By Michael Church
TOKYO (Reuters) – Urawa Red Diamonds coach Maciej Skorza will be looking to erase a blemish on his resume that has lingered for more than a decade when he takes the Japanese side into the group stages of the Asian Champions League next month.
The defending champions confirmed their place in Thursday’s draw with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong’s Lee Man on Tuesday, with Skorza set to lead the club on their quest for a record-equalling fourth continental crown.
Skorza steered Urawa to victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal in the Asian Champions League final in May, five months after replacing Ricardo Rodriguez with the Spaniard having already guided the team through the group phase and into the decider.
But while the Polish coach has an Asian Champions League winner’s medal in his trophy cabinet, he still wants to make amends for his previous personal failure in the competition.
“I think this participation in the group stage is very important for our club and also I think for Japanese football,” said Skorza.
“But for me this is a very special day because I had experience from the Champions League around 10 years ago when I was coaching in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq.
“We were playing in the group but we didn’t qualify from the group, so now I’ve got the chance to make this step forward.”
Al-Ettifaq were eliminated at the end of the group phase in 2013, finishing third behind Qatar’s Lekhwiya and Al-Shabab Al-Ahli from the United Arab Emirates.
At the end of his only season in Saudi Arabia Skorza re-established himself back home in Poland, winning the league with Lech Poznan in 2014-15, and again in 2021-22 during another stint at the club before moving to Japan to take over at Urawa.
With the group stage set to start on Sept. 18, the 51-year-old said his side had to focus on the challenges ahead.
“In (the) meeting before the game I mentioned that around four months ago we celebrated winning the final of the Champions League,” he said.
“If we wanted to repeat this situation we had to make the first step.”
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Peter Rutherford)
