On August 23rd, Urawa Reds manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, held a regular online press conference after the team training session, stating that he had scheduled high-intensity training for the players on Tuesday and Wednesday and suggested that players should cut off any outside information two days before the game.
Rodriguez said: “The next game against Kawasaki will be the last game for the children during their summer vacation, so I hope they can come to the stadium and enjoy themselves. I hope to play a good game at home and get three points. The training on the 22nd (Thursday) was cancelled because we had high-intensity training on Tuesday and Wednesday in quite hot conditions. Our workload increased by about 20%, and the day off was to ensure we could maintain our physical fitness for the game.”
“The weather has been very hot this week, and we have been training hard under these conditions. We have been communicating with the players and staff, discussing various aspects of fitness, psychology and the game. In short, rest is very important. I believe the same problem exists throughout society, not just for athletes. When we want to rest, we receive too much unnecessary information. We must learn how to rest while blocking out this information.”
Rodriguez’s remarks were actually quite significant. Due to the relatively poor performance of Urawa Reds in the J-League this season, both the club and the players have encountered a lot of abuse and threats from extreme fans on social media. Since the end of July, there have been two incidents of fan violence in Urawa Reds in a short period of time, which undoubtedly have had a significant impact on the club’s public image. On Saturday (24th) evening, Urawa Reds will face their old rivals Kawasaki Frontale. There are also many sources saying that if Rodriguez fails to win, he may be sacked immediately, showing that Urawa is facing tremendous pressure.
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