Japan, 2007. It’s just the third edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a newly-formed competition which is trying to find its space in place of the Intercontinental Cup, previously held between the UEFA Champions League and the CONMEBOL’s Copa Libertadores champions. The format changed in 2005, and Japan was the only constant – it was already the place where Intercontinental Cups were held in the last two decades. But now there was more for the Japanese crowd.
For the first time, indeed, a Japanese club reached the competition – the club just won the 2006 AFC Champions League, after winning the J.League the year before. They could have qualified internally, but their spot was taken by Iran’s Sepahan FC, the club they defeated to clinch the biggest continental honour. It was a marvellous tournament: they defeated (again) the Iranians, then stood up high against AC Milan, losing just 1-0.
In the match for the third place, the Japanese club fought against Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel to have the bast of them and win after penalties. It was a historical moment for the club from Saitama, who had just won the highest honours possible, made history for Japan, and they seemed just at the beginning of a golden age. 18 years later, we know now that’s kind of repeating itself, but we’re at the descending part.
In both cases, Urawa Red Diamonds have written the history of the J.League, despite not being one of the most winning team domestically. And now, after winning two ACLs in six years and playing another final, they are in a pit of planless desperation and mediocrity – especially after the dreadful FIFA Club World Cup just played in the USA (closed with a 4-0 defeat against Monterrey). What happened?
Squad Continental
If Kawasaki Frontale and Kashima Antlers were for long an example of how you can be successful at home and miss the final continental stage, Urawa were (and still are) the reverse. If you look at their cabinet, it’s mostly national and international cups rather than titles. Look at their AFC Champions League campaigns – they won three times, plus the final reached in 2019 against Al-Hilal, producing great continental runs.
Urawa have always been the team good for those Asian nights, especially at home with the kind of support that mostly the Saitama Stadium 2002 can provide. They took part in the competition nine times, they won it at the first attempt, and they rarely crashed out of the group stage. Plus, they won and lived through some epic games:
- 2016 against FC Seoul
- 2017 against Kawasaki Frontale and Shanghai SIPG
- 2019 against Ulsan Hyundai and Guangzhou Evergrande
- 2022 against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
To sum it up: Urawa Red Diamonds have won more AFC Champions League alone than the rest of Japanese clubs COMBINED (three against two). The same goes for the number of finals – Urawa have put together the same number of finals (four) than the other teams combined (2008 Gamba Osaka, 2018 Kashima Antlers, 2023-24 Yokohama F. Marinos, 2024-25 Kawasaki Frontale). It’s a great credit.
Nemo Prophet in Patria
On the contrary, domestic glory has been always tough to reach for the Saitama-based club, especially when it comes down to winning the J.League title – which is what the fans would love the most. Because it’s what you don’t have that always strikes you. And Urawa have lost it a lot of times, mostly by a margin.
The reason why that cycle 2006-07 stayed in the minds of fans is because Urawa was doing very well all over the competitions, and those two years were the peak of a growth. From 2002 to 2004, Urawa reached the J.League Cup final every year, winning just in 2003 – but with a resounding victory, a 4-0 annihilation of Kashima Antlers, brought on from a team led by Hans Ooft, the Dutch head coach who won the first AFC Asian Cup for Japan in 1992. But it was just a spark.
Under German head coach and former Reds player Guido Buchwald, Urawa won the Emperor’s Cup back-to-back in ’05 & ’06. Won the Japanese Super Cup in ’06 as well. They also took part into the A3 Champions Cup, coming 3rd. And most of all – they came in the Top 2 constantly between 2004 and 2007. It was a very successful time – with some iconic players like Shinji Ono, Makoto Hasebe, Masayuki Okano, and Keita Suzuki.
What followed next was some darkness, and then a resurgence under Mihailo Petrovic. After almost risking relegation back in 2011, Urawa got third in 2012, second in 2014, third again in 2015, and THEORETICALLY won in 2016 (74 points against the 72 of Kawasaki Frontale), but the two-stages format deprived Reds from that title. Furthermore, they got five more cup finals, including the J.League Cup won in 2016. But it’s the past.
No Plan
Yes, indeed – because Urawa played many cup finals beyond ACL, winning three more trophies (the 2018 and 2021 Emperor’s Cup, plus the 2022 Japanese Super Cup). But two out of those three trophies came under Ricardo Rodriguez, whose reign was cut short in 2022 for… well, we haven’t understood it yet. And that’s the whole point – Mitsubishi changed a lot in the last decade to never see Urawa reaching the Top 4 in the last eight years.
Six different coaches, and Maciej Skorza coming back to Urawa after being let go in 2023 (and who just refused coaching the Polish national team to stay in Japan…). In 2019, actually, Urawa even risked going down, and even last year there were some dangers along the way. But that’s not only on coaches, because there are at least three more factors playing a role here.
First: foreigners. Besides Thiago Santana and Mateus Savio (who are struggling anyway), it’s hard to state right now that the status of foreign players as a good one – Hoilbraten, Danilo Boza and Gustafsson don’t seem to be out of this world. Alex Scholz did well, but was let go as well. And the whole Kasper Junker kefaffle was never clear once Rodriguez left. Which other left a proper mark in the last 7-8 years? We’d argue Rafa Silva, and… that’s it.
Second: talent. Urawa isn’t producing any at the moment. Besides Zion Suzuki, Daiki Hashioka, and Atsuki Ito, no relevant youngster has left Urawa to leap to Europe. Actually, Reds have become a home for the ones who either had already a European experience and/or failed overseas. The squad is full of those elements – not everyone is bad, but it’s a trend (e.g. Takuro Kaneko, Hiroki Abe, Shoya Nakajima, etc.)
Third: leaders. Urawa isn’t producing any of them either. If you look at the 2017 squad (don’t want to go into ’07, it was a completely different world), Urawa had players like Yuki Abe, Tadaaki Hirakawa, Tomoaki Makino, Tsukasa Umesaki, Tomoya Ugajin, Daisuke Nasu – a very excellent mix of senators and true Reds legends. What’s there today? Shusaku Nishikawa, a true pillar of J.League, but that’s it.
Reds need more than this to actually thrive. No great fans or money in the world will deliver success automatically – and the FIFA Club World Cup might have been a tragic embodiment of this need.
