SAITAMA, Japan, 15 November 2007 — J-League and Emperor’s Cup holders Urawa Reds won their first AFC Champions League title by edging Iran’s Sepahan 2-0 in the second leg of the final here yesterday.
Urawa had needed a scoreless draw here after fighting out 1-1 away a week earlier, but they exploded before a noisy sell-out home crowd of 60,000 at the Saitama Stadium.
Forward Yuchiro Nagai drew first blood in the 22nd minute and midfielder Yuki Abe, who plays center back for Japan, added another goal in the 71st minute.
Both Urawa and Sepahan had sought to become the first club from their countries to clinch the Asian title since the continental championship was expanded into its current format in 2003 by merging with the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Urawa controlled the ball early in the game. Rob Ponte’s free kick from midfield found Marcus Tanaka Tulio in front of the goal, but his header was punched away by Sepahan goalkeeper Abbas Mohammadi Shah Abadi in the seventh minute.
Then Nagai took a long pass from the midway line and banged past a Sepahan defender and Abadi into the net.
Sepahan came close to pull one back five minutes later when Iraqi midfieder Abdul Wahab Labed’s 20-meter shot was deflected by Uraw keeper Ryota Tsuzuki.
The red-clad partisan crowd roared and sighed when Brazilian striker Washington’s long ball from the midway line sent Abadi hurrying back to the net but landed on the net just behind the bar four minutes before the break. Sepehan’s ace striker Mahmoud Sibaki Karimi, who was sent in after 30 minutes despite a calf injury, failed to trap a through pass in front of Urawa’s goal on the stroke of halftime. Urawa and Sepahan swung into full throttle after the break and all but scored once each on the hour’s mark in goalmouth scrambles.
But the home side went ahead 2-0 in the 71st minute when utility man Abe slotted in a rebound off Nagai’s shot into the right corner. In the 78th minute, Karimi caught a through pass in an empty area and flicked past Tsuzuki into the Urawa goal only to be ruled offside.
Former Bundesliga midfielder Moharram Navidkia desperately shot from outside the box in the 83th minute but the ball went wide. Urawa, playing in their first AFC Champions League campaign, has not lost a match with five wins and seven draws, beating defending champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea 4-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
Sepahan, who faded in the group stage in 2004 and 2005, have scored five wins and five draws against two losses. Jubilo Iwata were the last Japanese team to win the Asian club championship in 1999, while Iran has been without the title since 1993 when PAS triumphed.
Gunners Offer Beckham
Base to Train
In London, England midfielder David Beckham has been offered the chance to train with Premier League side Arsenal during the Major League Soccer close season, The Times newspaper reported yesterday.
Beckham will line out with England in tomorrow’s international friendly against Austria in Vienna, and next Wednesday’s crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.
The 32-year-old Beckham’s fate, like that of England coach Steve McClaren depends heavily on the result between Russia and Israel in the Euro 2008 qualifying tie in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. Victory for Russia will probably end McClaren’s tenure and with it Beckham’s international career.
If Russia fail to win and England beat Croatia at Wembley next week, Beckham would expect to be involved at Euro 2008 and he has received offers from Watford, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal — all based near his Hertfordshire home — to train during the Major League Soccer close season, which lasts until February.
Los Angeles Galaxy’s Beckham, who has 97 caps, is just three games short of becoming just the fifth Englishman to reach a century.
Rival Fans Gather to Bury
Shot Italian Supporter
In Rome, thousands of rival football fans gathered for the burial yesterday of an Italian supporter whose death in a police shooting triggered riots last weekend.
The government promised it would respond firmly to any further outbreaks of rioting and a priest, in his funeral sermon for Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, urged supporters to stay calm.
“Violence will not bring justice,” said parish priest Paolo Tammi. “Gabriele was not violent, he was gentle and serene. So I ask all you young people not to commit any more violence.” Police have called the shooting of 26-year-old Sandri after a brawl between fans a tragic accident. But the incident has fuelled hatred between “tifosi” (fans) and police in the country which won the soccer World Cup last year.
Family and friends of the DJ, senior politicians and thousands of fans wearing blue and white Lazio scarves, and also the colors of city archrivals Roma and other clubs, met the arrival of his coffin with traditional applause.
Francesco Totti, the captain of Roma and one of Italian football’s biggest names, also paid his respects.
