Krishna Sadhana
Football Tribe SEA Editor
The semifinals of the 2019 Emperor’s Cup were played yesterday and we finally have our two finalists for the competition! Five-time winners Kashima Antlers will meet star-studded Vissel Kobe in their first ever final appearance at the new National Stadium in Tokyo. The two J1 sides will christen the opening of the new stadium, which was constructed on the site of the old National Stadium in the buildup of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
FC Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta masterminded Vissel’s victory in the semifinal, disposing of fellow J1 side Shimizu S-Pulse at the Misaki Park Stadium. Iniesta scored once and assisted another, while Junya Tanaka and Kyogo Furuhashi scored Vissel’s other two goals. Junior Dutra scored the consolation for Shimizu in the 38th minute.
Eager to win the competition to send off their retiring striker David Villa, Vissel went on the offensive since kick-off. In the 13th minute, Daigo Nishi sent to ball to Iniesta from the edge of the box, which the Spanish maestro finished off with a low left-footed shot that went past Shimizu goalie Yohei Nishibe. The goal only serve to raise Shimizu’s spirits and Vissel’s defense worked hard to fend off their attempts in mounting a comeback.
Former VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg SV player Gotoku Sakai then created Vissel’s second in the 33rd minute, setting up Tanaka with a cross that allowed the latter to easily double Vissel’s lead with a simple tap-in. However, five minutes afterwards, Shimizu’s Ryo Takeuchi and Junior Dutra combined together to reduce the deficit just before half-time. The first half ended 2-1 to Vissel, with Shimizu looking dangerously close to equalizing.
However, the orange side of Shizuoka’s hopes of mounting a comeback were extinguished in the 69th minute. Iniesta showed some masterclass that made him the worldwide household name that he is today, easily beating his man and sending a through pass towards Furuhashi who stabbed home Vissel’s third to kill off the game. Despite Shimizu’s best efforts, Thorsten Fink’s charges held onto their lead superbly and earned themselves a ticket to Tokyo once the referee blows for full-time.
Meanwhile, at the Kashima Soccer Stadium, hosts Kashima Antlers host this year’s surprise packages V-Varen Nagasaki of the J2. While most expected an easy rout from Go Oiwa’s men considering the level of opposition in front of them, V-Varen managed to take the game to the J1 behemoths, giving the Antlers the scare of their lives despite ending the day at the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.
Antlers immediately went for the high octane after kick-off, taking the lead as early as the 4th minute thanks to their Brazilian midfielder Serginho. V-Varen’ Junki Hata then inadvertently turned the ball into his own net in the 23rd minute, thus doubling Kashima’s lead. The Kyushu side kept the scoreline respectable in the 37th minute, however, thanks to midfielder Shunya Yoneda.
Wellington Bueno’s goal in the 73rd minute made it 3-1 Kashima, threatening to kill off any hopes of a comeback from V-Varen. However the Nagasaki-based side refused to throw in the towel just yet and pulled one back in the 76th minute thanks to Takashi Sawada, and Antlers were constantly kept on their toes afterward as V-Varen kept on pushing and pushing for the equalizer. However the J2 side’s spirited performance in the closing stages of the match weren’t enough and it was Kashima who will go to Tokyo for the final, although V-Varen could leave the Kashima Soccer Stadium with their heads held up high considering the performance that they had churned out against the favorites.
The stage is set for the 2019 Emperor’s Cup final at the new National Stadium, with the match going to be played on January 1st, 2020. In addition to the Emperor’s Cup honors for this year, the final ticket to the 2020 AFC Champions League will also be at stake in the final, with already-qualified Kashima Antlers aiming for their 6th Emperor’s Cup title. Vissel will not only be relishing the chance of a first Emperor’s Cup title and with it a debut in the AFC Champions League, they’re also seeking to help end David Villa’s illustrious career with another title. For this purpose, Villa was rested during Vissel’s semifinal victory and he is set to make his final bow as a footballer on the newly laid pitch of the new National Stadium in the New Year.