On Saturday 3 November, Kashima Antlers won the first leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2018 final 2-0 against the Iranian side Persepolis at their home field, Kashima Soccer Stadium. Kashima will now seek for their first ever Asian Title in franchise history, at the second leg which will be played on Saturday 10 November at Teheran.

Out of the four teams, Kashima was the only Japanese team who survived through the group stage. After clinching their eighth ACL appearance with their second-place finish at the J. League last season, the team took on Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic), Shanghai Shenhua (China PR), and Sydney FC (Australia) in the group stage. With the list of injured players piling on, and with the league schedule in consideration, the team employed a line-up that featured many of their young players to battle through the group stage.

In the opening match held on 14 February at home against Shanghai Shenhua, Kashima conceded an early goal to former Colombian international, Giovanni MORENO, but with ENDO Yasushi’s 51st minute equaliser, the team started off the tournament with a 1-1 draw. A week later, the team faced Suwon Samsung in Korea Republic. With KANAZAKI Mu (Currently plays for Tosu) bagging a brace, the team won the away match with a score of 2-1, taking the group lead after two matches of play.

On 7 March, following the league opener of the J. League, the team travelled to Australia to face Sydney FC. Kashima captured the opening goal in the 40th minute with DOI Shoma’s goal and added to their tally with an 87th minute goal scored by UEDA Naomichi (Currently plays for Cercle Brugge K.S.V./Belgium), to further extend their lead in Group H.

In the return leg held on 13 March, the team drew against Sydney FC despite taking the lead with Kanazaki’s opener. However, the team kept a commanding lead in their group, as they extended the lead to five points with the third-place team, setting up a situation where they can clinch the knockout stage with a draw or better in the next match.

The away match against Shanghai Shenhua held on 3 April gave Kashima the ticket to the next stage, when they came from behind to level the match with the second half goals scored by SUZUKI Yuma and LEANDRO.

On 17 April, Kashima faced Suwon Samsung at home, with the group lead at stake. Kashima could have secured the top spot with a draw or better, but with Suwon’s Dejan DAMJANOVIC scoring the only goal of the match in the 31st minute, Kashima finished the group stage in second place with a record of two wins, three draws, and one loss.

With the team getting eliminated at the round of 16 four times in the past, including last year, this was a stage they had to overcome. Their opponent was Shanghai SIPG from China PR, who featured former Brazilian international OSCAR and Wu Lei who plays for the China PR National Team. Since making their ACL debut in 2016 where they advanced to the quarterfinals, the Chinese side made it to the semi-finals last year. On 9 May, Kashima won their home match 3-1 with goals scored by Suzuki, NISHI Daigo, and an own-goal. A week later, the team dropped the away match 1-2, but advanced to their first ever quarterfinals with an aggregate score of 4-3.

Team's evolvement ahead of the Quarterfinals

With the ACL entering a three-month break, the team saw a dramatic change during the summer. Following the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, Ueda, Kanazaki, and Pedro JUNIOR parted ways with the club, while SHOJI Gen who excelled at the World Cup, was side-lined due to an injury sustained in a J. League match.

In order to fill the vacancy, Kashima acquired JEONG Seung-Hyeon from Tosu and SERGINHO from the Brazilian club Santos FC. The team has also welcomed the former coach of the Japan National Team, ZICO as the Technical Director. After returning to the club he once played as a player 16 years ago, Zico brought Kashima with the winner’s mentality and advised the team to acquire Serginho from his home country.

Meanwhile the youngsters such as ABE Hiroki and ANZAI Koki has shown great development. Newly acquired duo, INUKAI Tomoya and Jeong formed a solid defence line while Suzuki showed his presence in both offence and defence. Suzuki and Serginho led the ways in offence to fulfil the whole left by Kanazaki.

After seeing a great development over the summer, Kashima squared off against the ACL debutant, Tianjin Quanjian of China PR. However, with the Chinese side losing their key player, Axel WITSEL, after the Belgian excelled at the World Cup, Kashima cruised through the quarterfinals with a 2-0 home win with goals scored by Leo SILVA and Serginho, followed by a 3-0 away victory with Serginho, Abe, and Doi registering a goal each.

At the semi-finals, the team faced Suwon Samsung who they faced during the group stage. The Korea Republic side has parted ways with their coach, SEO Jung-Won ahead of the first leg of the semi-finals held on 3 October but welcomed him back ahead of the second leg held on 24 October. Despite their dramas, Suwon gave Kashima a great challenge at the semi-finals.

In the first leg, Kashima welcomed Suwon to their home stadium, but trailed by two goals early in the match. However, Kashima started to rally back with an own goal induced by Serginho’s cross towards the goal. The equaliser came in the 84th minute when Nishi delivered a cross which was converted by Serginho’s right foot. In additional time, UCHIDA Atsuto captured the go-ahead goal following a freekick to give Kashima the 3-2 victory.

With the advancement into the final at stake, Kashima faced Suwon in an away match. Despite taking the lead in the 25th minute with YAMAMOTO Shuto’s goal, the team conceded three goals in the second half that put them on the verge of elimination. However, with Nishi’s 64th minute goal and Serginho’s 82nd minute equaliser, the team levelled the match and secured their lead in aggregate score, as Kashima advanced through the semi-finals with the total score of 6-5.

Kashima’s opponent at the final will be the Iranian powerhouse, Persepolis, who has won the Iranian League 11 times and finished in the top four of last year’s ACL. But with the team welcoming back Shoji to their line-up, Kashima is in great shape to earn their first Asian Title.

The first leg held on Saturday 3 November attracted a season high, 35,022 people at Kashima Stadium. The match saw the home side struggling to adjust against the Iranian side, however, led by Jeong and KWOUN Sun-Tae’s superb plays, the team gradually picked up their pace. The team started to showcase their great pass works in the second half, which led to the opening goal scored by Leo Silva in the 58th minute. Serginho followed in the 70th minute to capitalise on the ball delivered by MISAO Kento to mark a goal in five consecutive ACL matches. Kashima took down the first leg with a score of 2-0, marking their 32nd victory at the ACL, which is a record for a Japanese club.

With this result, Kashima will be crowned as the Asian Champions with a draw or better in the second leg played in Iran on Saturday 10 November. The team is on the verge of their first ever ACL title, which will also be their 20th overall title in franchise history.

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