Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Yuki Abe had to wait 10 years to add a second AFC Champions League winner’s medal to the one he won with Urawa Red Diamonds in 2007, but the veteran defender is hoping he can secure a third Continental title by the time this year’s campaign comes to its conclusion.
Now 37 years old and in the twilight of his career, Abe is the only member of Urawa’s playing staff remaining from the side that defeated Sepahan of Islamic Republic of Iran in the final of the 2007 AFC Champions League as Reds became the first Japanese club to win the title.
Ten years later – and with Abe still in the team - Urawa repeated the feat, seeing off Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia to become only the fourth club – along with Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of Korea Republic and China PR’s Guangzhou Evergrande – to win the trophy twice since the AFC Champions League was created in 2002.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/yuki_abe_-_2017_afc_champions_league_1.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Guangzhou Evergrande FC’s rising star Wei Shihao is counting down the minutes to the return of the 2019 AFC Champions League as he hopes to help the two-time champions win a record third Continental title later this year.
The competition resumes in East Asia after a two-and-a-half month hiatus next week, with Guangzhou facing off against defending champions Kashima Antlers in a mouth-watering quarter-final clash that the China PR international is relishing.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jeddah: José Luis Sierra’s Al Ittihad received a confidence boost ahead of the 2019 AFC Champions League quarter-finals by defeating Lebanon's Al Ahed in the first leg of the King Muhammed VI Cup Round of 32 on Tuesday.
Al Ittihad defeated Al Ahed 3-0 at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, setting them up nicely for the kick-off of their 2019-20 Saudi Pro League campaign and 2019 AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
Al Ittihad open their domestic season with a home tie against Al Raed on Friday and then play domestic rivals Al Hilal SFC in the first leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Shanghai: Vitor Pereira is setting his sights on another trophy in the wake of Shanghai SIPG’s Chinese Super League triumph last year as the Portuguese tactician seeks to establish a culture of success at the club, with this season’s AFC Champions League a prime target.
Pereira guided Shanghai to the Chinese title last year as the club claimed their first-ever trophy before the Chinese Super Cup was added to their haul at the start of the current campaign with victory over Beijing Guoan.
But, with their quarter-final against Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League looming, the former FC Porto coach is determined to secure another major trophy this season as he aims to create a winning habit at the Shanghai club.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: Shinzo Koroki’s goals have been instrumental for Urawa Red Diamonds in the AFC Champions League as the two-time champions have advanced to the last eight of this year’s competition, even if the 33-year-old claims he has yet to be at his best in the 2019 Continental championship.
Koroki scored three times during the group phase as Urawa emerged from Group G in second place behind Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to secure their spot in the knockout phase for the fifth time in the club’s history.
But it was his brace in the second leg of the Round of 16 win over Ulsan Hyundai in June that was of vital importance to his team as those goals spurred Urawa to a 3-0 win on the night and a 4-2 aggregate victory overall to send the J.League side into the quarter-finals.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ibaraki: It’s been seven years since they last went head-to-head, but Brazilian titans Leo Silva and Paulinho will battle for midfield supremacy when Kashima Antlers and Guangzhou Evergrande FC face off in the quarter-finals of the 2019 AFC Champions League next week.
Tianhe Stadium will be the venue for the duo’s first meeting on Asian soil on August 28 in the first leg of their last eight clash in the Continental club championship, and comes a little more than seven years since their first – and so far only – meeting on the pitch.
That was at Sao Paulo’s Estadio do Pacaembu, when Paulinho’s Corinthians shared a 1-1 draw with a Portuguesa side featuring Leo Silva and the Kashima star is relishing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with the former Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: Urawa Red Diamonds’ head coach Tsuyoshi Otsuki is hoping his side can take inspiration from the club’s 2017 AFC Champions League-winning campaign to see off Shanghai SIPG as the J.League side attempt to take another step towards a record third Continental crown.
Urawa, who won last season’s Japan's Emperor’s Cup to qualify for the 2019 AFC Champions League, face Vitor Pereira’s side in the first leg of their last eight clash in Shanghai on August 27 knowing the last 18 months have been a difficult period for the two-time champions.
In the season-and-a-half since Urawa captured their second AFC Champions League – which came a decade after their first – the club has experienced significant upheaval.