Get to know a little more about Melbourne Victory’s next opponent in the 2019 AFC Champions League, J1 League’s Sanfreece Hiroshima.
Match Day 2 in Group F will take place on Tuesday, March 12. Victory will be hosted in Japan by Sanfreece Hiroshima, where both teams will be looking to bounce back from losses on Match Day 1.
Hiroshima reached the Round of 16 in 2014 and have qualified for the competition on five occasions.
In its opening game, Hiroshima suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Guangzhou Evergrande.
WATCH: Guangzhou v Sanfrecce highlights
How did Hiroshima qualify?
A second-placed finish in the 2018 J-League season secured a Champions League play-off game for Hiroshima.
Sanfreece finished one point ahead of last season’s AFC Champions League winners, Kashima Antlers – but trailed first-placed Kawasaki Frontale, by 12 points.
In its play-off game, Hiroshima faced Thailand’s Chiangrai United. After 120 minutes in Japan, the two sides were goalless and had to be separated by penalties – where Hiroshima scraped through with a 4-3 win.
Key Players
Brazilian striker, Patric is Hiroshima’s most prolific striker. Patric has spent most of his career in Japan and has scored 24 goals in 50 appearances for the J-League side.
Pacey midfielder, Yoshifumi Kashiwa is a key playmaker for Hiroshima. Since joining in 2014, the 31-year-old has played in 160 games for the club and is vice-captain.
Swedish wing-back, Emil Salomonsson joined Sanfreece at the start of the J-League season and scored on his debut against Shimizu S-Pulse.
Recent form
Hiroshima will play its third J-League game of the season this weekend, against Cerezo Osaka.
Last 5 results:
Guangzhou Evergrande 2 – 0 Sanfreece Hiroshima
Sanfreece Hiroshima 0 – 0 Iwata
Sanfreece Hiroshima 1 – 1 Shimizu S-Pulse
Sanfreece Hiroshima 0 – 0 Chiangrai United (Hiroshima won 4 – 3 on penalties)
Sapporo 2 – 2 Sanfreece Hiroshima
