The group stage in the AFC Champions League 2015 has reached the climax. Urawa Reds will meet Suwon Samsung FC from Korea at Saitama Stadium 2002 on 21 April in the matchday 5 of the group stage. A press conference was held one day prior to the match.

Urawa Reds

Mihailo Petrovic, Head Coach
Although we were desperate for three points in the match against Beijing Guoan in the previous round, unfortunately we drew with them. We still have an opportunity, as we gained one point, but we are in a very tough situation.

However, we must win tomorrow in order to keep our hopes alive and not to throw away matches in Australia. Suwon Samsung FC is an excellent team, winning against strong teams in the Korean league. Having said that, we are strong enough to win the match.

KASHIWAGI Yosuke, #8  Midfielder
I expect a tough and difficult match, but we still have opportunities if we trust ourselves. So I’ll do my best tomorrow.

At the beginning of the season, we lost two matches. Although we didn’t lose in a bad way, we started to use long-distance passes a lot, rather than short passes which is our usual style. I guess we lost our balance as a team. However, we recently regained our playing style.

We learned our lessons after our losses and fixed our problems. I think that’s how we led ourselves to better results.

Suwon Samsung FC

Seo Jung Won, Head Coach
Urawa Reds is currently at the top of J.League and they played against us at home last time very well. We’d like to prepare ourselves well enough for the coming match.

As we played against them last February, which was the very beginning of the season, both of the teams weren’t quite playing their styles yet. I expect those problems have been fixed and we can expect an exciting game.

Tomorrow’s match will decide whether or not we can get through the group stage. No one can predict what might happen in a football game. Although it’s not easy to beat Urawa Reds, we’d like to win to get through to the next stage.

We are in a very tough situation, as many players picked up injuries in the matches in April. Having said that, we won a historic victory in the Seoul-Suwon Derby in the recent K League and our motivation stays very high.

Chong Tese, #14 Forward
We’re sitting in first place in the group, and I’d like to win against Urawa Reds to gain three points.

When I played in Japan, I didn’t have a very good impression of Urawa Reds, if I’m honest. However, after some experience of playing abroad, observing Japan from outside, I realised the greatness and near perfection of the club team itself and the supporters of the Urawa Reds. I’m looking forward to playing against them as a member of a Korean team.

I know many players of Urawa Reds, including Makino. It’s essential not lose against them one-on-one, but I also would like to win, playing systematically as a team. I’ll play aggressively, but want to greet them, shaking hands, after the match.

As a professional football player, I never think a draw is fine. As a slight inattention will reflect on our play, I’ll brace my nerves to win the match.

AFC Champions League 2015

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