NEWS

Defending champions Gamba Osaka will play Korean club FC Seoul, Indonesia’s Sriwijaya and Shandong Luneng of China in Group F in the reformed AFC Champions League, it was announced at the draw on Wednesday.

“All the games will be tough,” said Gamba defender Satoshi Yamaguchi. “We haven’t played any of them but know that teams from Korea Republic and China play at a high level.
“We’ll play as a team with the spirit of a challenger and do our best from our first match to fight for the title again.”
Gamba qualified for the new ACL by winning the season-closing Emperor’s Cup on January 1.
J. League champions Kashima Antlers, making back-to-back appearances in the annual club competition, will meet Shanghai Shenhua of China, Suwon Bluewings of Korea Republic and a playoff qualifier in Group G.
“We must take advantage of our experience from last year,” Kashima defender Daiki Iwamasa stated. “Suwon Bluewings are the Korean champions and will be tough opponents. With two champions facing each other, it should be a good game.”
Kawasaki Frontale, who qualified for the ACL for the first time since 2007 by finishing second in the J. League last year, have been drawn to Group H along with Central Coast Mariners of Australia, Tianjin Teda of China and Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic.
Kawasaki and Japan midfielder Kengo Nakamura said, “All the opponents are strong. We should focus on getting through the group stage first. We’ll do our best.”
Meanwhile, ACL debutants Nagoya Grampus will play in Group E along with Ulsan Hyundai of Korea Republic, Newcastle Jets of Australia and Beijing Guoan of China.
“There are no easy games,” Nagoya goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki pointed out. “We’d like to believe in ourselves and play our brand of football.”
This year, the AFC Champions League has been reformed into a 32-team format from the previous 28 teams. Teams are divided into eight groups of four, including two play-off winners, for the group stage, which runs from March 10 to May 20. The groups are divided on geographical lines – four from the west and four from the east.
The top two finishers in each group will advance to the Round of 16, scheduled for May 27 for the western teams and June 24 for the eastern teams. The geographical division will end after the Round of 16.
The quarterfinals will take place on September 23-24 and September 30, and the semifinals will be played on October 21 and 28.
The one-off final will be staged at the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 6 or 7. The winners will pocket US$1.5 million.

Draw:
West
Group A – Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan), Al Ahli (UAE), Saba Battery (Iran)
Group B – Persepolis (Iran), Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia), Al Gharafa (Qatar), Playoff winners 1
Group C – Al Jazira (UAE), Esteghlal (Iran), Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia), Umm Salal (Qatar)
Group D – Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan), Al Shabab (UAE), Sepahan (Iran), Al Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia)
East
Group E – Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic), Newcastle Jets (Australia), Beijing Guoan (China), Nagoya Grampus (Japan)
Group F – Gamba Osaka (Japan), FC Seoul (Korea Republic), Sriwijaya (Indonesia), Shandong Luneng (China)
Group G – Shanghai Shenhua (China), Kashima Antlers (Japan), Suwon Bluewings (Korea Republic), Playoff winners 2
Group H – Central Coast Mariners (Australia), Tianjin Teda (China), Kawasaki Frontale (Japan), Pohang Steelers (Korea Republic)