On Saturday 3 November, Kashima Antlers will be facing Persepolis (Iran) at home in the first leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2018 final. Following the match at Kashima Soccer Stadium, the team will travel to Azadi Stadium on Saturday 10 November to seek for their 20th club title.

With their 3-3 draw against Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic) in the second leg of the semi-finals which took place in Korea Republic on Wednesday 24 October, Kashima secured their spot into their first ever ACL final with an aggregate score of 6-5. Kashima will square off against the Iranian powerhouse Persepolis to earn their first ever Asian title.

The Iranian League champions advanced through the group stage as the group leader with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. They then surpassed Al Jazira Club (UAE) in the round of 16 with a 4-4 aggregate score where they had the advantage in away goals. The team went onto defeat Al-Duhail SC (Qatar) in the quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 3-2, followed by a 2-1 aggregate victory over Al Sadd SC (Qatar) in the semi-finals to advance through to the ACL final.

Persepolis will be seeking for their first Asian title since the Asian Cup Winners' Cup 1991, while it will be their first title at the ACL. With the Asian title in sight, their domestic league matches were scheduled around the ACL matches as the team played a total of four matches during October including the two ACL semi-final matches, and two league matches each played on the 18th and 27th. Prior to arriving to Japan, the team held a short training camp in UAE to condition themselves ahead of their match against Kashima. The team has been undefeated in their league matches with a record of 4 wins and 5 draws, as they currently rank third in the league. Their last loss came in the ACL match played on 28 August, where they lost 0-1 against Al-Duhail.

The team is coached by Branko IVANKOVIC, who led the Iran National Team in the FIFA World Cup 2006. He is accompanied by assistant coach Karim BAGHERI, a former Iran National Team member who has played for the club during his playing days. Ever since the Croatian coach took helm in April 2015, the team has won back-to-back league titles and advance to the semi-finals of last year’s ACL.

In their 4-4-2 formation, Nigerian forward Godwin MENSHA and the 23-year-old Iranian International Ali ALIPOUR places themselves upfront, where the two has combined with eight goals thus far in the ACL, while they have also registered four goals in their league. The midfield features Bashar RESAN who plays for the Iraq National Team, and the Iran National Team duo, Ahmad NOUROLLAHI and Kamal KAMYABINIA.

Their defence line is led by veteran Seyed Jalal HOSSEINI who has registered 116 caps for the Iran National Team, while Alireza BEIRANVAND, who is well known for stopping Cristiano RONALDO’s penalty kick in the recent World Cup, tends the goal. During the ACL, the team has shown great strengths in both physical and mental aspects, while showing superb team work to advance through to the final.

Kashima has gained persistency and flexibility

Kashima on the other hand has shown great persistence in their recent matches. This quality was best shown in the semi-final matches against Suwon Samsung where they came from behind from two goals down to win the match with a final score of 3-2 in the first leg, followed by the second leg where they tied the match from 1-3 to advance to the final.

The team is currently missing the former Japanese International UCHIDA Atsuto and NAKAMURA Atsutaka due to injury, but in return, SHOJI Gen has returned from injury. The team has welcomed back ABE Hiroki who took part in the U-19 Japan National Team that recently secured their spot into the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The team has seen their young players stepping up as of late, while the veterans laid out the foundation for the team. A good example of that was shown in the league match against Cerezo Osaka on Wednesday 31 October, where youngsters like YAMAGUCHI Kazuma and ODA Itsuki excelled in the match while Shoji, OGASAWARA Mitsuo, and Sun-tae KWON did well to support the young talents to earn the 1-0 victory.

One of the young players who has been showing great improvements is their forward Yuma SUZUKI, who has been showing great compatibility with SERGINHO. While in the midfield, Leo SILVA and MISAO Kento has really made their presence felt in both offence and defence. Ahead of the clash against the Iranian powerhouse, Serginho has shared his aspiration, “Playing in the final will not mean anything if we do not win. We will work hard as a team to win the title.”

The second leg of the final will be held at Azadi Stadium which has a capacity of 80,000 people and it will be packed with enthusiastic fans on the match day. Ahead of their away match at this stadium, Kashima would certainly be looking to take the advantage by winning their home match in Kashima. This is the second year in a row for a Japanese club to reach the final. With Urawa Red Diamonds crowned as the champions last year, if Kashima can take down the title this year, it would be the first time for the Japanese side to be winning back-to-back years since Urawa and Gamba Osaka has done it in 2007 and 2008.

The first leg of the ACL Finals will kick off in 15:00 at Kashima Soccer Stadium on Saturday 3 November.

Tournament Period: 30 January - 10 November 2018

Final 1st Leg
Sat. 3 November 15:00 Kashima Antlers (Japan)vs Persepolis (Iran)
Match Venue: Kashima Soccer Stadium

Final 2nd Leg
Sat. 10 November 18:30 Persepolis (Iran) vs Kashima Antlers (Japan)
Match Venue: Azadi Stadium

Tournament Information