Next Tuesday night, Brisbane Roar will make history when they take on FC Tokyo, their first ever AFC Champions League opponents, in their opening 2012 fixture at Suncorp Stadium.
Next Tuesday night, Brisbane Roar will make history when they take on FC Tokyo, their first ever AFC Champions League opponents, in their opening 2012 fixture at Suncorp Stadium.
Friday-s crucial Hyundai A-League fixture against Melbourne Heart at the same venue is of preceding importance to the Roar coaching staff and squad but soon after, focus will quickly switch to the FC Tokyo match, which takes place just four days later.
Here, brisbaneroar.com.au takes a closer look at the FC Tokyo to give fans a greater perspective into the club-s inaugural AFC Champions League opposition.
How did they qualify for AFC Champions League?
FC Tokyo beat Kyoto Sanga FC in the Emperor-s Cup final on New Year-s Day and qualified as winners of the tournament.
Tokyo were 4-2 winners on the day with goals to Yasuyuki Konno (who has since moved on to Gamba Osaka), Masato Morishige and a double to Brazilian import Lucas, meaning they are the first J-League Division 2 side to ever win the cup.
How did they go in their last domestic season?
The Japanese football season runs from March through until early December and FC Tokyo finished first in J-League Division 2 in last year-s campaign, meaning they will compete in the top tier of the J-League this season.
– FC Tokyo (77 points) finished eight points clear of second placed Sagan Tosu (69)
– Their goal difference was +45, scoring 67 and conceding 22
– FC Tokyo played 34 matches with 19 wins, eight draws and seven losses
– During last season, they averaged 1.8 goals per game
Schedule around AFC Champions League fixture against Brisbane Roar?
FC Tokyo are in for a hectic week in the days surrounding their opening AFC Champions League fixture.
Saturday 3 March sees them play in the Japanese Super Cup, the traditional season opener between the defending J-League champions and the Emperors Cup winners, against Kashiwa Reysol before flying to Queensland, arriving on Monday morning.
Following the match against AFC Champions League fixture in Brisbane, FC Tokyo will fly out on Wednesday in order to prepare for their opening J-League fixture for the season against Omiya Ardija (away) four days later.
Squad?
All of the 33 players on the FC Tokyo books are Japanese with the exception of Brazilian pair Roberto Cesar and Lucas and new signing, South Korean Jang Hyun-Soo, who was drafted from Yonsei University.
Qantas Socceroo Jade North spent 2011 with the club but made just four appearances and has recently moved on to play at fellow J-League club Consadole Sapporo.
Goalkeepers: 1. Hitoshi SHIOTA, 20. Shuichi GONDA, 21. Ryotaro HIRONAGA, 31. Satoshi TOKIZAWA
Defenders: 2. Yuhei TOKUNAGA, 3. Masato MORISHIGE, 5. Kenichi KAGA, 6. Kosuke OTA, 14. Hokuto NAKAMURA, 15. Daishi HIRAMATSU, 16. Yuichi MARUYAMA, 29. Kazunori YOSHIMOTO, 30. JANG Hyun-Soo, 33. Kenta MUKUHARA
Midfielders: 4. Hideto TAKAHSHI, 7. Takuji YONEMOTO, 8. Ariajasuru HASEGAWA, 10. Yohei KAJIYAMA, 17. Hiroki KAWANO, 18. Naohiro ISHIKAWA, 19. Yohei OTAKE, 22. Naotake HANYU, 27. Sotan TANABE, 28. Shuto KONO, 35. Kohei SHIMODA, 37. Kento HASHIMOTO, 29. Tatsuya YAZAWA
Strikers: 9. ROBERTO CESAR Rodrigues, 11. Kazuma WATANABE, 13. Sota HIRAYAMA, 23. Yohei HAYASHI, 24. Kentaro SHIGEMATSU, 29. LUCAS Severino
Please note: AFC Champions League squads are limited to 30 with the inclusion of four foreign players (one of these four must be from an AFC nation).
Coach?
FC Tokyo are coached by Ranko Popovic, who has been in the position for less than two months after he took over from Kiyoshi Okuma the day after the club-s Emperor-s Cup win on New Year-s Day.
Okuma had been at the helm for two years prior to that.
The 44-year-old Serbian-s first official match in charge of FC Tokyo will be in the Japanese Super Cup, three days before they face Brisbane Roar.
Team colours?
Red and blue.
Team mascot?
Tokyo Dorompa, a Japanese racoon dog.
Tickets for this match are available NOW through Ticketek by clicking this link to visit their website, calling 132 849 or visiting a Ticketek outlet.
