Saturday, December 10, 2011

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11.12. (Sun) 11:30 Kashiwa Reysol - Monterrey

Kashiwa Reysol - Auckland City
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 PROBABLE LINEUPS
KASHIWA REYSOL

Sugeno
Kondo, Masushima, Hashimoto, Mizuno
Leandro, Otani, Barada, Wagner
Tanaka, Kudo
MONTERREY

Orozco
Basanta, Meza, Mier, Cardozo
Delgado, Perez, Chavez, De la Pena,
Suazo, De Nigris
Hosts Reysol are coming off a mostly-effortless win over Auckland City on Thursday night, and should return to Toyota Stadium with most of the the same starting lineup. The lone exception is left-back Hiroki Sakai, who sustained a knock to his knee in the middle of the play-off match. Former Celtic player Koki Mizuno, who came on for Sakai after the injury, is likely to start in his place.

Monterrey have struggled this season, placing just 11th in the Mexican Primera Division. Coach Victor Vucetich has called his Japanese opponents "very organised and disciplined," but his side will believe that they can secure the win that would set up a semi-final face-off with Brazilian outfit Santos. The team will be led by captain Luis Perez, who was a member of the Necaxa who beat Spanish giants Real Madrid in a shootout to win third place in the 2000 edition of the tournament.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • This marks the first Club World Cup appearance for both sides.
  • Monterrey took 16 out of 18 possible points in the group stage of the Concacaf Champions League, going unbeaten in their 12-match campaign.
  • The 2011 Club World Cup is Monterrey captain Luis Perez's sixth appearance in a Fifa tournament. His previous appearances include World Cup 2006, the 2005 Confederations Cup, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2000 Club World Cup, and the 1997 Under-17 World Cup.
  • Monterrey's home ground is the Estadio Tecnologico; with a capacity of over 32,000, it is twice as large as Kashiwa Reysol's Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium.
  • Kashiwa Reysol midfielder Masakatsu Sawa spent four seasons playing in Peru and was even offered a chance to play for the Peruvian national team, but chose not to relinquish his Japanese citizenship.
  • Reysol led the J-League for nearly two-thirds of the season, but needed a win on the last weekend of play to secure their first-ever championship.