ACL KICK OFF - MARINERS SET TO STRIKE

Marcello Lippi - Guangzhou Evergrande

Today the Asian Champions League kicks off. The most mouth watering of clashes is undoubtedly Urawa Reds v Guangzhou Evergrande starting at 11pm (Sydney time) tonight. Also on the schedule for Matchday 1 is Muangthong United v Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

As all fans of Asian soccer would know Evergrande from the Chinese Super League are the nascent force in the region. Last year the Chinese giants entered the ACL for the first time under super star manager Marcello Lippi. Evergrande made it to the quarter finals in 2012, while in the CSL they swept all before them again. Lippi spoke of his excitement about the Urawa Reds assignment, "We are ready for the match and hopefully we can show our spirit and style in the game." The Italian also alluded to some injury concerns which arose over the off season, "During winter training unfortunately I only had half of the team available. Zhao Xuri and Feng Xiaoting came back with injuries and they were unable to take part in training." Evergrande will still take some beating with their wealthy stock of imports that include Dario Conca from Argentina and Paraguayan Lucas Barrios.

Meanwhile the Urawa Reds are also coming into the match with high aspirations. The team looked favourites to take out the J League title at times last year but faded disappointingly. Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic said, " I am aware of the possibilities of losing to such a strong opponent; however, we won't lose in terms of fighting spirit. I also hope we can cause them a lot of trouble." Petrovic's men made a habit of scoring goals with speedy transition play last year, and on an away trip early in the season, you can expect them to fall back on that style. It's more than a suitable situation for the Reds as they'll face a hostile Chinese crowd but no pressure to make the play. While Petrovic speaks conservatively about Urawa's chances, you can bet the Japanese will fancy themselves with possibly the most dazzling midfield in Asia. If you only watch one ACL game this Matchday, make it this one.

Muangthong and Jeonbuk ahead of tonight's ACL clash

In Thailand Muangthong will host established Asian powerhouse Jeonbuk. The green team from Korea have a great record in continental competition but Muangthong will hardly be awestruck. The Thai outfit claimed the local league by a 14 point margin and the atmosphere will be electric as the Thai's love to pit themselves against their more acclaimed Asian neighbours. Muangthong come into the match after a recent loss to rivals Buriram in the Thai King's Trophy match (2012 league winner v 2012 cup winner). With names like Guangzhou and Urawa in the group both Jeonbuk and Muangthong will not underestimate the importance of taking maximum points tonight.

From an Australian viewpoint it was disappointing to see Brisbane Roar crash out to Buriram in the recent play-off match. However, the Thai's will definitely add more in terms of crowd involvement. With only one representative in the tournament Australians could quite easily lose interest but the Central Coast Mariners should make an impact this year. The Mariners are drawn in a favourable group which includes Guizhou Renhe, Kashiwa Reysol and first round opponent Suwon Bluewings. While Suwon have acquired the services of North Korean ace Jong Tae Se and Aussie Eddy Bosnar, the Mariners are now old hands at the continental game and manager Graham Arnold has used his contacts in Japan to attain comprehensive scouting reviews. Speaking of his connection with Shimizu S Pulse manager Afshin Ghotbi Arnold said, "I contacted him, and as well as the DVD he was good enough to give me a written report on their players." Ghotbi's team played Suwon in a pre-season trial. Ghotbi is set to be sourced for information on J League outfit Kashiwa Reysol also. For the Mariners the ACL is the only frontier which they've failed to make strides in, but if the weekend's 6-2 drubbing of Melbourne Victory is anything to go by, they're set to stamp their names into the minds of Asian soccer fans.

Asian Cup Qualification Kicks Off While Japan Lash Latvia

Whilst most of Asian soccer's  big names were starting their 2015 Asian Cup qualification campaigns, Japan were having a kick about against Latvia.

Japan hit the field with all of their stars. The best early chance falling the way of Shinji Kagawa after a run from Kiyotake resulted in a 'room service' cross which Kagawa skied over the goal from the edge of the box. What was confusing was Kagawa's choice to head the ball away from goal after a Hasebe cross found him unmarked at the far post in the 27th minute. Nagatomo was up to his old tricks, making space for himself and sending in deadly accurate crosses. In the 31st minute Okazaki was on the end only for it to be directed at the goalkeeper. Keisuke Honda looked a little selfish at times with a hot and cold performance. Finally in the 41st minute Okazaki redirected a shot from Schlke's Uchida to make Japan's dominance count.

Early in the second half Okazaki almost made it two nil but the advancing Latvian goalkeeper got a last ditch duke out to prevent the Stuttgart based striker from passing the ball into the goal. Moments later in the 5th minute Kagawa dribbled to the box only to rush his shot at the sight of an on-rushing defender. On this occasion he should have slid the ball forward to Honda. The CSKA Moscow midfielder got on the scoreboard in the 60th minute with a sublime first touch goal after a Kagawa cross. The pair have looked at times to be on a different wavelength but on this occasion got it together. Soon after Okazaki added his second to allow Japan a 3-nil victory in front of 28607 fans in Kobe.

Meanwhile the first round of Asian Cup qualifiers saw no surprises. Hosts Australia and defending champions Japan are already qualified as are South Korea (Korea Republic) due to their performance in Asian Cup 2011. North Korea have secured their entry via the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

Australia will be hoping under achieving China can scrape their way into the tournament in order to take advantage of the large Chinese population in Sydney. However, China have gone down to Saudi Arabia in their first match while Group C opponents Iraq defeated Indonesia 1-nil. The Chinese did level the scores at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium and looked set to take a point until the Saudis scored in the 77th minute.

Another group of great interest to organisers is Group B. In Group B Lebanon took a beating from Iran 5-nil. Not a great start for the Lebanese who have put on an impressive performance throughout the World Cup Qualifying campaign. Again cosmopolitan Sydney is home to a large Lebanese community, and organisers would be confident of attracting big numbers to any games in the 2015 tournament involving Lebanon.

The Asian Cup qualification rounds continue on 22nd March 2013. More information can be found at the AFC website. http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-asiancup-2015-schedule-results?id=140&type=Stage

Del Piero Hits Four as Sydney Begin to Click

Del Piero celebrates another goal against Wellington

Alessandro Del Piero has blitzed the Wellington Phoenix, and in the process dragged Sydney FC into the A League top six temporarily. The Italian maestro was unstoppable as he inspired his teammates via a first half treble which had Wellington Phoenix resigned to defeat before half time.

Sydney FC are now back into end of season reckoning with today's remarkable victory. Coinciding with today's win was the Sydney FC debut of Australian international Joel Griffiths, who has spent the past three seasons in China with Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua. For the record the final score was 7-1, a scoreline which condemned Wellington to the bottom of the A League table. The win was also Sydney FC's biggest ever win.

For Del Piero the goals came in the 20th, 23rd, 39th and 70th minutes. The best of the goals came in the 39th minute when midfielder Jason Culina found Del Piero with a pin point switch of play which gave the Italian enough space to bamboozle Wellington's Leo Bertos, and smash home a ripper. Wellington keeper Paston was left flailing as the strike punched the corner of the goal to his left.

The win sounds a warning to Sydney's opponents and even Del Piero was buying into the new found momentum in a post match interview. Asked whether he thought today's win was the turning point for the season he replied, "I hope . . . I hope" before adding that last week's match was even more significant when against Melbourne Heart they turned around a 1-nil deficit with 5 minutes remaining.

Although trailing competition leaders Central Coast Mariners by 14 points with 10 matches left to play Sydney can still take away the A League's major prize as the season ends with a final series. Unlike most professional soccer leagues around the world the A League uses a final six format which virtually turns the final weeks of the season into a knockout competition.

GAMBA'S SEASON OF WOE RECEIVES A FINAL BLOW

Gamba Osaka have hit rock bottom. After a season of torment in the J League which saw them relegated to Japan's 2nd tier for the first time, Gamba bombed out in the Emperor's Cup final to Kashiwa Reysol. It truly was a case of Gamba's J League form coming back to haunt them. After a recent undefeated run to gain entry into the Emperor's Cup final gave fans a glimmer of hope, today was the hammer blow which sent the marquee club crashing into J2 with a thud.

Ironically some Gamba fans are glad that the team didn't win the Emperor's Cup, as it would see them committed to an Asian Champions League campaign while playing for promotion in a league which involves more than 40 matches. Now it's Kashiwa who will contest the ACL in 2013 just as they did in 2012. Kashiwa put on a decent showing in 2012 making it to the knockout stage only to meet eventual winner Ulsan Hyundai first up. The win today came about via a Hirofumi Watanabe header. The centre back got himself on the end of a Jorge Wagner corner and made Gamba pay for not taking their own chances. Truly a season of despair for Gamba Osaka.

ONO RECEIVES OVATION AFTER STUNNING DOUBLE FOR WANDERERS

Shinji Ono has put on a masterclass as he took his A League club Western Sydney Wanderers into third place on the ladder. The Japanese import continues to improve as he settles into A League life. Ono Put Wests ahead on the brink of halftime with an amazing juggling volley which will find its way onto every A League highlights reel ever released.

Melbourne levelled the scores in the 72nd minute and looked set to steal the points as momentum had swung their way. Wanderers were looking tired and it was somewhat against the run of play that Ono's second goal came about. On this occasion Ono took advantage of some time given to him by the Melbourne defence, providing a neat turn as a defender strode past him expecting him to lay the ball off. But Ono turned toward goal, and sent a shot into the keeper's left corner. Brilliant!

Ono would leave the field in the 84th minute to a standing ovation, as his team held on for a forth win in their last five matches.

CLOUD OVER GAMBA COULD HAVE SILVER LINING

 Gamba Osaka's dark days in the 2012 J League could finally brighten with a berth in the Emperor's Cup final on New Years Day 2013. The competition which provides the winner with a ticket into the Asian Champions League, will be completed tomorrow when relegated Gamba face Kashiwa Reysol.

Endo in a subdued celebration against Kashima

Gamba have won their way into the final via a recent quarter final win over neighbours Cerezo Osaka, and a semi final victory over Kashima Antlers. Their win over Kashima came via captain Yasuhito Endo's goal which many felt was a cross gone wrong. The diminutive midfielder played his part in a short corner before lobbing a ball toward the box from the left. Low and behold, the ball ended up flying beyond the keeper's reach and into the net at the far post. The 23rd minute opener was the only goal of the match, meanwhile Kashiwa Reysol won their semi against Yokohama F Marinos. Reysol went ahead in the 23rd minute due to a headed goal from 22 year old Masato Kudo. Yokohama failed to deal with a cross from Jorge Wagner and the ensuing head-tennis saw old stager Nakazawa head a ball from off his own line, only to have Kudo step into the breach and make it count. It remained 1-nil, and Kashiwa are now set to play Gamba in a repeat of the 2008 final which the Kansai club won in extra time (1-nil). Revenge beckons for Kashiwa but for Gamba it's a chance to restore some pride and gain a little redemption. The relegation of Gamba Osaka was on the radar all throughout the 2012 season, but nobody truly believed it could happen. Even when the final day of the season came around Gamba's fate was in their own hands. Amazingly the club was relegated for the first time in their history. Tomorrow's final could launch the team into Asia and give the fans some much needed hope.
Kickoff: 2pm Japan time.  4pm AEDT. 

 ACL GROUPS DECIDED FOR 2013

Of the four groups featuring teams from the east Asian leagues Group F looks the most intriguing. It features Chinese giants Gaungzhou Evergrande, Urawa Reds, Jeonbuk Hyundai and Muangthong United. Gaungzhou weren't quite comprehensive champions as they were in 2011 but the club continues to build a reputation on the Asian continent. Urawa are Japan's biggest club and they look set to return to their halcyon days which saw them take out the ACL in 2007 under Holger Osieck. From the K League second placed Jeonbuk are back to continue cementing their presence in Asia. The Korean club hailing from the south west province of Jeollabuk-do are also former champions, winning the ACL in 2006 and finishing runners up in 2011. Maungthong United were comfortable champions in Thailand and play out Nonthaburi Province (north west of Bangkok). The club known as the Twin Quilins is home to highly regarded midfielder Mario Djurvoski (Macedonia) and local boy Teerasil Dangda. Striker Dangda is rumoured to be on the radar of many clubs in Asia but while he's still at Muangthong, you can expect them to be more than a handful for their more established rivals. The first round of clashes are slated for 26th February 2013, with Guangzhou hosting Urawa while Jeonbuk travel to Muangthong. The full ACL draw can be found at this link.

Teerasil Dangda

ONO BRIDGE ON FIRE AS ADELAIDE BURNS

WESTS PUT SIX PAST ADELAIDE

Last night the Western Sydney Wanderers woke the A League to their potential. Inspired by a vociferous home crowd, the like that hasn't been heard in the A League before, Wests gave Adelaide a six goal soccer lesson.

From the outset Wests were hungrier and gave very little time to Adelaide to settle on the ball, and it was the western Sydney outfit who looked like they should be sitting second on the ladder. Enigmatic (actually a compliment) striker Mark Bridge opened the scoring after winger Hersi lobbed a ball into the box and the striker's run was untracked. It was 27 minutes later and on the stroke of half time that Bridge made it 2-nil with a goal for his 'best of' collection. Bridge took the ball on the left just outside the box, before turning defender Iain Fyfe inside out and then ramming it home off his left. Before the referee had time to call an end to the 1st half the locals had one more present for the fans. It was Kresinger and Ono combining with some heading and volleying to turn on a pretty little piece that fans will talk about for years to come. 3-nil halftime.

Most teams who go to half time with a 3-nil buffer will take their foot off the pedal in the second half, it's one of those unfortunate customs of professional soccer. But this game was different. Wests came out with the same gusto of the first half and set about 'flogging the dead horse' that was Adelaide. It was Japanese star Shinji Ono who made Adelaide pay for Galekovic's rare hiccup. A misdirected goal kick landed at the feet of an open Youssouf Hersi who headed straight to Ono, the midfielder won a race for the ball and waltzed into the box to smash a goal across the flailing Galekovic making it 4-nil (52 mins). Six minutes later Ono was provider for Bridge in what was a beautifully taken shot giving the Adelaide glove-man no hope. Low and hard into the keeper's left corner. Adelaide would go on to pick up a consolation before Joey Gibbs made it 6-1 to answer the crowds calls for a sixth goal.

Wanderers celebrate one of six goals against Adelaide

Western Sydney Wanderers are shocking the Australian soccer public with their early success, currently sitting third on the ladder. However, the success off the field is no surprise to this blogger. Being at the ground to watch the Wests v Newcastle Jets a number of weeks ago I was blown away when I witnessed the 'red and black block' (supporter group name) arrive at the ground as one, from the various waterholes in Parramatta. They appeared as the populas of Western Sydney does, a 'mongrel dog'. They're mixed blood, they're hybrid they are Western Sydney.

Next week Wests head to Perth another team on the rise. Perth beat defending champions Brisbane Roar last night and last week recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over Emile Heskey and the Jets

Niigata Faithful Get The Miracle They Deserve

MIRACLE IN NIIGATA

Bruno Lopes centre stage during J1 survival celebrations

On J League 2012 final day Albirex Niigata came from the dead to save their J1 lives. Winning against the woeful Consadole Sapporo 4-1 in front of 28055 loyal fans wasn't enough. Niigata also needed results to go their way on the final day. Amazingly Gamba Osaka lost 2-1 to Jubilo Iwata while Vissel Kobe fell to champions Hiroshima 1-0.

Braving 3-5 degrees weather and torrential rain, fans at Big Swan Stadium didn't have to wait long before seeing goals for the locals. In the 8th minute a long, high ball floated into the box and Sapporo failed to defend it adequately. Defender Shusuke Tsubouchi was loitering in the nose bleed section and simply swiveled and shot. Next up Bruno Lopes angled a header home after a corner was poorly defended. Niigata went to the break 2-nil up and in position to remain in J1 due to Kobe and Hiroshima being tied at 0-0 while Gamba Osaka were 0-1 away to Jubilo Iwata. But nobody was celebrating at this stage.

It wasn't long before Niigata fans were placed back on the precipice of elimination. In the 53rd minute 19 year old Shota Sakaki got on the end of a through ball and punished the locals bringing the deficit back to one goal. At the very same moment Sapporo scored, Gamba Osaka levelled at Iwata and the Niigata faithful were truly being forced to consider a life outside J1. Realists would be saying 'I told you so' and besides, Jubilo Iwata had nothing to play for. Fortunately this bad news was fused with some good. Hiroshima had gone ahead in Kobe in the 52nd minute. Scores remained the same at all grounds until Niigata's Alan Miniero smashed a rocket past the Sapporo keeper from around 30 metres out. The Brazilian shimmied and stepped over to put an opposing defender into blur, shaking him enough to create room for launch. Bang! The back of the net rippled and Niigata's rabid fans were in raptures. The orange had done their job, now it was all in the hands of the gods.

Kobe couldn't find a way back against the champions, meanwhile Endo netted for Gamba Osaka only to be ruled offside. But in the 85th minute despite continued raids on the Jubilo Iwata goal it was Iwata who scored via Yuki Kobayashi. Niigata fans could celebrate this goal like one of their own. And after the great escape much thanks should be heaped on manager Masaaki Yanagishita who took over mid season and turned Niigata into a team that were simply hard to beat. Yanagishita went back to basics and ensured that scoring against Niigata was difficult and just like other teams lacking star signings like Sagan Tosu they experienced some success, enough success to survive the drop.

Albirex Niigata fans greet their heroes before kick off

Elsewhere Urawa Reds rescued there ACL ticket by downing a Nagoya Grampus who simply weren't worthy of a top 3 placing. The Reds were also aided by Yokohama's defeat of Sagan Tosu. Tosu from Kyushu will be joined by another of their west Japan rivals in J1 next season with Oita Trinita winning their way into the J League via the first ever J1 promotion play-off a fortnight ago.

Stayed tuned over the coming weeks with more news from Japanese soccer via the Emperors Cup which offers a place in the ACL to the winner.