Nelsinho predicts bright future for Kashiwa

Kashiwa Reysol coach Nelsinho said his J.League squad has a bright future after its Club World Cup campaign.

Speaking after their penalty shootout defeat to Al Sadd in the third-place play-off, the Brazilian coach said can now use their experience as a springboard to further success next year.

“This tournament was for my young team a chance to play against different school of football, a new learning experience. Regardless of the results on the pitch, we ‘won’ as a team,” Nelsinho said.

“The status of Reysol has changed, we won the J.League, and we played proudly here. This experience will lead us to a great season (in 2012).”

However, the former right-back felt that their naivety against Santos from earlier in the week once again proved costly as they failed to find the net against Al Sadd.

“In the 90 minutes against Al Sadd, Reysol was the only team that tried to win, the number of shots and possession were clearly in our favour, but we were not capable to capitalise on our opportunities,” Nelsinho said.

“The same had happened against Santos, and it is unfortunate, we should not waste so many chances in games like these.”

Looking ahead to the Emperor’s Cup fourth round fixture against rivals Nagoya Grampus, who they eventually pipped to the J-League title, Nelsinho said it was an important clash.

“We are preparing for the last games of the season, as we want to win the Emperor’s Cup,” he said.

“We know what we have to do, and we will start to work tomorrow to be at the top of our condition on the 21st, as we’ll play against a great team, Nagoya Grampus.”