OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

Shandong LunengCHNCerezo OsakaJPNQualified as: Chinese Super League - Runner-up • Founded: 1956 • Ground: Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan (60,000)Chinese Super League (4): 2010, 2008, 2006, 1999 FA Cup (4): 2006, 2004, 1999, 1995AFC Champions League: Quarter-Finals 2005; Group Stage 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007Qualified as: J.League - Fourth • Founded: 1957 • Ground: Osaka Nagai Stadium, Osaka (20,000)AFC Champions League: Quarter-Finals 2011GROUP E34OverviewShandong Luneng return for their sixth AFC Champions League appearanceafter finishing second in the Chinese Super League last season. Adisappointing 12th place finish in 2012 meant a failure to qualify for lastyear’s competition, but a return to form under the guidance of Serbiancoach Radomir Antic meant only all-conquering Guangzhou Evergrandefinished above them in last year’s campaign. In 1999, Shandong madehistory by becoming the first Chinese club team to win the league and FACup double. Continuing their domestic domination into the 2000s, theJinan-based side won three league titles and two FA Cups in a six yearspell between 2004-2010.Key PlayersProlific Brazilian striker Vagner Love joined Shandong midway through2013 and netted six goals in just 10 games. Boasting a UEFA Cup winner’smedal and a host of titles from his time at Russian side CSKA Moscow, thestriker’s clinical finishing will be a great asset to his new side in the AFCChampions League. Signed from Shanghai Shenhua in the start of 2014,goalkeeper Wang Dalei is considered by many to be the future numberone of the China national team. Under the tutelage of former Englandinternational Ian Walker, the young custodian has grown into one of thebest goalkeepers in the Chinese Super League. Former China captain DuWei is a central figure at the heart of the Shandong defence with over 60international caps and was named in the Chinese Super League Team ofthe Year in 2012.Coach: Cuca (BRA)More usually known as Cuca, Brazilian coach Alexi Stival left his postat Atletico Mineiro to join Shandong in December as a replacement forRadomir Antic, who was released by the club at the end of the 2013campaign. In his time at the Brazilian side, Cuca won the CampeonatoMineiro twice and the 2013 Copa Libertadores - the first in Atletico’shistory. The 50-year-old has over 15 years of coaching experienceincluding spells at Brazil’s most prestigious clubs in the form of Gremio,Santos, Fluminese and Flamengo.31Aloisio16Zheng Zheng33Jin Jingdao3Du WeiNo. Pos. Name Date of Birth1 GK Yang Chen 11/10/19853 DF Du Wei 09/02/19824 DF Ryan McGowan 15/08/19895 DF Wang Qiang 23/07/19826 DF Zhao Mingjian 22/11/19877 MF Cui Peng 31/05/19878 FW Wang Yongpo 19/01/19879 FW Han Peng 13/09/198310 FW Vagner Love 11/06/198411 DF Wang Tong 12/02/199312 GK Geng Xiaofeng 15/10/198713 MF Zhang Wenzhao 28/05/198714 DF Mi Haolun 10/01/199316 DF Zheng Zheng 11/07/198917 FW Wu Xinghan 24/02/199318 FW Yang Xu 12/02/198820 FW Wang Gang 17/02/198921 MF Liu Bin Bin 16/06/199323 MF Liu Wei 18/03/198524 FW Lu Zheng 25/02/198525 GK Wang Dalei 10/01/198928 FW Hao Junmin 24/03/198729 FW Gao Di 06/01/199030 MF Walter Montillo 14/04/198431 FW Aloisio 19/06/198833 MF Jin Jingdao 18/11/199235 DF Dai Lin 28/11/198710Vagner Love30Montillo25Wang Dalei4McGowan7Cui Peng8Wang Yongpo11Wang Tong13Minamino14Maruhashi10Forlan2Ohgihara4Fujimoto21Kim Jin-hyeon8Kakitani6Yamaguchi23Yamashita18Nichols17SakemotoNo. Pos. Name Date of Birth1 GK Hiroyuki Takeda 30/11/19832 MF Takahiro Ohgihara 05/10/19913 DF Yuta Someya 30/09/19864 DF Kohta Fujimoto 02/04/19865 MF Ariajasuru Hasegawa 29/10/19886 MF Hotaru Yamaguchi 06/10/19907 DF Toru Araiba 12/07/19798 FW Yoichiro Kakitani 03/01/19909 FW Ryo Nagai 23/05/199110 FW Diego Forlan 19/05/197911 MF Jumpei Kusukami 27/08/198713 MF Takumi Minamino 16/01/199514 DF Yusuke Maruhashi 02/09/199015 MF Takamitsu Yoshino 24/04/198916 DF Jun Ando 08/10/198417 DF Noriyuki Sakemoto 08/09/198418 MF Mitch Nichols 01/05/198919 DF Yuki Kotani 27/07/199120 FW Kenyu Sugimoto 18/11/199221 GK Kim Jin-hyeon 06/07/198722 GK Gu Sung-yun 27/06/199423 DF Tatsuya Yamashita 07/11/198724 MF Takeru Okada 31/08/199425 MF Masato Kurogi 24/10/198926 MF Daichi Akiyama 28/07/199427 GK Kenta Tanno 30/08/1986OverviewOn a frenetic final day of the 2013 J.League season, Cerezo Osaka tookfourth place by virtue of a superior goal-difference over Kashima Antlersand a point more than Urawa Reds. And with J.League runners-upYokohama F. Marinos going onto win the Emperor’s Cup, Cerezo qualifiedfor only their second AFC Champions League appearance. After three yearsin the second tier, Cerezo achieved promotion to the top flight in 2009and a third-place finish in their first season back in the J.League resultedin a debut in the 2011 AFC Champions League where they reached thequarter-finals.Key PlayersUruguay international Diego Forlan joined Cerezo at the start of the yearfrom Brazil’s Internacional having been named the best player at the 2010FIFA World Cup after scoring five goals as his side reached the semi-finals.The former Independiente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madridand Inter Milan striker is a two-time winner of Europe’s golden shoe.Named in the J.League’s Team of the Year, midfielder Hotaru Yamaguchiwas part of Japan’s side at the 2012 Olympic Games. He received his firstcall-up to the senior Japan side by coach Alberto Zaccheroni for the 2013EAFF East Asian Cup and was named tournament MVP. Yoichiro Kakitanitop scored at the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup before netting 21 goals lastseason.Coach: Ranko Popovic (SRB)Serbian Ranko Popovic replaced Levir Culpi at the end of last year aftertaking FC Tokyo to an eighth place finish in the J.League. Popovic had hisfirst taste of Japanese football as assistant coach at Sanfrecce Hiroshimain 2006 before taking on the reigns of Oita Trinita midway through the2009 season. A successful stint at Machida Zelvia, where the Serbianled the Japan Football League side to promotion to the second tier ofJapanese football, saw Emperor’s Cup champions FC Tokyo come calling inDecember 2011. With the newly promoted J.League side, Popovic enjoyedhis first taste of the AFC Champions League as the debutants made it intothe Round of 16 of the continental championship before being eliminatedby Guangzhou Evergrande.35GROUP E