As Coach Nozomi mentions, Ashito’s flaws would become apparent in the practice match. There were some clues early on about what that would be. We can see that Ashito has great intuition but has trouble illustrating what goes on inside his mind in his thought process. However, his goal early on makes you wonder why it’s as much of an issue.
As Anri points out, in soccer you have tactics from a team perspective and an individual sense. Soccer is a sport where it is a free-flowing game. Compared to American football, as an example, where we have plays where you have instructions for each play. Soccer isn’t like that. It also relies on intelligent play and adjustments. What are my opponents doing, and how do I communicate with my teammates? We can recall during tryouts Ootomo understood what Ashito was aiming for and communicated that to Tachibana. We can see they are capable of understanding tactics in the sense that Nozomi doesn’t have the same criticism of them as he does with Ashito.
The adjustments in the match happen where the opposing team puts Asari on him, who Nozomi mentions put a lot of pride as his defender. The real checkmate isn’t the fact Asari locked him down; Ashito’s teammates tell him to not get involved. This is a clear sign that Ashito’s soccer skills are severely flawed. Kind of a showcase that his lack of fundamentals is Ashito’s undoing. Even adding insult is how the newcomer Togashi makes his impact, showing what someone new who understands fundamentals and tactics is.
Still credit to Ashito that he makes the commitment no matter what it is. Which is more the reason why Hana has become a fan of his. His drive towards soccer is probably the thing that reminds her of her brother’s soccer. Even though more than likely their approach to soccer itself is different. The mention of his eyes. Which in turn, after Ashito finally gets put on the right track, Nozomi also mentions his eyes. At the very least he acknowledges Ashito in that he is finally getting to the starting line. Nozomi makes for an interesting coach so far because you can tell his criticism is valid, and he can clearly acknowledge when improvement is made.
