Kuala Lumpur: Ahead of the 2017 AFC Champions League semi-final kick-off, we turned to Asian football fans to ask about their prediction, hopes and fears for their teams.
We begin with the exciting East Asia clash between Shanghai SIPG and Urawa Red Diamonds.
Taku Murakami, Urawa Red Diamonds fan
Obviously, SIPG’s strengths are their three super Brazilians (Hulk, Oscar, Elkeson).
They showed outstanding performances in the last two matches in the group stage. There are no equivalent players like them in the J.League.
The impression I got from them was so strong that I don`t remember how other players were playing in the matches, which may suggest the Brazilians could be their weak points as SIPG seem to rely on them too much. It means if the Reds can stop them, they have more chances to win.
For Urawa, all their players are key, but if I have to name some as ‘key players’ I`d recommend Shinzo Koroki, Yosuke Kashiwagi, and Yuki Abe.
Koroki (pictured above), the current top scorer in the J.League, is not only good at scoring but also good at positioning, keeping the ball, and creating chances. So when he receives the ball in the attacking area, it often leads to good attacking.
Kashiwagi excels at passing and starting attacks. He also has a broad scope over the pitch and a good sense of feeling the space where Reds players can make good chances for scoring.
In addition, his accurate free-kicks can be threats for Shanghai SIPG. He is the one who can make the difference.
Abe (pictured below), the most experienced player at Reds, has excellent football intelligence and so can quickly sense spaces and opposing players when opponents' attacks begin and promptly block the space and tackle the opponents for the ball. Also he rarely joins attacks, but once he goes to attack, he always creates big chances.
What I think is important for Urawa to make it to the final is to keep their usual offensive style of football in both the home and away matches.
Of course, they have to minimise risks to concede goals, but it does not mean they have to play defensively.
I think they should keep pressing the opponents in their half with courage, although it is not easy to keep the pace until the end of the game.
I think if Urawa succeed in staying in their offensive football style, they can make it to the final.
Jeffrey Beresford-Howe, Shanghai SIPG supporter
I like SIPG's chances in this match-up a lot. Urawa Reds are not having a great season in Japan and SIPG handled them pretty well both times they played earlier this year in the group.
SIPG thrashed them in Shanghai, although they let up a bit at the end, and then outplayed them in Japan without the injured Hulk. They may have lost 1-0, but Oscar missed two penalty kicks in the process.
The wildcard is that Yan Junling, perhaps China’s best goalkeeper, will miss the first match due to suspension.
There's no way to know how Yan's likely replacement, Sun Le, will respond. He's played in only one match this year — a virtually dead rubber against Western Sydney in the ACL group stage — and Sun did not distinguish himself.
To protect Sun, SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas will almost certainly go with his regular four-man backline - Fu Huan, He Guan, Shi Ke and Wang Shenchao. They may have struggled earlier in the season but have performed better lately.
The SIPG offence is built around their high-quality midfielders, Oscar (pictured above), Odil Ahmedov (pictured below) and Cai Huikang, who initiate quick counters and pounce upon any midfield mistakes.
Up front, Hulk's rocket left foot on free-kicks gets all the attention but he's also a deadly passer when he's on his game and he links well with Wu Lei in particular.
Lately, Villas-Boas has been dabbling with a 4-2-3-1, with Lv Wenjun or Elkeson up top, but it has been less successful in general than the 4-3-3 SIPG used earlier in the year.
While they are a strong side, Urawa will likely have no answer for the upper end of SIPG's roster — Hulk, Wu Lei, Elkeson, Oscar, and the guy who's quietly been the glue for the team all year, Uzbek midfielder Ahmedov - Ahmedov's passing links together the side’s key attacking players.
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com