Bottom of the table in his first match in charge: Tokyo Verdy's new manager Naoki Soma (相馬直樹) says, “It was my mistake,” after an unusual mid-game substitution followed by a substitution off

Tokyo Verdy faced Hiroshima in Matchweek 9 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League and lost 0-2. New manager Naoki Soma (相馬直樹) took up his post on the 8th and led the team in his first match, but after 9 games the team had 4 draws and 5 losses, leaving it bottom of the table with 4 points. In the first half, Tokyo Verdy sought to exploit space behind the defense while making use of its front two, but Hiroshima took the lead in the second minute of the second half with a long-range strike by midfielder Taishi Matsumoto (松本泰志), then extended its lead in the 13th minute through Akito Suzuki (鈴木章斗).

Regarding the use of forward Kazunari Kazumi (一美和成), who was brought on in the 12th minute of the second half, Manager Soma said, “It was my mistake,” and attempted to change course by substituting him off in the 40th minute. There had also been an option to add Goki Yamada (山田剛綺) and shift to a front three, but a lack of preparation in training and an insufficient assessment of the players' condition also played a role. The result did not follow in his first match in charge.

It was Manager Soma's first time managing in J1 in 5 years, since his time at Kashima, and he vowed to rebuild the team. At the post-match press conference, he identified areas for improvement, including bench management, but said there were aspects of the team's current strength and the players' suitability that he had not yet fully understood.