- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Last night’s AFC Champions League draw could have been much worse for A-League representatives Newcastle Jets and the Central Coast Mariners.
Both clubs managed to avoid some of the genuine big guns of East Asian football, with Newcastle the only domestic champion drawn in either of the two groups.
The likes of Korean super-club Suwon Bluewings, Chinese giants Shandong Luneng and reigning Asian champions Gamba Osaka have all been avoided, as have back-to-back J. League winners Kashima Antlers.
Newcastle will instead face off against Ulsan Hyundai of the K-League, Japanese outfit Nagoya Grampus and Chinese side Beijing Guoan – who all finished third in their respective domestic leagues.
It’s a relatively weak looking group, but that’s not to say that Newcastle will go into it as favourites.
The Jets’ recent fall from grace is well documented, but they should have little to fear from an Ulsan Hyundai side that could potentially draw crowds of less than 5,000 for their midweek ACL fixtures.
A bigger concern should be Beijing Guoan, who are one of the more passionately supported clubs in Chinese football.
Much will be made of the deep pockets of Nagoya Grampus – bankrolled as they are by Toyota – but the Aichi-based side have a reputation for choking under pressure.
Their last trophy came as far back as 1999 when they lifted the Emperor’s Cup, and despite playing some effective football under Serbian coach Dragan Stojković – who is often regarded as Nagoya’s greatest ever player – Grampus stumbled badly in the race for the 2008 J. League title.
They’ve just signed livewire Brazilian striker Davi from relegated Consadole Sapporo, but the undoubted jewel in the crown is compatriot Magnum.
The tricky playmaker featured for Kawasaki Frontale in the 2007 Champions League, and along with youngster Yoshizumi Ogawa – who recently picked up the J. League’s Rookie Of The Year award – Nagoya possess a potent midfield.
Should Nagoya opt to play Champions League games out of their downtown Mizuho Athletics Stadium – instead of the high-tech Toyota Stadium – then Newcastle fans will be treated to the sight of one of Asia’s most dilapidated football venues.
I’ve been to Mizuho several times, but if there’s an even more mediocre venue in Japanese football, it’s surely Kawasaki Frontale’s antiquated Todoroki Stadium.
Last time I ventured out to Todoroki for a midweek fixture I missed the kick-off due the traffic gridlock outside the ground.
It’s so unloved that the citizens of Kawasaki recently started a petition to have it knocked down and rebuilt, but on the pitch Frontale have no such concerns.
In my opinion they should be one of the favourites to lift the Asian crown.
Last year Kawasaki scored a whopping 65 goals in the J-League – one goal less than the season before!
They possess an astonishing array of attacking talent, with rampaging North Korean striker Chong Tese about as formidable an opponent as you can get.
Lead by talismanic midfielder Kengo Nakamura, Kawasaki could have won the J. League at a canter last season were it not for a dreadful start that saw troublesome striker Hulk shipped off to Tokyo Verdy after just three games (he’s now at FC Porto), before coach Takashi Sekizuka stepped down due to health problems.
Sekizuka is back in charge for the 2009 campaign, and having qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League two seasons ago, the Kanagawa side are certainly one to watch.
The Mariners will at least be pleased to have drawn Korean FA Cup winners Pohang Steelers in their group, after Pohang finished fifth in the K-League last season.
Chinese outfit Tianjin Teda round out the group, and they are familiar with Australian opposition, having played Melbourne Victory in a friendly in 2007.
Nevertheless the Mariners have every right to feel confident of booking a place in the Round of 16, with the group winners and runners-up both progressing to the knock-out stage.
It won’t be easy, but the draw has been kind to both Newcastle and the Central Coast.
They’ll be determined to make the most of it, as they look to follow in the footsteps of Adelaide United in a quest for continental glory.