Urawa coach Scorza sacrifices principles to win Asian title

2023-05-07 13:15

Urawa coach Scorza sacrifices principles to win Asian title


Urawa Red Diamonds head coach Maciej Scorza admitted he had to sacrifice his football principles to secure their third Asian Champions League title with a win over defending champions Al Hilal on Saturday.


Official statistics show that Urawa didn't have a shot on target in the second leg and had less than 30 per cent possession , but still won the game through Andrea Carrillo 's own goal - both on the night and overall integral.

That goal three minutes into the second half sealed a 2-1 victory on aggregate for Japan after their 1-1 draw in Riyadh last weekend , adding to their previous wins in 2007 and 2017 . Asian champion.

" To be compact and well organized in defense is our aim, " Scorza said of his tactical approach

" We thought we could play more aggressively and hold the ball longer, but that's what we achieved in the first game.

" From the first minute, we don't need to play a very risky game. Normally our aim is to win this trophy. That's our aim.

" Of course we want to win three or five goals, that would be great, but against a team as good as Al Hilal today, we have to beat them.

" It's not every day you win against Hilal so we should respect today's result. "

Coaching for the first time

The championship was Scoza's first coaching in Urawa, and it was less than five months after he was appointed as the club's coach.


He leads the team to sixth place in the current Japanese league standings, and Urawa has shown more in the domestic game after a disappointing season under former coach Ricardo Rodriguez last year. Signs of attacking football.


But that approach was brushed aside during the two-legged AFC Champions League final, with Scorza believing the result proved his more restrained approach.


"We have to remember who our opponent is today," he said. "We've started our work in a good way, now we have to develop our style, try to play more offensively. That's our goal, that's what we want to achieve in the future.


"But the question is: are we ready to play open football today against a team as good as Al Hilal's?"