F.C. Tokyo clinched a berth in the finals for the first time in four years and the second time ever with an overwhelming 9-0 win over Chonburi FC in a 2016 AFC Champions League (ACL) playoff match on 9 February. Midfielder MIZUNUMA Kota was involved in five scoring plays and was selected as the man of the match.

Although they played half a month before they enter the J. League season, F.C. Tokyo coach JOFUKU Hiroshi described it as a "pleasant miscalculation." His players were in good condition and the team displayed active plays both ends of ball with high concentration from early. They seized the momentum of the game by scoring two goals in the first ninth minutes into it.

Tokyo took a 1-0 lead on an own goal following a corner kick by Mizunuma in the 6th minute, and then three minutes later, forward ABE Takuma received a pass from Mizunuma, who cut in the left side, and netted a goal to make it a 2-0.

Chonburi came up short after playing extra minutes against Kashiwa Reysol in a playoff game last year. But they made thorough roster change from last year's team and in fact, they only had six starting players who played in the Kashiwa game. While Tokyo tried to possess the ball, forward Rodrigo VERGILIO showed that he was going to rob the ball if he had a chance, and his team attempted to find a way to attack from the left side, but they weren't able to put it all together.

Meanwhile, Tokyo had four newcomers including Mizunuma and midfielder Ha Daesung but could have their offence at will. In the 34th minute, defender TOKUNAGA Yuhei kicked in a cross from right and midfielder HIGASHI Keigo put it into the net to give a 3-0 lead for F.C. Tokyo before halftime.

Tokyo kept their surge on Chonburi in the second half. In the 54th minute, forward MAEDA Ryoichi scored a goal and a minute later, midfielder YONEMOTO Takuji headed a cross from defender KOMANO Yuichi into the net to give the team a 5-0 lead.

Tokyo didn't slow down their attacking despite the big lead. On the 61st minute, Mizunuma connected a cross from Tokunaga into the goal. "I was able to show what I wanted to do in terms of catch the opponents off balance," Mizunuma said after the game. In the 73rd minute, Mizunuma set up the table by feeding a cross from the left side to forward KAWANO Hiroki, who wound up capitalizing on it for a goal.

In the 84th minute, midfielder HANYU Naotake, who substituted for Mizunuma, made a through pass and it led to an own goal by the opponents. In the stoppage time, Kawano was fouled in the box and he scored on the penalty kick himself and F.C. Tokyo posted a 9-0 win.

With the outcome, F.C. Tokyo will compete in Group E along with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Korea) and Jiangsu Suning (China) and Becamex Binh Duong (Vietnam) in the Group Stage, which will begin on the 23rd of this month.

Elsewhere, Shandong Luneng (China), Shanghai SIPG (China) and Pohang Steelers (Korea) triumphed in their East Zone playoff games on the same day. The three teams will be allocated in the same groups as Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds, respectively.

In the West Zone playoffs, Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan), El Jaish (Qatar), Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) and Al Jazira (UAE) have advanced to the finals.

In the group stage, the teams will play in a home-and-away format until 4 May, and the top two teams in each group will advance to the first round of the knockout round (round of 16). After that, the teams are divided into the east and west and play quarterfinals and semifinals. The winners of the east and west brackets will compete in November's championship game to determine Asia's number one team. The championship matches will be played on 19 and 26 November. The champions will earn a spot in December's FIFA Club World Cup.

Coach and Players' Comments

JOFUKU Hiroshi, Coach (F.C. Tokyo)
After all, we scored a lot of goals, but including the short preparation period, it wasn't necessarily an easy game for us to play. But it was the result that our players made their best preparation, and it was also the result that they displayed attitudes like the centre backs go back with their full strengths after corner kicks or all the players will chase the ball at the kickoffs, no matter how big of a gap we would establish. We showed our heart and spirit to not allow the opponents to have shots and to hold them to zero goals.

Considering where we've set our goals, we have a long shot in terms of the quality of our game, but we've still understood what we are really going to achieve. In order to compete on par with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and play at a high level throughout the year, we will rebuild our physicailities and raise the quality after we get the ball in our training camp in Miyazaki.

MF  MIZUNUMA Kota (F.C. Tokyo)
It felt great to win the game. We ended up scoring nine goals, but I felt we still had a long way to develop our offensive quality. In terms of catching the opponents off balance, I was able to do what I wanted to, but I lack precision on my shots. Those qualities will lead to better results in the ACL finals and league games, so I would like to be particular about those.

FW  MAEDA Ryoichi (F.C. Tokyo)
We scored first early and added some other goals, and it felt great that we played in our own pace. Chonburi had some players with power up front, but I think we capitalized on it with our first goal. Toward the ACL and J. League opening game, I would like to build my body even more and raise the accuracy of my plays and have better combinations with my teammates so I can get better passes in the box.

DF  KOMANO Yuichi (F.C. Tokyo)
We wouldn't have advanced to the next round had we not won this playoff game, so it feels great. No matter who we play against, it's important to hold them to zero goals, and because we were aggressively playing defence, we succeeded in limiting their moves and would not let them carry the ball. In the finals, the opponents will be tougher than today's opponents. We would like to elaborate our team strategies and develop our combinations with our teammates by the finals.

Jukkapant PUNPEE, Coach (Chonburi FC)
We knew it before the game, but the Japanese team was very tough and were better in offensive ways, set plays and passing works, so I felt that there was a great difference between us and them. We didn't have much time to adjust to the cold weather in Japan and our bodies weren't accustomed to it, and it gave us hard times. But it was a good learning lesson for us.

AFC Champions League 2016

27 January 2016 - 26 November 2016

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