The 95th Emperor’s Cup All Japan Football Championship hold its semi-finals on 29 December where defending champions Gamba Osaka go head to head against J1 champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima to whom Gamba suffered a close loss at the J.League Championship. The other match-up has Urawa Reds, third-placed in the J.League standings of the year, take on Kashiwa Reysol, the Asia Champions League (ACL)’s elite eight contestants. Both matches are expected to be very exciting as four of Japan’s powerhouses square off against each other.

The winners of those two fixtures will play at the final to be held on 1 January at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo with Japan’s best football club honour and a spot in the next year’s ACL at stake.

Gamba Osaka vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima

It is the fifth time for Gamba and Hiroshima to face each other in official matches this year. Although Hiroshima has a superior record there with two wins, one loss and one draw, both sides played neck and neck in every contest. 

Most notably in the League Championship, Gamba took the 2-1 lead late in the first leg, when KONNO Yasuyuki scored in the 81st minute. But Hiroshima tallied two goals in the additional time of the second half, one by defender SASAKI Sho and the other by substitute midfielder KASHIWA Yoshifumi, to steal the victory from Gamba. In the second leg, Konno again scored the opener to help Gamba finish the first half leading by one goal. Then Hiroshima’s forward ASANO Takuma, who got onto the pitch in the second half, scored the equaliser to finish the match 1-1 and the series total as Hiroshima’s 4-3 win. Those two matches are still fresh in the memory of many.

Following the quarter-final of this Cup, Gamba are still shorthanded with injuries and illness. Defender NIWA Daiki, however, confidently speaks of their determination, saying “we have other guys stepping up and that is making our team better. We already got over with the two matches of the League Championship. So all we have to do is to show that on the pitch. I think it will be a close one, but we want to take the momentum in our favour.”

“We have played many matches against Hiroshima. We know what they are good at and what we have to be careful of. There will be a chance for us if we keep them from showing their strength,” added midfielder ENDO Yasuhito.

Meanwhile Hiroshima reached the first semi-final since the 93rd Championship in 2013 when they finished as runners-up. They clinched this year’s last 4 spot with substitute forward Asano Takuma scoring two goals in the quarter-final where Hiroshima were once trailing F.C.Tokyo with one goal deficit. 

While this is a must-win match for Hiroshima looking for the second major title of this season after winning the league, their Japanese international defender SHIOTANI Tsukasa will not be allowed to play due to the cumulated yellow cards. How much it impacts their collective defence is not yet to be seen, but coach MORIYASU Hajime is confident of the team who finished the recent FIFA Club World Cup at the third place and their ability to adjust. He says “our players have been able to show their reliability.”

In the past Emperor’s Cups, these clubs played against each other five times, the record of which is Hiroshima’s three wins and two losses. The most recent match-up was last year’s round of 16 where Gamba edged Hiroshima 3-1. There is no doubt that this year’s will be another thrilling contest.  

Urawa Reds vs Kashiwa Reysol

Hiroshima and Gamba finished first and second respectably in the J.League’s standings for the year, which guarantees them a spot in the ACL next year, but Urawa and Kashiwa have not secured their appearance. Although Urawa are already given a spot in the playoff for the ACL, both Kashiwa and Urawa of course are aiming to qualify automatically for the ACL’s group stage as Japan’s second representative by winning the Emperor’s Cup.

Urawa cruised past Vissel Kobe in the quarter-final to a 3-0 win by scoring all three goals in the first half. Early in the second half, they pulled a few of their key players such as midfielders MUTO Yuki and UGAJIN Tomoya off the pitch to keep them fresh for the semi-final which was to be three days away from the quarter-final. It seems Urawa have a competitive edge conditioning-wise over Kashiwa who fought all the way to the penalty shootout including the extra periods.

Urawa have been very stable throughout this season including winning the first stage without a loss in 17 straight matches and recording 21 wins 9 losses and 4 draws for the year. Their total goals scored, 69, was the second best in the league. As for cup tournaments, however, they were eliminated at round of 8 in the J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup and also lost to Gamba in the semi-final of the J.League Championship. Their performance in one-and-done tournaments have not been as impressive. In this Emperor’s Cup, they are listed for the semi-finals for the first time since the 86th tournament in 2006 where they won the second straight title following the previous year.

On the other hand, despite not being as remarkable as other semi-finalists in the regular league season where they finished with 12 wins 13 losses and 9 draws, Kashiwa showed their presence in the ACL by surviving to the round of 8. In this tournament’s quarter-final, they lacked their defensive leader SUZUKI Daisuke due to suspension and also lost a player midway through the second half for ejection, but came back out victorious against Vegalta Sendai after the 3-3 extra period and 5-3 penalty shootout. Their last-4 appearance is for the first time since the 92nd tournament in 2012. In knock-out-style tournaments, their tenacious style shows in best form. Suzuki will come back from his suspension to play against Urawa.

Their team total of goals scored, 46, is much fewer than that of Urawa, but individually forward CRISTIANO scored 14 in the season and recorded hat-trick by striking three free-kicks in a single match of the quarter-final against Sendai. He certainly requires close attention by Urawa’s defence. 

The past match-ups between these two sides in this season include 3-3 tie in Urawa in the first stage of the league season and Urawa’s 1-0 in Kashiwa in the second stage. They also squared off against each other in the past Emperor’s Cups twice, which were won once each by Urawa in the 78th tournament in 1998 and by Kashiwa in the 79th in 1999.

The semi-finals schedule on 29 December is Urawa Reds against Kashiwa Reysol at 1:05 p.m. at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo and Gamba Osaka against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at 3:05 p.m. at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka. 

The 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

Sat. 29 August 2015 - Fri. 1 January 2016
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