Japanese football minnows Machida Zelvia one win from fairy-tale Asian Champions League title

TOKYO – Japanese minnows Machida Zelvia have vowed to keep their cool in the Asian Champions League (ACL) Elite final on hostile soil, as they attempt to pull off a major shock by winning a fairy-tale crown.

The unheralded team from Tokyo’s suburbs, led by a former high school coach, battled into the final with a 1-0 win over United Arab Emirates side Shabab Al-Ahli on April 21.

Now they must face down the home crowd in Jeddah on April 25, when they clash with defending champions Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

It was the latest remarkable result for Machida during their debut campaign in Asia’s top club competition, just over a decade after being in non-league – semi-professional – football.

The club were founded in 1989 and mostly played non-league football before joining the newly created J3 League in 2014. They played their debut season in Japan’s top division only two years ago.

Go Kuroda, who spent almost three decades coaching one of Japan’s top high school sides, warned that his team were hitting form at just the right time.

“This is the first time that Machida Zelvia are challenging in Asia and the players are performing really well,” the 55-year-old said, according to the Asian Football Confederation website.

Machida’s surprise run has been built on a remarkably stingy defence – this was their third 1-0 win in a row in the knockout rounds.

“The players stayed focused till the end and that was great,” said Kuroda.

“To keep a clean sheet is our motto and we managed to achieve that, so it gives us confidence.”

Kuroda, who was hired in late 2022 and has masterminded Machida’s unlikely rise to the top of Asian football, added: “The atmosphere will be immense, so we have to keep our composure.”

Yuki Soma’s goal in the 12th minute in front of a sparse crowd in their semi-final in Jeddah was just about enough.

Shabab Al-Ahli were denied a stoppage-time equaliser when Guilherme Bala’s brilliant solo run and finish was ruled out because the Emirati side had restarted play before a Machida substitution was complete.

Their coach, the former Portugal international Paulo Sousa, stormed down the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium’s tunnel in disgust before the full-time whistle.

“We deserved to be in the final but we are not,” he said.

Meanwhile, Al-Ahli had England international striker Ivan Toney to thank for scoring the winner in the 2-1 semi-final victory over another Japanese side, Vissel Kobe, on April 20 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

For the second year running, Jeddah is staging the eight-team centralised Finals of the continent’s premier football competition, rebranded in 2025 as the ACL Elite. AFP