Kawasaki: The all-J.League AFC Champions League quarter-final between Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Red Diamonds is certain to be an intriguing affair, particularly so for the meeting of two Japanese forwards who have been so closely matched this year.
Kawasaki’s Yu Kobayashi and Urawa’s Tadanari Lee have been on the field for almost an identical number of minutes in the 2017 continental competition and their importance to their respective clubs should not be understated.
Overview
Kobayashi
Tokyo-native Kobayashi is now in his eighth season with Kawasaki and made his AFC Champions League debut at the 2014 tournament where he netted three goals in six games as the Kanagawa Prefecture club exited in the last 16.
Three years later and the 29-year-old forward has already beaten that tally with four goals so far as he helped Kawasaki into their third quarter-final appearance and first since 2009.
Lee
By contrast, Lee made his AFC Champions League bow back in 2010, scoring three goals as Sanfrecce Hiroshima exited at the first hurdle.
The forward has turned out for Urawa in the past two seasons on the continent, suffering group stage elimination in 2015 before his extra-time brace in last year’s Round of 16 proved insufficient to overcome FC Seoul.
The current campaign
Kobayashi
Kobayashi got off to the perfect start, scoring after just 10 minutes in Kawasaki’s tournament opener with Suwon Samsung Bluewings before the game ultimately ended 1-1.
The forward then scored in the 94th minute to claim a 1-1 draw at Guangzhou Evergrande on Matchday Three before the return fixture ended goalless as Kawasaki made it four draws from four.
Kobayashi did not register again in the group stage but his two goals proved invaluable as back-to-back wins over Suwon and Eastern SC saw the J.League side scrape out of a tight Group G.
And the long-serving frontman then rediscovered his scoring touch in the last 16, netting home and away as Kawasaki overcame Muangthong United 7-2 on aggregate.
Lee
Lee also enjoyed a scoring start as Urawa opened their campaign with a 4-0 win at Western Sydney Wanderers before bagging another in a 5-2 victory over FC Seoul.
One more goal in free-scoring Urawa’s 6-1 win over Western Sydney that confirmed their last 16 qualification made it three for the tournament, but Lee’s most important contribution was still to come.
Trailing 2-0 after a disastrous first leg against Jeju United, Urawa went into the return fixture at Saitama Stadium with a mountain to climb.
But Lee’s strike from a narrow angle made it 2-2 on aggregate inside 35 minutes, before Ryota Moriwaki scored in extra-time to claim a pulsating 3-2 victory as Urawa advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008.
Importance to the team
Kobayashi
With four straight victories Kawasaki have undoubtedly grown into the tournament, but Kobayashi was twice on hand with crucial goals earlier on in the tournament when wins were hard to come by.
The forward's superb Round of 16 volley put Kawasaki 2-1 up in the first leg at Muangthong before he opened the scoring to calm any nerves on home soil. The Thai side ended up being swept aside, but the timing of Kobayashi’s goals were invaluable.
Lee
Lee’s group stage goals came in games that Urawa cruised to victories, but the experienced forward showed he was the man for the big occasion by getting the all-important second against Jeju.
Weigh in that his track record also includes the extra-time double against FC Seoul last year and, of course, the match-winning strike in Japan’s victorious 2011 AFC Asian Cup campaign and it’s clear Lee stands tall when the going gets tough.
Previous meetings
The sides’ last J.League encounter came in early July when Kobayashi opened the scoring, before Lee came on midway through the second half. But Kobayashi added a late penalty as Kawasaki ran out 4-1 winners.
Lee hasn’t started against Kawasaki since August last year when he scored in a 2-1 defeat, but the forward will be confident of finding the back of the net should he be named in the starting 11 come Wednesday.
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Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com