yoin in the first half.
How did guys like that remain unknown for so long?
Particularly, those Tendo brothers.
To have those tactics and kicking ability,
yet I didn't even know their name.
In order to put their skills to work,
they need a particular team composition.
Indeed.
Famous high school players are
almost exclusively players with speed and dribbling skills.
Who, me?
Don't say it yourself!
Another way to look at it is,
including dribbling, those two might not have terribly good footwork.
Could the fast and accurate passing
be a means of hiding that weakness?
You've noticed something useful.
We'll continue the match in the second half.
I'd like you to pay particular attention to Yoin's movements.
I see, so that's how it was.
If Sagamigaura won't attack with a dribble,
then Yoin has no need to attack the ball.
But if they know they aren't coming to get it,
won't Sagamigaura go for a dribble?
Normally, that would be true.
They aren't used to passing from a dribble.
Passing in response to an attacking player
and passing on your own are fundamentally different.
Passing in a pressured situation is hard
on the receiver, as well.
By avoiding going after the ball,
the defending Yoin is able
to read the pass routes of Sagamigaura.
Well spotted, Araki-kun, Mishima-san.
Any representative would've noticed it.
Even if they steal it,
won't Sagamigaura come after the ball again?
More ball hunting.
What an accurate long pass!
That's Onimaru-san all right.
A-Amazing.
Looks like Sagamigaura's Total Foot isn't complete enough
to defend against long side changes.
The rhythm of the game completely changes from this point.
That's the Yoin we know.
It's right after they made that side change.
Sagamigaura is anticipating Onimaru-san's opposite side change
and can't move.
They've completely removed the fangs from the ball hunting.
They must be exhausted, as well.
This strategy's largest weakness is that
their stamina doesn't last until the end
due to continuous position changing.
What's left to see?
I'd like you to see just this final bit.
They were crushed, but they're laughing?
I'd like you to think about what these smiles mean.
That's right. They weren't depressed at all.
Given that they were defeated in
last year's tournament preliminaries,
and in this year’s new recruit match,
it may be that they've only just started
to implement the Total Foot strategy.
I see.
This game might only have been their first trial match.
Which means, the real contest is the tournament.
I'm sure you're right.
The Tendo brothers...
If they've managed to complete their
new Total Foot strategy with these two
as the key players, this may be a high school soccer revolution.
They're at the eye of the Kanagawa tournament storm.
They push forward with their new strategy without hesitation
and the victorious Yoin is a strong opponent, as well.
We didn't give a single goal to Kamakura today, either, you know.
What's to be scared of?
That's the spirit.
After going through countless matches and winning,
you have all become plenty strong.
Listen up! You will win!
Yes!
Give me a break.
You mustn't, Araki-san. Your weight...
I can understand your desire to make me rebound
and stay on the team,
but the world is waiting for me.
What are you looking at?
Araki-san.
Now then, everyone,
let's do our best and look forward
to victory in the tournament!
Yes!
Everyone is far too quiet.
Did we shake their confidence too much, Iwaki-kun?
No need to worry, Coach Kondo.
Everyone has plenty of spirit.
We will win.
No matter how strong the opponent,
we've trained this much to win.
What are you grumbling about, Nakatsuka?
I keep thinking about everything and I can't sleep.
What are you doing, Kakeru-kun?
I can't sleep, so I thought I'd move around a bit.
Me, too!
Maybe I'll go, too.
It's pretty cold out here.
I guess it's already that season.
What are you all doing?
Are you all out here to practice, too?
So the first years are here, too.
Who would've thought we'd all be here to practice?
It might not be a good idea to all go into the practice grounds
at this time of night.
We always have there, don't we?
Damn, it's cold.
So let's warm ourselves up!
Mako-san!
You're not going anywhere!
It's already been half a year
since the new Enoshima Soccer Club was formed, hasn't it?
We've already come this far without noticing.
Let's keep playing our own soccer, without regrets.
Hurry, got to make a wish! Make a wish!
The championships.
I'll do my job as a striker and make sure we win, Brother.
Next Episode Raise the Curtain! High School Championship
The Kanagawa national tournament has finally begun.
The Enoshima Soccer Club, who has greatly improved
to overcome the shame of the inter-high tournament,
now go for their first win.
Kakeru and the others
are determined not to rely on the ace Araki,
who was chosen to be a U-16 Representative.
Go ahead and expect great things
from the new Enoshima's steady advance!
Next time on Knight in the Area,
episode 34:
"Raise the Curtain! High School Championship."
Goal!