On Saturday 23 November, one day before the second leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 Final, a press conference was held at Saitama Stadium 2002, where coaches and players from Urawa Red Diamonds and Al Hilal SFC (Saudi Arabia) took the podium. After losing the first leg 0-1 at Riyadh, Urawa will need to win by a two-goal margin at the second leg to claim the title. In front of the sell-out crowd, Urawa will seek to win their third ACL title.

Coaches and Players' Comments

OTSUKI Tsuyoshi, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Following the first leg, we are glad to be back here in Saitama. Despite this being a home match, with the temperature getting colder, we must take appropriate measures to adjust to this climate. Ahead of this big match, we are feeling ecstatic and hoping to showcase a fantastic match in front of our home crowd.

KOROKI Shinzo (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Despite losing the first leg 0-1, I feel that it was a positive result for us. There will be close to 60,000 fans filling this stadium tomorrow. We will give our utmost efforts to win the title and make our fans happy.

Razvan LUCESCU, Coach (Al Hilal SFC)
We are finally here to play the final match tomorrow, and I am expecting a very entertaining match. Although we were able to win the match 1-0, I feel that we could have earned ourselves a bigger advantage in the first leg. We are not here in Japan to have fun. We are here to win the match. Our players are highly motivated, and we have prepared ourselves well for this match. I believe that if our players can showcase their best performance, we should be able to win the match. However, with this being the final match, we are expecting a very difficult and tough game. Winning the ACL title has always been our goal, so we will continue to strive towards that goal as a team.

Mohammad AL‑SHALHOUB (Al Hilal SFC)
I am truly blessed to be here at the final and this press conference, and I thank god for this opportunity. We faced many adversities on our way to the final, but we fought hard as a team to make it all the way here. Our goal is not to make the final, but to win the final and take home the trophy.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019
Round of 16: Tue. 18 June - Tue. 13 August 2019
Quarterfinals: Tue. 27 August - Wed. 18 September 2019
Semi-finals: Tue. 1 - Wed. 23 October 2019
Final: 1st Leg/Sat. 9 November 2019, 2nd Leg/Sun. 24 November 2019

Tournament Information