WOW your friends with these facts about our 2013 AFC Champions League Matchday 2 opponents, Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol.
Kashiwa Reysol vs. Central Coast Mariners – 2013 AFC Champions League Matchday 2
Wednesday 13 March, 2013
Hitachi Soccer Stadium, Kashiwa
Kick-off: 7:00pm (local); 9:00pm (AEST)
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag is #KRvCCM
Television: The game will be shown EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on FOX SPORTS 3 & 3HD on Wednesday evening from 9:00pm AEST.
Kashiwa Reysol – The Facts
Central Coast Mariners- attention turns from Hyundai A-League action to its 2013 AFC Champions League campaign for the first half of this week, with Graham Arnold-s men travelling to Japan to take on 2011 J-League winners Kashiwa Reysol.
Kashiwa Reysol currently top Group H of the 2013 AFC Champions League courtesy of their 1-0 victory over China-s Guizhou Renhe in Guiyang on Matchday 1. Brazilian striker Cleo, who is on loan from Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League, netted for the Chiba-based Club just before half-time.
Arnold-s Mariners occupy equal second place in the section alongside Korea Republic-s Suwon Bluewings after the two teams fought out a 0-0 draw in Gosford on Wednesday 27 February.
Approximately 8,000 fans are expected to venture to Reysol-s boutique Stadium in downtown Kashiwa for the Group H match.
The Club
Established in 1992, Kashiwa Reysol joined the J-League in 1995 and won Japan-s top division for the first time in 2011. Impressively, Reysol claimed the 2011 J-League crown just a year having been promoted back to Japan-s top flight, having won J2 in 2010.
Backed by the Hitachi Company and also Kashiwa City, the Club is based in the northern part of Chiba prefecture approximately 45 minutes by train from Tokyo.
Kashiwa Reysol made their debut appearance in the AFC Champions League in 2012 and, after a slow start, they progressed to the Round of 16, where they were eliminated after losing 3-2 to eventual champions Ulsan Hyundai.
Nelsinho Baptista-s team struggled in the early stages of the 2012 J-League season. But, their elimination from the AFC Champions League coincided with an upturn in domestic form. They finished sixth in J-League 2012.
Winning trophies has become somewhat of a habit for the men from the 15,349 capacity Hitachi Soccer Stadium, with the Club qualifying for this year-s version of Asia-s premier Club competition by virtue of claiming Japan-s Emperor-s Cup in 2012.
Kashiwa Reysol wear predominately yellow at home, white away, and their mascot is known as “REY-KUN” – king of primary years.
The Coach
Widely travelled Brazilian coach Nelsinho Baptista is no stranger to Japanese football, having previously worked at both Verdy Kawasaki and Nagoya Grampus. Baptista led Reysol to the J-League title in 2011.
Nelsinho – who spent much of his career as a player with Sao Paolo – has worked extensively throughout his homeland and also has experience as coach at Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal. His success with Kashiwa in 2011 saw him named the J-League-s 2011 Coach of the Year.
The Star Players
10. Leandro Domingues – Attacking Midfield
Brazilian midfielder Leandro Domingues has been central to Kashiwa-s rise from the second division to being crowned kings of Japanese football over the past two years. Arriving from Vitoria at the start of the 2010 season, the 29-year-old-s performances drove Kashiwa to the J2 title.
But while his first season in Japan was a success, Leandro-s form went to another level in 2011. His performances in Kashiwa-s J-League winning season were such that he was named Player of the Year at the end of a campaign in which he scored 15 goals in 30 games. In 2012, Leandro netted 10 goals in 28 appearances.
15. Jorge Wagner – Attacking Midfield
A former Cruzeiro, Corinthians, Internacional and Sao Paulo player, 34-year-old Brazilian Jorge Wagner joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2011 for their J-League winning season. He emerged as one of the club-s key performers that season, scoring 11 goals in 30 games. Began his Kashiwa career as a left-sided defender however has since shifted higher up the pitch and is central to Kashiwa-s attacking play.
11. Cléverson Gabriel Córdova “Cleo” – Striker
After featuring for a number of teams in Brazil, Cleo moved to Serbian heavyweights Red Star Belgrade in 2008. A shift to cross-town rivals Partizan followed, where he scored a goal in every two games over one-and-a-half seasons.
In February 2011, Cleo moved to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande on a four-year contract. At the time, the fee paid for Cleo to Partizan was a record for Chinese club football. Despite scoring four goals in the group stage of last year-s AFC Champions League, Cleo was omitted from Guangzhou Evergrande-s knockout stage squad list in favour of Paraguayan marksman Lucas Barrios. Still, he managed 12 goals in 39 appearances for Marcello Lippi-s team in 2012.
9. Masato Kudo – Striker
22-year-old striker Masato Kudo has been with the Kashiwa Reysol first team since 2009, scoring a goal approximately every three games. Kudo made six appearances for Reysol in last season-s AFC Champions League however failed to hit the back of the net. However, his return in the J-League, Emperor-s Cup and J-League Cup was far more impressive. A member of Japan-s 2010 Asian Games winning side.
Kashiwa Reysol vs. Central Coast Mariners – 2013 AFC Champions League Matchday 2
Wednesday 13 March, 2013
Hitachi Soccer Stadium, Kashiwa
Kick-off: 7:00pm (local); 9:00pm (AEST)
Twitter: Join the match conversation on Twitter! The official match hash-tag is #KRvCCM
Television: The game will be shown EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on FOX SPORTS 3 & 3HD on Wednesday evening from 9:00pm AEST.
