U: Soma 32', Tulio 55'
The mighty Saitama Stadium
Urawa lost 3-2 in the first meeting in Kuwait a week ago, and needed a win here to qualify for the semifinal. A goal in each half from Takahito Soma and Marcus Tulio Tanaka saw Urawa overturn the 3-2 deficit from the first leg to win 4-3 on aggregate.
Urawa were by far the best team, and if the finishing had been a little better, they would have won by a bigger margin. Al Qadisiya weren't anywhere near the standard they set back in Kuwait, and struggled to keep up with the more famous japanese stars.
Their coach stated afterwards that " Urawa is the perfect team", and that he was honoured to meet a team they usually only followed on TV. With more than 41 000 at Saitama Stadium to cheer the home team through, it was an unusual atmosphere for the kuwaiti players. Now Urawa will be facing fellow J.Leaguers Gamba Osaka in the semifinal, and they have their sights on a 2nd consecutive ACL title. However, Urawa are busy in the league as well, and to be successful on both fronts it takes alot of energy and effort. Perhaps that will be too big a task for Urawa, and they are likely to focus more on the league than on the ACL.
A: Cornthwaite 74'
Profiles like Danilo,Marquinhos and Motoyama all disappointed in Adelaide
Adelaide stood for the quarterfinals biggest shock when they knocked the japanese champions Kashima Antlers out of the competition. With that, Adelaide is the first ever australian team to qualify for a semifinal at the Asian Stage. Antlers were struck by several injuries this match, and that clearly affected the team's performance. Especially Ogasawara's loss were hard to handle, but either way Adelaide deserves credit for beating the japanese side.
Cornthwaite scored the only goal of the match with 16 minutes remaining, and the australian had packed their defence all match, making it hard for Kashima's attack to do anything. Individual players like Danilo, Motoyama and Marquinhos all looked a bit disappointing, and they should have taken more responsibility with Oga out. Congrats to Adelaide, but for the Antlers there's only the league left to focus on now ( perhaps that's a good thing though).
Gamba are aiming the ACL-title now
Gamba left it late, but they were never really threatened by the syrian side Al Karamah here. With Gamba winning 2-1 away in the first match, the syrian team had to score 2 goals and they never really got close. Gamba dominated from the very first minute on, but the finishing weren't the best. It was nice to see Ryuji Bando back in business though, and the speedy forward showed signs of what he is capable of, and only needed a goal to make his comeback a perfect one. Luckily, his compatriots up front, Yamazaki and Roni both struck goals in the last minutes of the match. The visitors had a few dangerous chances themselves, but Gamba always seemed to be in control.
Gamba left it late, but they were never really threatened by the syrian side Al Karamah here. With Gamba winning 2-1 away in the first match, the syrian team had to score 2 goals and they never really got close. Gamba dominated from the very first minute on, but the finishing weren't the best. It was nice to see Ryuji Bando back in business though, and the speedy forward showed signs of what he is capable of, and only needed a goal to make his comeback a perfect one. Luckily, his compatriots up front, Yamazaki and Roni both struck goals in the last minutes of the match. The visitors had a few dangerous chances themselves, but Gamba always seemed to be in control.
Gamba now faces Urawa Reds in an all japanese semifinal, which guarantees a japanese side in the final. With Urawa having focus on the league as well, Gamba has a small advantage, but either way it's gonna be a close battle. Urawa looks slightly better than Gamba this season, but it's sure gonna be one heck of a dogfight between the two J.League giants.
Q: Villanueva 9'18',52', Rivaldo 45', Luizao 68'
S: Mirghorbani 34'
Uzbeki-side Quruvchi, or Bunyodkor as they are named now, sweeped past Iranian side Saipa to make it to the semifinal. It was one-way traffic towards Saipa's goal, and Bunyodkor's south-american stars shined with their technical play. Jose Carlos Villanueva from Chile recorded a hat-trick, and the former Brazil-start Rivaldo got one from the penalty spot just before the break. Luizao added a 5th to complete the humiliation of the iranians.
Bunyodkor are sailing up as an early favorite now, especially considering how strong they are at home. Bunyodkor are a really strong home team, and their stadium are often referred to as a fortress. Adelaide is Bunyodkor's next opponent, and it's difficult to predict who's gonna make it to the final at this stage. Bunyodkor are small favorites though, and are soon to be taken over by former Japan-coach Zico. Zico had a good spell in Turkey last year, but his desire for money left him without a job this summer. Zico demanded that his salary should be doubled from last year, but that was somethinh Fenerbache didn't accept. Apparently there are alot of money in Uzbekistan now, and that's probably the reason why big-names like Zico and Rivaldo have wandered off to such a non-glamurous league.
No comments:
Post a Comment