With the assist from Ashito to Yuuma we get to see what Akutsu demanded out of Ashito. He has always mentioned that Ashito’s strength is his vision/eyes. For him understanding his newer teammates is more effective than understanding the enemy. When you consider Ashito’s technical skill is defefintly on the lower end for Esperion. Seeing Ashito connect with Yamada, Kiriki and Takasugi is good to see with the progress Ashito is making.
Of course Aomori Seiran wouldn’t give up and it is their next adjustments are interesting. It employs a 3-5-2 front with possession soccer. The term playing as one is happening here. Essentially Aomori Seiran controls the center because of that 5-center setup. Those 5 are critical because they need to understand Kitano’s intentions. In fact it is curious that not only is the whole team following Kitano’s lead, but he is also affecting Esperion.
As we learn that what Aomori Seiran is executing is called an N-Box. It’s a formation that is used when you have a playmaker at the skill of Kitano. Because of the 4 players staying close to the playmaker it is very adaptable on the fly. So it is clear it is crucial that not only does it need a certain playmaker, but everybody buying in on what the playmaker seeks to do. If you don’t communicate there are gaps that will get exposed, which is one reason you don’t see it used. As we see with Aomori Seiran against Eseperion if everyone is on the same page it is deadly in a match.
For the other players it makes sense how they ended up in Aomori Seiran, but how did Kitano end up there? Well for someone as talented as Kitano you can understand there will be distance from his other teammates through his playing career. In Aomori Seiran they were joined by the one desire to win. It’s interesting to think that Kitano wouldn’t likely succeed in an environment like Esperion where everyone’s goal is to go pro. It’s clear that it didn’t motivate Kitano, but being in a collective team like Aomori Seiran did.
We see Aomori Seiran gets that crucial goal against Esperion that ties it. Ultimately we have the 5 Lane vs. N-Box. Essentially we have soccer that prioritizes youth development vs. one being used to win right now. The difference is that Narimiya won’t be a tactic if the team isn’t ready while Fukuda is willing to work with it even if there are growing pains. As Esperion is young the 5 Lane approach won’t be ideal with the first years Esperion has employed.
It does look like things are finally clicking in for Ashito. Ultimately this match will be determined if Ashito can match up against Kitano.
