Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Captain Yuki Abe hailed the impact of the Urawa Red Diamonds class of 2007 who turned out to support the 2017 generation on to their AFC Champions League final victory on Saturday.
A decade ago, Abe was in the line-up alongside the likes of Yuichiro Nagai, Robson Ponte and Keita Suzuki as Urawa defeated IR Iran's Sepahan 3-1 on aggregate to lift Japan's first AFC Champions League.
And it was he, this time as captain, who lifted the Saitama club's second continental title high into the night's sky after a 1-0 win over Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia secured a 2-1 aggregate victory.
"I was so happy 10 years ago and I’m so happy this time too," said a delighted Abe, who is in his second spell at the club after a stint at Leicester City.
"The whole team fought really together to achieve this - I'm just so happy we've become Asian champions for a second time."
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/urawa_acl17_champs_jpg.html
