The 95th Emperor’s Cup All Japan Football Championship is scheduled to have its final match on 1 January at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, where Gamba Osaka looking to grab the second straight championship and Urawa Reds who aim to be on top again since nine tournaments ago are going head to head.

Both sides also met at the J.League Championship’s semi-final held on 28 November and Gamba, finishing third in the year-total standings, defeated Urawa, the first stage winners and second-place finishers in the said ranking, 3-1 in the contest that went into the extra periods. 

As the result, Gamba were granted a spot in next year’s AFC Champions League (ACL) thanks to their appearance in the League Championship Final. On the other hand, Urawa were put into the ACL’s playoff race and now have to aim at getting the second representative spot by winning the Emperor’s Cup. (Later Urawa were given the spot in the ACL’s group stage because they together with Gamba advanced to the Emperor’s Cup final.)

Urawa’s coach Mihailo PETROVIC shows his motivation for the rematch against their rival, saying “it hurt us that we lost to Gamba in the League Championship. To mend that heartache, we have got to win in the Emperor’s Cup. By winning it all, we want to prove that what we have done was right and we will get the credits we deserve.”

Many of the past match-ups between these two clubs in the last five years were decided by only one goal margin. In this year’s regular season, Urawa enjoyed their 1-0 win at home in the 1st Stage, while Gamba came out victorious at their home in the 2nd Stage with the 2-1 score.

Looking only at the Emperor’s Cup history, the last head-to-head contest took place at the quarter-final in the 90th tournament in 2010, which ended as Gamba’s 2-1 extra-period win. They also faced each other at the final in the 86th tournament in 2006, where Urawa completed their back-to-back championship with 1-0 victory. 

This year, Urawa edged away the 92nd tournament (2012) champions Kashiwa Reysol after the extra period 1-0 to reach the final. Although they lost their playmaking midfielder KASHIWAGI Yosuke due to an injury in the match and his recovery for the final is questionable, they have other players in very good shape such as midfielders UMESAKI Tsukasa, SEKINE Takahiro and forward LEE Tadanari who scored one goal each in the past three straight matches, one of which was the go-ahead goal in the semi-final. Their defence led by Japanese international MAKINO Tomoaki have shown remarkable toughness as well. There is also forward ZLATAN who has scored in every three contest against Gamba in the regular season and the League Championship.

Meanwhile, Gamba have made the final appearance by beating this year’s J.League champions and the FIFA Club World Cup third-place finishers Sanfrecce Hiroshima in a 3-0 win.

They rested well, taking advantage of the break after the J.League Championship, including defender FUJIHARU Hiroki who was showing sickness symptoms but has come back to the lineup. Forward USAMI Takashi scored two goals each in their previous two matches, while another forward NAGASAWA Shun has scored his own in two matches in a row coming off the bench. 

Gamba’s coach HASEGAWA Kenta is well alert to Urawa’s individual skills. “They are quick in charging on the ball and making transitions between plays. It is important not to get outmatched in those fundamental plays. Then the rest is up to our will to win. We have to have a stronger mindset than they do.”

“Playing in the final means nothing unless you win it. I want to close this team’s campaign this year with all the smiles in the end,” added focused Usami.

Gamba’s championship will be their second in two years and fifth in their entire club history including the time when they were playing as Matsushita Electric Club, as Urawa’s will be their seventh overall including the ones won by their predecessor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Club.

The battle of the New Year’s Day will kick-off at 2:15 p.m. at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.

The 95th Emperor's Cup All Japan Football Championship

Sat. 29 August 2015 - Fri. 1 January 2016
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