Report

Ahead of tomorrow's first leg of the AFC Champions League 2019 Round of 16 against Hiroshima, the players held an official practice session at the clubhouse starting at 10:00 AM. Only the first 15 minutes were open to the media, during which warm-ups and passing drills were conducted.

▼▼MOVIE▼▼

In the afternoon, an official press conference was held at Kashima Stadium, attended by Coach Oiwa and Shirasaki from Antlers.





Coach Go Oiwa:
"Tomorrow is the first 90 minutes of a 180-minute match. We'll be playing at home, so we want to prepare thoroughly to play aggressively in both offense and defense for tomorrow's game. We are only thinking about going into this first leg at home aggressively. Last year, we often played the first leg at home. Based on that experience, we want to prepare thoroughly for tomorrow."

▼▼MOVIE▼▼

Ryōhei Shirasaki:
"Being able to play the first leg of the home-and-away series at home makes it a very important match. I want to play a game that makes the opponent think, 'I really don't want to play against Antlers again.'"

▼▼MOVIE▼▼

Sanfrecce Hiroshima's attendees were Coach Hiroshi Jofuku and Yoji Nakabayashi.



Coach Hiroshi Jofuku:
"There are two matches, home and away, but I believe the first match tomorrow carries significant weight in order to advance from this Round of 16. I know it will be tough to win at Antlers' home stadium, but we want to score and, if possible, return home with three points."



Yoji Nakabayashi:
"I have a strong desire to face Antlers with conviction. The winner is decided by the aggregate score of the two matches, but first and foremost, what kind of game we can play in the immediate match is crucial. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what kind of game we can play away from home."