GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE v GAMBA OSAKA - ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI FINAL PREVIEW

Gamba Osaka vs Guangzhou Evergrande

It's a promoters dream. Two of the continent's biggest clubs, the reigning champions of their respective leagues, and an international rivalry that dates to a time before football.

China's Guangzhou Evergrande takes on Japan's Gamba Osaka.

It's the Asian Champions League semi final, a match that doubles as a grand final for the east side of the conference. While Guangzhou is once again topping the charts in the Chinese Super League, Gamba Osaka's form in the 2nd Stage of a complicated J-League season is simmering to dangerous levels.

Currently 4th in the J-League's combined or regular table, the Osaka club will go into the two legged tie as underdogs. Torch bearers for the once vaunted but now stuttering Japanese club competition, Gamba is aiming to bring the Champions League title to Japan for the first time in seven years. The last time a Japanese club was champion it was Gamba who tore Adelaide United apart in a one sided final. 

Led by statesman Yasuhito Endo, Gamba Osaka boasts one of the most feared attacks in the AFC, with the silky Takashi Usami and the brute force of Brazilian Patric. 

After being forced to miss the quarter final tie with Jeonbuk, Usami said, "In the next match I want to show how I can contribute to the team and help us go to the final," on the AFC Official site. 

"Guangzhou is one of the best teams in Asia and they will be coming at us hard seeking the win," he added. 

Usami was instrumental in Gamba's domestic treble last year, and the flashy attacking midfielder has truly experienced a rebirth since his Munich malaise. 

Meanwhile, Guangzhou will be looking to emulate their 2013 ACL triumph. Boosted by the recent purchase of Paulinho from Tottenham, the southern Tigers host the first leg. After ditching previous manager Fabio Cannavaro, the club went for the 'slightly more experienced' Felipe Scholari. 'Big Phil' has somehow been able to inject life back into a side that has admittedly achieved everything over the last three to four years and would be excused if motivation was on the wane. 

"Every second on the field is going to be important on Wednesday," Scholari warned, and the Brazilian implored his men to keep a clean sheet and take a lead to Osaka for the second leg. 

For punters there seems to be only one team in the first leg, as Gamba Osaka have been quoted as long as $5.50 at some betting agencies. Looking at the following stats provides good reason for the bookies and desperate to be banking on a Chinese win:

• In their quarter final tie Guangzhou dispatched of Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol by roundly drubbing the Chiba club 3-1 in the first leg in Japan.
• Guangzhou is undefeated in their last 17 matches.
• Felipe Scholari is unbeaten as manager of the Chinese club.
• Guangzhou has game breaker Paulinho.
• The Tigers also have Ricardo Goulart and Chinese international Gao Lin.
• Gamba Osaka will be without regular centre-back Daiki Niwa.
• Gamba Osaka has conceded 7 goals in their last 5 matches.

For those that like an underdog, maybe you can take some solace in these stats:

• After losing their first two ACL matches this year, Gamba have gone 8 matches undefeated.
• Takashi Usami has played 29 matches and scored 19 goals this year.
• Gamba defeated their last Chinese opponent (Guangzhou R&F) 5-nil in China.
• The Japanese club has scored the most goals in the 2015 ACL with 19 goals from their 10 matches. Guangzhou Evergrande has only managed 16. 

If forced to pick a winner I have to side with Guangzhou Evergrande, as the Tigers have too many game breakers. Gamba themselves have Usami, Patric and super sub Shu Kurata as possible match winners, but the enforced change in the back-line could be the difference. 

Enjoy what should be a two-legged feast of attacking football. 

LEWDUB RETWEETS - VOL. 2

First up in volume two, Lew Dub is looking to get the painful stuff out of the way. Last week in volume one I mentioned Seongnam FC Unofficial's account. I said that the account had mistakenly tweeted that Seongnam were safely through to the knockout phase of the ACL, but it was me who was mistaken. Craic Dealer an avid
Seongnam fan gave me the run down
on how things operate if there are three
teams tied in an ACL Group. This
situation is quite likely to arise in
Group F of the ACL where Seongnam are safe on ten and
Gamba Osaka and Buriram are on seven. Craic Dealer also exposed me to the cat obsessed account of @fresh_bizzy. Interesting if you've got some spare time.
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Second in the top five retweetables list came from Perth Glory's Rostyn Griffiths. The midfielder gave voice to something I fully support. After an investigation led by eastern state journos exposed Perth's salary cap infringements, the West Aussie club has been relegated from third to seventh, and out of the A-League Finals series. You can only speculate as to why Perth were targeted, but just like Rostyn I would love to see the books opened at a couple of big city clubs in Australia's eastern states.

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Shane Smeltz one of the A-League's greatest contributors got his just desserts during the week, and he showed some class on social media. The Kiwi was named in the A-League's Team of the Decade alongside the likes of Archie Thompson and Besart Berisha in the forward line. Though often starting as a substitute at Sydney FC this year Smeltz (85) trails Archie Thompson (88), by three goals in the A-League's all time leading scorer list.

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Somebody else got there just desserts this week, but it was a sour dish when served. Australian soccer journo Scott McIntyre made a number of disgusting tweets that targeted dead Australian and New Zealand soldiers, those without university educations, those with white skin, anyone who drinks, anyone who gambles, and anyone who has an ounce of patriotism. The tweets (five in total) came on ANZAC Day, the day when Australians stop to pay respect to those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy now. 

As a result, McIntyre was deservedly sacked from his post at the publicly funded SBS network.  

As Scott's tweets are too offensive to display here, I've posted the response from Hungarian immigrant Les Murray. Murray a famed soccer presenter on SBS was (along with the large majority of Australia) also disgusted by the comments of his former co-worker.

Unsurprisingly Scott found a legion of like minded followers on Twitter, including a number from struggling media outlet Fairfax, who argued freedom of speech had been brought into question. But Scott's sacking is a simple case of breaking the rules of your employment contract. 

The saddest thing about the whole affair is that McIntyre doesn't have it within himself to admit his mistake. He's told lies about those that are dead and can't defend themselves. Classless. 

Just say sorry.

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Finally, from the account of Andre a regular tweeter on Japanese soccer, came this retweetable delight. Andre noted tonight's big Chinese Super League clash between Tim Cahill's Shanghai Shenhua and behemoths Guangzhou Evergrande. I agree it's a huge fixture but the fact it's coming from Andre speaks to the rise of Chinese soccer. 

LEWDUB RETWEETS!

This week East Asian Soccer and Lew Dub unveil: LewDub Retweets. In what is planned to be a weekly installment, the East Asian Soccer website in conjunction with Lew Dub's Twitter, account will trawl through what was retweet worthy over the last week. From there we will snatch the five most noteworthy re-tweets or favourites from the Lew Dub account and discuss their noteworthiness.

Without further ado, lets get stuck into LewDub Retweets Volume 1.

Number 1, comes from a favourite account of ours. It's the JSoccer Magazine Twitter account and the tweet that made us stand up and applaud gave reference to the painful Urawa Reds, and their ACL plight.

Truly tough times for Urawa fans who deserve more than they get from their beloved Reds. But who knows maybe 2015 will be their year 'domestically'.

Number 2 comes from Sebastian Hassett's account. The Sydney Morning Herald scribe paid tribute to Japan's Kashima Antlers after stealing victory in a second half schooling of Western Sydney Wanderers. It seems everyone wants to stick the boot into the Wanderers at the moment, but there is still some breath in the lungs of their Asian Champions League campaign.

WSW will need to defeat the already qualified Guangzhou Evergrande in China, and pray for a draw between Kashima Antlers and FC Seoul.




Number 3 comes from Peter Davis's account. News from the Chinese Super League. As the tweet says, Swedish international Tobias Hysen tops the CSL scorers list. But of just as much tweet-

worthiness is the fact Hysen's Shanghai East Asia (SIPG) - managed by Sven Goran Eriksson - are undefeated and top of the CSL table.




Number 4 via Seongnam's unofficial English twitter account, was a bit of lighthearted banter. The K-League team is faring better than any of their Korean counterparts currently, but the tweet could

backfire as Seongnam aren't assured of qualification for the knockout phase of the ACL while all other K-League teams are still in with a fighting chance.



Finally at Number 5 is Dean Heffernan's polite call for Wanderers' new recruit Kerem Bulut to lighten up on the gesticulation. The 'call out' came during the Asian Champions League tie with Kashima

Antlers, when the raw talent could be seen gesturing frustratedly whenever the ball didn't come to him.



No more here. That's a wrap!

J-LEAGUE VS CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE IN THE ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

This week in the Asian Champions League it's Japan versus China. On Tuesday April 7th, it's Kashima Antlers vs Guangzhou Evergrande. On Wednesday April 8th, it's Urawa Reds vs Beijing Guoan and Shandong Luneng vs Kashiwa Reysol. Never has the Chinese Super League had a better opportunity to stamp it's authority over their rival than this, and particularly in the fixtures based in Japan.

First, China's inimitable Guangzhou Evergrande line up against Kashima Antlers, just two weeks after the J-League club went close to ambushing them in Canton. Kashima overturned Ricardo Goulart's classy 10th minute header when youngster Shoma Doi made it 2-1. Of course the Chinese club equalised and went ahead when new acquisition Goulart struck again. The Brazilian dashed from the centre circle after a clumsy Kashima turnover and headed straight for the box, barely veering from his path before unleashing. At 3-2 Kashima had claims for a penalty turned down in the 83rd minute (watch video and decide for yourself), but there were still more goals.

Finishing 4-3, Guangzhou Evergrande were lucky to escape in a fixture that painted a brighter picture for the struggling J-League. Kashima put on a bold show, unlike that of many a J-League side before them (in recent years). With their knockout stage hopes on death row, a desperate Antlers will surely provide another daring display on Tuesday night, worthy of the 'Champions League' tag.

Twenty four hours after Kashima fights for their Asian Champions League survival, Urawa Reds face up to a confident Beijing Guoan. The team in green from the Chinese capital are unbeaten in their last 18 matches. If you scan back to August 13th, 2014 you'll eye Beijing Guoan's loss to Guangzhou R&F. Most recently they put on a second half schooling of Tim Cahill's Shanghai Shenhua.

Urawa themselves are undefeated in four domestic outings, but the continental competition has proven a bridge too far. The J-League's leading club has been beaten in all three ACL outings. Though dispatched 2-0 by Beijing at the Worker's Stadium two weeks ago, the Japanese club had their share of opportunities. Also worth noting is that it was a goalkeeping blunder from Nishikawa in the 78th minute that allowed Beijing Guoan to go ahead.

Shandong will host the surprising Kashiwa Reysol, who have defied the trend of J-League clubs failing on the ACL stage - remaining undefeated after three matches. The Sun Kings looked a level above Shandong two weeks ago, but the Chinese club will be at home and they'll be desperate.

However, East Asia's focus will be on the clash of the heavyweights. Kashima, the J-League's most successful club faces the ignominy of being booted out of the Asian Champions League while on zero and by none other than Guangzhou Evergrande, the symbol of China's rising soccer status. Meanwhile, it will be no less shameful for Urawa. Skulking alone at the bottom of Group G with zero points, the club whose fans are undoubtedly the best in the J-League, faces the likelihood of being swept aside by the resurgent Beijing Guoan.

In Tuesday's match at Kashima the home team has the flying Mu Kanazaki (if he's recovered from a boot to the face on last Friday) lining up against ACL top goalscorer Ricardo Goulart and Elkeson. While on Wednesday at Saitama the home team will have their work cut out for them containing big Dejan Damjanovic and Chinese products Song, Boxuan and Chen, Zhizhao. Enjoy!

J-LEAGUE REPUTATION DAMAGED IN ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Batalla of Beijing Guoan turning the Reds inside out.

J-League clubs are once again struggling in the Asian Champions League. Though the domestic competition is arguably the most popular across East Asia, the quality of the competition is in dispute as repeated failings against CSL, K-League and A-League clubs provide the evidence, the J-League is not all it's cracked up to be.

In this year's installation, J-League clubs have taken eight of 36 points available to them in the first three rounds of the ACL. Treble winners Gamba Osaka have been far and away the most disappointing. 

In their three fixtures they've gone down to China's Guangzhou R&F, Korea's Seongnam, and drawn with Buriram United of Thailand. After the failure in Korea (a match in which large numbers of Gamba fans attended) manager Kenta Hasegawa was typically apologetic, but sounded like the proverbial broken record, ". . . we will do our best in the next few games and try to qualify to the next round," he said.

Urawa Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic was still managing to find positives after his team's tepid display against Brisbane Roar on ACL Matchday 2. The manager spoke of promising signs on the training pitch, before his eerily similar, " . . . we are still in the race and will do our best to qualify for the next stage." Since the loss to Brisbane, Urawa went on to be soundly beaten by Beijing Guoan.

With Japan's best youngsters heading off to Europe at the first sign of interest it's not surprising the league is struggling to match the national team's success (in Asia). Add to that the fact Japan cannot compete with neighbouring China when it comes to luring quality imports, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Further compounding problems for the J-League's status is this year's bizarre end of season finals series puzzle. The heads of Japanese football decided with none - to little consultation of fans that the league should return to a two stage system. The explanation of the system on the J-League Official website, seems to indicate the finals series could involve three or four teams, depending on whether a stage winner also has the most points across the total 34 regular season matches. For more detail click the link provided above.

Before season kick off J-League boss Mitsuru Murai was interviewed by AFP and it was there that he stated, "I hope to see the J-League become tougher, quicker and more aggressive to help raise the level of the Japan national team." Though this would improve the league, a larger issue is the quality of imports in Japan as compared with those in China. Murai alluded to this in the interview, "The financial rewards are a little higher there so we need to do more to bring in star players." 

Unfortunately for Japan their ability to attract superstar imports will not exceed that of China's, unless there is some kind of economic upheaval in one of the two countries. So the J-League will have to rely on a new found, 'old fashioned' toughness to improve performances in ACL competition. 

GUANGZHOU POWER PAST MARINERS

Sometimes you walk away from a soccer ground wondering why you bothered to give up your hard earned dollars. The Asian Champions League Round of 16 match between Central Coast Mariners and Guangzhou Evergrande, was NOT one of those occasions.

The Chinese giants appeared to have underestimated their Australian opponents when the Mariners went ahead in the 7th minute. It was youngster Mitchell Duke whose lunging effort was redirected to give the Mariners a shock lead. It had the 4000 odd travelling Guangzhou fans gasping for oxygen. This wasn't the plan. But the team from Gosford continued their marauding raids down the flanks, particularly the left with Josh Rose contributing the most.



The inevitable momentum swing occurred in the 27th minute when Paraguayan international Barrios levelled the scores. The goal resulted after a breakaway, with midfielder Conca feeding the ball to the irrepressible Muriqui on the left. The Brazilian looked to send to the ball into the box, but the resulting scramble saw the ball land at the feet of Barrios. He buried a bouncing volley into Matt Ryan's net. The game had changed and Zac Anderson's bullying of Barrios off the ball was nullified.

The second half was dominated by Guangzhou as the cavalry charged. International striker Gao Lin had the crowd on their feet with a bicycle kick attempt on goal. Ryan tipped it over, much to the disappointment of the Guangzhou fans. They were rabid! The 'red tide' would keep rising though. Right fullback Zhang Linpeng was the Chinese version of the 'Duracell rabbit'. He was up and down the right wing all match and his shimmy on the edge of the box to round Mariners defender Josh Rose was worth the entry fee. Soon we were adding Muriqui's back-heeled shot to the highlights reel, as it glanced off the upright in the 71st minute.

It appeared the Mariners had decided the only way to muffle the Guangzhou attack was to play a high line and cramp the midfield. A risky tactic which eventually saw Muriqui punish the home team. A high ball was lofted into the centre of the field, and Barrios's poor first touch presented the ball in the path of Muriqui. The Brazilian took one touch and then unleashed. It was 2-1 in the 76th minute, and a mountain for the Mariners to climb. Nevertheless, the Mariners fans would see some more goal mouth action with the Guangzhou keeper forced to make an almost unsighted save late in regulation time.

The 2-1 first leg sees Guangzhou in a powerful position heading back to China. Next week's second leg will be played at Tianhe Stadium, and the Mariners can expect a sea of red to greet them. Guangzhou regularly attract crowds of 40,000, but the their are no guarantees in soccer, and while the Mariners were beaten at home, they certainly acquitted themselves well. Working in the Mariners favour is Guangzhou's cut and thrust style. They will definitely get some opportunities to score in China, but their execution will need to be spot on.

Barrios hits the deck at Gosford

Asia's largest travelling supporter group: Guangzhou 

MARINERS IN TEST AGAINST ASIA'S FINEST

Daniel McBreen hits the winner in the 2012/13 A League Final

On Wednesday 15th May the Central Coast Mariners will face the stiffest test of their so far unfruitful ACL lives. The little team from Gosford who were recently crowned champions for 2012/13, are up against China's Guangzhou Evergrande. Guangzhou have marched out of the ACL's group of death with one loss and some impressive victories.

The Mariners have got mileage out of using the underdog tag over the years, despite making it to four A League Grand Finals. This blog has been on the case of the Mariners for the continued 'little battler-ism' being employed by club management, and playing staff over the years, however, this time they are free to play the underdog card. It's okay.

Boasting a star studded and rather 'well remunerated' line-up, Evergrande slipped up once against Japan's biggest soccer club Urawa Reds, while scoring two draws against Korea's ACL top guns Jeonbuk Hyundai. Nicknamed the Tigers, Guangzhou has become the big money club of Asia since the Evergrande Real Estate Group provided their assistance. The stars include 29 year old Dario Conca of Argentina who is said to be on US$10.4 million a year. Aussie midfielder Rostyn Griffiths formerly of Central Coast Mariners has touted Conca as the danger-man. Everything goes through him . . . he floats around the pitch playing as the attacking midfielder and he is very dangerous from set pieces. Griffiths is a voice of authority on the Chinese Super League being a regular at local rivals Guangzhou R&F. Also posing a threat to the Mariners hopes are the likes of Paraguayan Lucas Barrios brought to the club last year on a record transfer fee of 8.5 million Euro (equal to roughly US$11mil). Meanwhile the struggling former Borussia Dortmund striker can only manage to earn US$8.7mil a season. There is no salary cap in 

China. By far my favourite for the Tigers though is Muriqui who has put in some stunning performances in the ACL. He'll be positioned on the wing or as a forward in a 4-4-2 formation. Rounding things off is superstar manager Marcello Lippi.

With a paltry US$2.5mil budget the Mariners have defied logic with their consistency in the A-League. A major problem for Central Coast has been player retention. Midway through the 2011/12 A League season the club were hamstrung by the losses of prodigal son Matt Simon and defensive midfielder Rostyn Griffiths. This season they've seen brilliant youngster Tom Rogic exit to Celtic in Scotland. Also rumoured to be on their way out are keeper Matt Ryan (Premier League interest), defender Trent Sainsbury, striker Bernie Ibini-Isei and the retiring Patrick Zwaanswijk. Incredibly it's team unity which has been the dominant theme of the Mariners narrative.For the Mariners to have a chance in Wednesday night's first leg they will have to all play at their best. Thirty-six year old striker Daniel McBreen has had his best ever professional season, scoring 19 goals. It's possible McBreen's physical style could upset the Guangzhou defence but getting the ball to the man will be a herculean task. Guangzhou are expected to dominate the midfield but the job of breaking down that dominance lay at the feet of English import Nick Montgomery and local club stalwart John Hutchinson.

Good luck to Graham Arnold and his Central Coast Mariners. In this match they stand as Australia's sole representative remaining in the Champions League. It was heartening to see 7623 Mariners fans show up for the recent ACL clash with Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol. Lets hope we see more than 10000 this Wednesday. Finally, although I'm not a betting man, please bet responsibly on Guangzhou Evergrande, and for your own financial health ignore the underdog.

MARINERS SINKING IN ASIAN FUNK

Leandro Domingues in action for Kashiwa in the ACL

They may be a regular visitor to the Asian Champions League but it doesn't equate with any form of Asian success. The Central Coast Mariners have once again failed to deliver on the Asian stage and their demise is painfully of their own doing.

The Mariners have now had 14 matches in ACL competition for a measly one win. In their third visit into Asian soccer's flagship club competition, the team from serene Gosford (an hour and a bit north of Sydney) are once again experiencing failure. The first round clash with Suwon Bluewings of Korea saw the Mariners dominate but fail to rack up the three points even with the assistance of a penalty in the 88th minute. On that night in February manager Graham Arnold rested regulars Patrick Zwaanswijk (defender) and  John Hutchinson (midfielder).

Wednesday night's visit to Kashiwa saw Graham Arnold resting four regulars from the Central Coast's first eleven. Top scorer Daniel McBreen, non stop midfielder Pedj Bojic, fullback Joshua Rose and former Socceroo Mile Sterjovski. It's fair to say that they got what they deserved. The Mariners were thrashed 3-1 by a Leandro Domingues inspired Kashiwa. The Brazilian striker made a mockery of the Mariners defence with the second of his goals, a volley from the edge of the box after earlier involvement in the same movement.

Midfielder John Hutchinson was quick to sight financial differences between the clubs in a post match interview but these matters aren't usually mentioned unless you've come off a bad result. The Mariners had led 1-nil but immediately fell into the trap of sitting back and waiting for their opponent. It's obvious the Central Coast have afforded their opponents too much respect, as Hutchinson's comments illustrate, "They've obviously got a big budget and umm it's a good league, the Japanese league." Unfortunately nobody paid much attention to the fact Kashiwa were roundly thumped by FC Tokyo on the Saturday prior to this ACL clash. Manager Graham Arnold was also heard praising his opponents, ". . . When you look at the foreigners, the two they had out there tonight in Cleo as well as Domingues, they're probably a totally different level to anyone in the A-League."

It's true manager Graham Arnold is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has to juggle ACL group matches with the pointy end of the A League. Resting players is justified but crying poor won't make things any better or easier to deal with. Champion teams overcome hurdles such as these. Unfortunately the Central Coast Mariners are still yet to take home Australian soccer's biggest prize and this year will be no different if Arnie and the yellow team continue to play the underdog, little battler card. Finding comfort in losing as the underdog is not what champion teams do.

Meanwhile in other significant results from the eastern side of the draw, Urawa Reds gave Muangthong United an absolute hiding after the Thai team went a man down early in the piece. Beijing Guoan defeated J League champs Hiroshima 2-1 and Guangzhou Evergrande also kept Chinese hearts fluttering with their 1-1 result at Jeonbuk in Korea. 

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.

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

Drogba Does Shanghai

DIDIER DROGBA DELIGHTS IN SHANGHAI

Didier Drogba in action for Shanghai Shenhua

Didier Drogba has lit up the Chinese Super League over the last month. With many criticising the Ivory Coast international for ditching Europe and in their words chasing money Drogba has proved he's serious. In his four matches Drogba has scored 2 goals, albeit in the one match.

Shanghai recently put Hangzhou to the sword 5-1. On that night Drogba picked up his double, while classy new Columbian import Giovanni Moreno picked up his second goal in Shanghai colours and Aussie striker Joel Griffiths also picked up one. Shanghai certainly does have an international flavour and while it seems a tough ask (given the 9 point margin between them & ACL spots), it's every promoter's dream that this club makes its way back into the ACL as soon as possible. Can you imagine Drogba and co. arriving in Australia to take on Central Coast Mariners or Melbourne Victory? Can you imagine Drogba and co. arriving in Tokyo to take on Urawa Reds, or even heading over to Sendai?

There is no doubt these are exciting times in Asian soccer. We can only hope that the current political issues engulfing the area don't escalate to the point that they affect the world of sport, because at the moment the place is buzzing.

LEWDUB REFUSES TO RETRACT STATEMENTS

Yes the J League continues to bemuse and confuse, however, this blogger (LewDub) refuses to retract his statements about who will win the J League title. Yes, Urawa slipped up against mid table Kobe. Yes, Sendai slipped up against cellar dwellers Sapporo. Yes, Kashiwa Reysol could only manage a draw against FC Tokyo, but Sanfrecce Hiroshima were able to snare three points away to Omiya. The latter result emphasises my point in previous postings that of these four teams, not every one of them can slip up to the point that none of them win the title.

While Yokohama F Marinos have made up considerable ground to be six points off J League leaders Hiroshima. Now 14 matches undefeated, the Kanagawa team has certainly surprised many with their run, after looking more like relegation material earlier in the season. But being the student of probability that I am 14 matches undefeated also means defeat is getting closer. This week Yokohama play local rivals Kawasaki who themselves will still be holding on to dreams of an ACL spot as they sit just 4 points off automatic qualification.

Check out the highlights of Yokohama's most recent outing against Niigata:

DIDIER DROGBA DELIGHTS IN SHANGHAI