This is the highest level of football in Asia, where awareness and decision making of the players are very important. You can’t afford to make mistakes.
We conceded early from the penalty and free-kick, and the morale went down. We weren’t playing our usual passing game too, going for long balls instead. I reminded the players to always stick to our philosophy of play. We moved the ball better in the second half in terms of how we wanted our team to play.
It is never easy playing against Japanese clubs. They are the giants of Asia and Urawa are two-time ACL champions too. We are growing but that will take time. The team has shown progress in the ACL yearly and I believe this will continue as we strive to reach greater heights. We will go back and continue working on further improving ourselves.
Hector Bidoglio, Johor Darul Ta’zim FC Head Coach
Hidup Johor Demi Johor
