The second leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 Final is about to take place on Sunday 24 November, where Urawa Red Diamonds will welcome Al Hilal SFC (Saudi Arabia) to their home. After dropping the first leg 0-1 in Riyadh, Urawa will seek to bounce back to earn their third ACL title, following their championship campaign in 2007 and 2017.

Out of the four Japanese clubs who entered this year’s ACL, three advanced through the group stage; Kashima Antlers, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and Urawa Red Diamonds. For Urawa, their path to the final was not an easy road, as they saw their coach getting sacked during the season, while the team had to compete against former ACL champions, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Korea Republic) and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao (China PR) to advance through this year’s tournament.

After earning their ticket into the ACL by winning last year’s Emperor’s Cup, Urawa faced Buriram United (Thailand), Beijing Sinobo Guoan (China PR), and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the group stage.

On 6 March, Urawa defeated Buriram 3-0 at home with goals scored by MAKINO Tomoaki and HASHIOKA Daiki to start off the group competition. A week later, the team drew against Beijing 0-0 in an away match to pick up another point. However, Urawa struggled against Jeonbuk in the third and fourth group match, as they dropped their home match against the Korean side 0-1.

Urawa would also lose the away match against Jeonbuk 1-2, after conceding two goals in the early minutes of the second half. Despite seeing their ace, KOROKI Shinzo, score his first goal of this year’s ACL in the 58th minute, the team lost back to back matches and dropping their ranking to third place.

Desperately needing three points to advance through the group stage, Urawa faced an away match against Buriram on 7 May. The match saw early actions, as Koroki scored the opening goal in the third minute, followed by Buriram’s equaliser in the 13th minute. Midfielder MUTO Yuki marked his first goal of the season in the 23rd minute to put Urawa back ahead and the team held onto this lead to rise back to second place in the group.

With the group leader Jeonbuk already clinching the knockout stage, Urawa and Beijing went head to head in the final group match with the second seat into the knockout stage at stake. The match was played at Urawa’s home on 21 May. After entering as a substitute for KASHIWAGI Yosuke, who sustained an injury in the 13th minute, NAGASAWA Kazuki scored the opening goal in the 34th minute. In the 41st minute, Muto scored a goal to mark a goal in back to back ACL matches, giving Urawa a 2-0 lead at halftime. After Koroki adding an insurance goal at the end of the second half, Urawa won the match 3-0, advancing to the knockout stage as the group runners-up.

Sudden change of coach

Despite clinching their spot into the knockout stage, Urawa sacked coach Oswaldo OLIVEIRA on 28 May, after seeing the team struggle at the J.League. It was announced that their head coach, OTSUKI Tsuyoshi, will assume the managerial role. This announcement came just three weeks before their first match at the round of 16.

For coach Otsuki, this was not an unfamiliar territory, as he led the team as the acting coach during the 2018 season, after coach HORI Takafumi was released mid-season. While the team made efforts to reconstruct their performance at the domestic league, the team faced Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic), the group leader of Group H, at the round of 16.

In the first leg played at their home stadium on 19 June, Urawa took lead in the 37th minute, when SUGIMOTO Kenyu scored the opening goal, but conceded the equaliser in the 42nd minute and the go-ahead goal in the 81st minute to lose the match 1-2. However, Urawa bounced back in the second leg played at Ulsan on 26 June, with the help of the brace score by Koroki and the 87th minute goal scored by EWERTON, advancing to the quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 4-2.

Following a two months break, Urawa faced Shanghai SIPG (China PR) at the quarterfinals. In the first leg played away on 27 August, Urawa got off to a great start by taking a 2-0 lead at halftime but conceded two penalty kicks in the second half to draw the match 2-2. The second leg took place on 17 September, where Urawa scored the opening goal once again, with Koroki registering his fourth goal of the tournament, but conceded the equaliser in the second half. With the match ending in a 1-1 draw, an aggregate score of 3-3, Urawa advanced to the semi-finals with their advantage in away goals.

Koroki’s 26th ACL goal and the solid Urawa defence

At the semi-finals, Urawa faced Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, who defeated Kashima Antlers at the previous round. Led by coach Fabio CANNAVARO, former member of the Italy National Team, Guangzhou made their first semi-final appearance since 2015. In the matchup between two teams who have won the ACL title twice, Urawa had the lead in head to head record, as they held a record of two wins, one draw, and one loss, when they faced Guangzhou at the group stage of 2013 and 2016.

Urawa took down the first leg played at their home on 2 October, as FABRICIO and SEKINE Takahiro scored a goal apiece to give their side a 2-0 victory. Guangzhou made a change to their formation in the second leg played on 23 October, as they attacked fiercely to threaten the Urawa goal. However, with superb saves made by NISHIKAWA Shusaku, the Urawa defence showcased a solid performance to keep the home side scoreless. The game winner was scored in the 50th minute, when Koroki marked his 26th goal at the ACL, most scored by a Japanese player. With their defence keeping a clean sheet, Urawa advanced to the Final with an aggregate score of 3-0.

In their third final appearance at the ACL final, Urawa faced the Saudi Arabian powerhouse, Al Hilal, a rematch from the 2017 ACL final. Counting back from the Asian Club Championship, Al Hilal has claimed two Asian titles, but has not won the title in the ACL era. With the team finishing as the runners-up in both 2014 and 2017, the Saudi Arabian is seeking for their first ACL title.

The first leg was played at Riyadh on 9 November, where Al Hilal took the initiative through their well balanced offence led by Andre CARRILLO, Bafetimbi GOMIS, and Sebastian GIOVINCO. With Al Hilal taking control of the match, Carrillo scored the opening goal in the 60th minute, which turned out to be the game winner, as Urawa dropped the first leg 0-1.

Urawa will now welcome Al Hilal to Saitama on 24 November. Urawa must win the match by a two goal margin in order to take the title. Despite the uphill battle, Urawa will seek to claim their third ACL title, and bring back the trophy to Japan for the third consecutive year.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019
Round of 16: Tue. 18 June - Tue. 13 August 2019
Quarterfinals: Tue. 27 August - Wed. 18 September 2019
Semi-finals: Tue. 1 - Wed. 23 October 2019
Final: 1st Leg/Sat. 9 November 2019, 2nd Leg/Sun. 24 November 2019

Tournament Information