Saitama: 10 years have passed since Urawa Red Diamonds were crowned kings of Asia after the most glorious night in their history.
The roar from the 59,034-strong massed sea of red was deafening as the teams climbed the 14 steps to the Saitama Stadium pitch, but AFC Champions League MVPs are made of stern stuff and amidst the din Yuichiro Nagai was perfectly at peace.
Urawa Red Diamonds’ No 9 not only knew what he had to do, but he was certain he was about to do it.
Nagai had fluffed his lines a fortnight previously as Urawa drew 1-1 with Sepahan away in Fuladshahr, but tonight the then 28-year-old was convinced he was about to make a telling contribution as Urawa became the first Japanese side to win the AFC Champions League – and he the first player from Japan to be named as MVP.
“The day before when I went to bed I had a really clear image that I’d be able to score a goal,” he recounts a decade on from that historic night.
“In the first leg I’d hit the post and after reflecting on that I remember feeling really clearly as we came out for the second leg that I could score in this game. That confidence was a real plus.”
It was confidence that had built gradually over the previous nine months, as Urawa progressed steadily and determinedly towards the ultimate prize.
This was their first foray into Asia’s premier competition, and Nagai remembers being pleasantly surprised during their opening match in Group E.
“First of all we played at home against the Indonesian side Persik Kediri, and if I’m honest, at that time I didn’t think the opposition were especially strong. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was easy, but there was a feeling that we were able to win.”
Urawa did indeed emerge with a 3-0 victory from that game before picking up a solid point away to Sydney FC in their next outing, drawing 2-2 in Australia.
Nagai also found his feet – and the net – quickly, registering in both matches.
They then edged Shanghai Shenhua 1-0 at home and drew 0-0 in China to move top of the group after four games, but such plain sailing didn’t continue for long, with the reverse fixture against Persik providing the Reds with an important lesson in the difficulties of continental competition.
“When we went to play them away the pitch was really bad. There were wet patches here and there and we weren’t used to playing in those kind of conditions, which meant we were unable to show our technique and had to play in the air a lot.
“The opponents, on the other hand, were far livelier than they had been at our place and were connecting their passes without paying any mind to the surface. That was kind of surprising for me – the true nature of playing away from home outside Japan.”
Even in those trying conditions Urawa managed to pick up a 3-3 draw, and after that trip to East Java, Holger Osieck’s side reverted to more dependable form in their final game, playing out a 0-0 at home to Sydney FC that saw both sides through to the knockout stage.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors lay in wait in the quarter-finals, and despite conceding a late away goal in the first leg Urawa took a 2-1 lead to Korea Republic, where Nagai and his teammates were offered another glimpse of football’s rich tapestry of experiences and emotions.
“There wasn’t really such a feeling of being ‘away’ in Korea Republic, but I remember in that game the opponents got a player sent off and then they were getting more and more frustrated and getting stuck into us.
"Us Reds players kept saying we weren’t going to lose our heads or be provoked though, we just withstood it and made sure we didn’t react.
“At the start of the game the whole stadium was really hostile against us as the Japanese opponents, but bit by bit they came round to support us on account of the fact we weren’t reacting while Jeonbuk continued to play roughly."
“They were even applauding our play and so on, which made me think about the way in which football can change people and how the atmosphere in the stadium had altered.
"It really has that power and that is a really interesting memory for me.”
Urawa came through that rough-and-ready encounter with a 2-0 win, setting up a semi-final against another Korean opponent in Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.
“I think they were the strongest team we faced. We drew 2-2 away, and [Robson] Ponte scored. The first game was away from home and so we knew it would be tight and that a draw was okay.”
Nagai may have gone on to be named player of the tournament – the first of only two Japanese players to receive the honour (Gamba Osaka’s Yasuhito Endo picked up the gong in 2008) – but is bashful about his individual accolade, insisting modestly that he couldn’t have earned the plaudits without his teammates and instead singling out the side’s Brazilian play-maker as their standout performer.
“Of course everyone played a key role, but the fact Ponte always seemed to pop up with a crucial goal in tight games was huge for us.
In games when it seemed like we couldn’t find a way through and the opponents were defending solidly, Ponte would manage to beat his man and make the chance for a goal.
"That was very big for us. Ponte’s presence was huge.”
He wasn’t afraid to step up to the plate in the second leg either, and after another 2-2 draw Ponte was the first to place the ball on the spot in the penalty shootout, dispatching his effort with aplomb to get Urawa up and running.
“There were nerves but we did it in front of the Reds fans and they were sensational,” Nagai remembers of the shootout.
“When the opposition were taking their penalties they were constantly waving their flags in order to prevent them from concentrating and then when we took ours they fell completely silent. There were some nerves in that atmosphere but it was enjoyable.”
So enjoyable that not a single Reds player, Nagai included, failed from 12 yards, and with Choi Sung-kuk seeing his effort saved by Ryota Tsuzuki, Urawa’s place in the final was confirmed.
By that point the desire to become champions – and the belief they could do it – was far outweighing any pressure the players felt, and Ponte was again on the score-sheet in the first leg of the final against Sepahan, notching in a 1-1 draw.
“We’d made it that far and so had a really strong feeling of wanting to become champions,” Nagai recalls.
“That time, too, the first game was away and we strongly believed that as long as we didn’t suffer a really bad defeat there that we wouldn’t lose at home.
"It would have been great to have won, but we knew we could do it at home so 1-1 was fine.”
And so to Urawa’s patch. The 14th of November, 2007.
Nagai had entered the pitch firmly believing he would score, and midway through the first half his chance came.
Ponte – who else? – sent a ball in behind, and having beaten the offside trap Nagai found himself bearing down on Abbas Mohammadi’s goal.
“Ponte’s pass took a deflection on the way through which changed its course a little and threw off the opponent, and because I had that confidence of being able to score I wasn’t at all flustered and just hit it.”
Things went just as he’d imagined, and the shot rifled into the back of the net, provoking jubilant scenes as Saitama Stadium erupted.
“At the time there was of course the explosion of happiness at having scored a goal but it wasn’t really any more joyous than goals I’d scored before,” Nagai explains of his euphoric celebration, during which he tore behind the goal to bask in the cheers of the home fans.
“Of course there was happiness but I wanted to capitalise on the fact we were at home and to create even more delight – to ensure the atmosphere in the stadium was even more in our favour – so I celebrated with slightly more joy than was actually needed.”
Harnessing the voltage of their home fans had been key for Urawa throughout the campaign, and the players knew they had to match the intensity of their supporters once they crossed the white line.
“Within that atmosphere at Saitama Stadium as an Urawa player there was a real feeling of not being allowed to lose,” Nagai said.
“The supporters were behind us so strongly as a unit that we felt we had to provide them with joy – there was a real sense of duty in that respect.”
And the players held up their end of the bargain – and ultimately the AFC Champions League trophy – as Yuki Abe added a second goal in the 71st minute to wrap up a 3-1 aggregate win to crown Nagai and Urawa as kings of Asia.
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com