So players like Uwe Rahn, Uwe Bein and Guido Buchwald made a move to Japan during the closing stages of their career and it was Buchwald who came back as a coach after he retired in Germany. He was hired by his former team Urawa and in 2006 he guided them to the chmapionship and the cup final. So Buchwald recieved a hero's goodbye when he decided to go back to Germany to coach relegated Alemannia Aachen in their quest to get back into the spotlight of the German Bundesliga. He's doing fine there at the moment, by the way (Aachen are currently in 7th place, only 4 points behind a promotion spot). The new coach at Urawa was Holger Osieck, who was the assistant to Franz Beckenbauer when Germany won the World Cup in 1990. So it was no surprise that the Reds made it to the final of the AFC Champions League through a penalty shoot out, something which has always been looked at as a German speciality (at least when you speak to Britains). The first match against the South Korean side of Seongnam Ilhwa ended in a draw and the second leg was also tied after 120 minutes. So they had to move to penalties which brought the win to Urawa 5:3. The Reds will now face Iran's Sepahan in two matches on November 7th and 14th.
Saturday, 27 October 2007
AFC Champions League: German qualities bring the Reds to the final
The name Urawa Red Diamonds was introduced to the German public first when some German players transferred there in the early 1990s. The first German player to fly over to the J-League was Pierre Littbarski, a hero for his long time team 1.FC Cologne. When he announced that he will be playing for Japanese side JEF United Chiba before retiring this sparked a huge interest in Japanese football in Germany. Before the introduction of the J-League only one Japanese player was known in Germany: Okudera Yasuhiko. He also played for 1.FC Cologne in the 1970s helping them to win the championship and the cup in 1978.
So players like Uwe Rahn, Uwe Bein and Guido Buchwald made a move to Japan during the closing stages of their career and it was Buchwald who came back as a coach after he retired in Germany. He was hired by his former team Urawa and in 2006 he guided them to the chmapionship and the cup final. So Buchwald recieved a hero's goodbye when he decided to go back to Germany to coach relegated Alemannia Aachen in their quest to get back into the spotlight of the German Bundesliga. He's doing fine there at the moment, by the way (Aachen are currently in 7th place, only 4 points behind a promotion spot). The new coach at Urawa was Holger Osieck, who was the assistant to Franz Beckenbauer when Germany won the World Cup in 1990. So it was no surprise that the Reds made it to the final of the AFC Champions League through a penalty shoot out, something which has always been looked at as a German speciality (at least when you speak to Britains). The first match against the South Korean side of Seongnam Ilhwa ended in a draw and the second leg was also tied after 120 minutes. So they had to move to penalties which brought the win to Urawa 5:3. The Reds will now face Iran's Sepahan in two matches on November 7th and 14th.
So players like Uwe Rahn, Uwe Bein and Guido Buchwald made a move to Japan during the closing stages of their career and it was Buchwald who came back as a coach after he retired in Germany. He was hired by his former team Urawa and in 2006 he guided them to the chmapionship and the cup final. So Buchwald recieved a hero's goodbye when he decided to go back to Germany to coach relegated Alemannia Aachen in their quest to get back into the spotlight of the German Bundesliga. He's doing fine there at the moment, by the way (Aachen are currently in 7th place, only 4 points behind a promotion spot). The new coach at Urawa was Holger Osieck, who was the assistant to Franz Beckenbauer when Germany won the World Cup in 1990. So it was no surprise that the Reds made it to the final of the AFC Champions League through a penalty shoot out, something which has always been looked at as a German speciality (at least when you speak to Britains). The first match against the South Korean side of Seongnam Ilhwa ended in a draw and the second leg was also tied after 120 minutes. So they had to move to penalties which brought the win to Urawa 5:3. The Reds will now face Iran's Sepahan in two matches on November 7th and 14th.
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