The 37th Empress's Cup will get underway on Saturday 7 November. TAKAKURA Asako, who had four Empress's Cup titles during her playing time and currently leads U-19 Japan Women's National Team, appears here in this article. She spoke of her memories in the past championships and the highlights of the tournament this year.

Coach Interview: TAKAKURA Asako (U-19 Japan Women's National Team)

- Which tournament do you remember best?

Takakura: That's the ninth championship, where we won for the first time in our history. Until that time, Shimizu Daihachi Sports Club had kept the seven straight championships, but my team (Yomiuri Soccer Club Women's Beleza) beat Shimizu 2-0 in the final in the 9th championship. I scored two goals in the match and got the tournament MVP. My impression on the Empress's Cup is that it was always cold.

At that time, the tournament was held in March. And it was usual to play on a dirt football field at the early stage of it. When it was snowing or raining, we played matches getting muddy.

- The championship has been held in the knockout system then and now.

Takakura: The one-shot thing was tough. It was like we bowed to the momentum of the opponents who came with strong mind, "We are going to upset you." We didn't have so many matches where we took complete control from start to end and sometimes lost to tenacious teams in penalty shootouts.

We had prepared so hard until the tournament, and when we lost at the early stage, we couldn't figure out what to do. So one time after such a loss, we even went to a zoo together as a last resort. Looking back now, it is a great memory.

- Do you recommend any certain way to enjoy the Empress's Cup?

Takakura: It's fun to watch teams in different categories play against each other. High school students and college students sometimes square off each other. When a top college team and a Nadeshiko League Second Division team play against each other, you must wonder which team are really better. Especially in the first and second rounds, you can see matchups that you don't see regularly. I want teams not having a good past record to make a giant killing happen, and strong teams to prove themselves not to get tripped up.

- In the last tournament, young players' performance stood out. What do you expect this time?

Takakura: The tournament is not so long, as it is only for two months or less. When young players get a bit of momentum, it gets accelerated quickly.  But players who showed good performances in the last tournament may be checked harder by opponents in this tournament.

The point is if they can show their own strength in such an environment. And I want them to be aware of lessening the ups and downs to always live up to the expectations. The steady performance leads to their mates’ and coach's trust and must be a foothold for those players to make it to Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team).

- From a viewpoint of a coach, what kind of things are you interested in?

Takakura: Of course, I'm giving an eye to U-19 players. But not only them, I also want to see more players from Nadeshiko League Second Division and college teams. When I find a player that I feel "She is good" even in daily league matches, I imagine how much she can make it through at the higher level.

In the Empress’s Cup, if a team go up, individuals on that squad also draw attention. And conversely, if they can't win, they have to leave without getting attention from no one. For this reason, I want players to play with ambition no matter what category they are in or how much reputation they get.

The 37th Empress's Cup

Sat.7 November 2015 - Sun. 27 December 2015

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