Urawa Red Diamonds come back to the first final stage for the first time in 10 years to become the Asian champions. The second leg of the semi-final in the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2017 was held on Wednesday 18 October at Saitama Stadium 2002 as Urawa secured a slender lead created by RAFAEL SILVA’s lone goal to beat Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG 1-0. Improving to 2-1 on aggregate, the Japanese side clinched the final spot for the first time since 2007.

In the final, Urawa will face Al-Hilal FC of Saudi Arabia, playing on the road on Saturday 18 November for the first leg and at home on Saturday 25 for the second leg.

After managing to snatch a 1-1 away draw with tenacity in the first leg in late September, Urawa were in the situation where they would advance with a win or a 0-0 draw thanks to the away goal. However, they braced themselves for the match as Silva said, "Our advantage is very little. Anything can happen." Urawa put aggressive pressure on the opponents from the start and tried to rob the ball before they created a goal-scoring opportunity for themselves in the 12th minute.

When Silva rushed in front of an opponent and headed a corner from midfielder KASHIWAGI Yosuke to put it into the back of the net, the stadium packed with 44,357 fans roared with excitement.

After the opening goal, Urawa showed off their strong defence built up under HORI Takafumi, who took up a coach role in late July. Urawa played with a defensive block to halt opponents' offensive momentum, with midfielders NAGASAWA Kazuki and AOKI Takuya battling in the midfield as well as with the whole team staying highly concentrated and tenaciously coping with opponents' attack.

Shanghai SIPG, who were looking for the first final appearance in their second ACL campaign following last year's last eight feat, tried to rally back with goalkeeper YAN Junling back on the line-ups after suspension due to accumulated yellow cards and left back WANG Shenchao just returning to action in addition to their versatile attacking forces former Brazilian internationals forward HULK, midfielder OSCAR and Chinese international WU Lei.

The Chinese side threatened Urawa goal with Hulk, who had scored nine goals in nice matches in this championship, firing a free kick in the 24th minute and a shot from the edge of the box in the 29th and Uzbekistani international midfielder Odil AHMEDOV launching a drive off Hulk's return pass in the 41st minute. However, Urawa did not allow them to score thanks to goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku's fine saves before the first half ended with Urawa's 1-0 lead.

Shanghai went on an offensive surge from the start of the second half, but Urawa coped well with their attacks. In the 56th minute, Silva robbed the ball and hit on the break. After he induced a corner, defender MAKINO Tomoaki headed Kashiwagi's right corner only to see it hit the bar.

When defender ABE Yuki, who had precisely controlled the defensive line all match, ran up and slotted a cross from the right flank in the 68th minute, forward KOROKI Shinzo met it with his header. But his shot was denied by the Shanghai goalkeeper.

Shanghai subbed in offensive players and added more attacking force by shifting their system from four-man defence to three-man after the middle of the second half. Despite possessing the ball longer and looking for a path to attack, Shanghai were not able to break through Urawa defence.

Yet in the 78th minute, Hulk unleashed a turnaround shot after receiving the ball from the back line and forward ELKESON tried to tap in the deflection, but Nishikawa blocked it by throwing his whole body.

Urawa sent on forward Zlatan for apparently-tired Silva and midfielder UMESAKI Tsukasa for Kashiwagi. With forward LEE Tadanari coming on in the added time, Urawa kept putting pressure until the end before securing the one-goal lead to win the match. Urawa made a final berth for the first time since 2007.

Urawa's next opponents Al-Hilal eliminated Persepolis of Iran 6-2 on aggregate in the semi-final of the West Region after a 4-0 home win and a 2-2 away draw.

Abe renewed his determination for the Asian title, saying "I'm happy we advance to the first final in 10 years. But we just reached there and haven't achieved anything."

Coaches' and Players' Comments

HORI Takafumi, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
It was a tough battle, but our players ran so hard. Also, I am thankful to such a big crowd of supporters coming out on a weekday to help us. Against individually strong players on the opponents, we tried to get the ball collectively and compactly. We wanted to get the ball more even before it reached those players, but we allowed them to possess the ball too long, which is something we need to correct. We can gain a great experience by advancing to the final, and I believe it will lead to the further growth of our team.

DF MAKINO Tomoaki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We had to defend very long, but we as a team played with a great discipline. Every player at each position played so hard in his own one-on-one situation, and that shows in this 1-0 result.

DF ABE Yuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
The situation was that we would be OK even with a scoreless draw. We kept it in mind that we first of all try to defend the goal, and as we do that, we didn’t want to be afraid, either. It was not an easy match, but it was great that we scored first, kept the clean sheet and won the match.

MF NAGASAWA Kazuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Scoring the goal at that timing in the first half made it easy for us to keep playing through the match. As the time passed, they started to rush to our goal. So, it was good that we were able to make good decisions according to each situation, all trying to make the plays that they didn’t like. If a player at my position can put pressure onto the opponents, my teammates behind me can defend more easily. So, I kept telling myself to do it consistently.

FW RAFAEL SILVA (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We were careful not to allow a goal right after we took the lead. Allowing them to tie the score 1-1 would have given them the momentum. We were able to deny it today. The goal made me happy. It reminded that set-pieces are quite important in a difficult match like this one.

André VILLAS-BOAS, Coach (Shanghai SIPG)
We would like to congratulate Urawa’s advancement. It’s unfortunate for us not to be able to do that for us. We kept the ball for long enough, but we weren’t able to create many of good chances. In the first half, we allowed the goal after one mistake, but it was enough for Urawa. They were a wonderful team and I like their attacking football. It surprised me a bit because they didn’t come out so aggressively, but every time there was open space they filled it and it was a good tactic, I think. In the second half, partly because we were also rushing, we aimed long balls into the space behind there defenders, but it didn’t create many chances.

Tournament Period：24 January 2017 (Tue.) ～ 25 November 2017 (Sat.)

Final 1st Leg
18 November 2017 (Sat.) Kick-ff TBC
Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia) vs Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan)

Final 2nd Leg
25 November 2017 (Sat.) Kick-ff TBC
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) vs Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

For Tournament Information