Kashima Antlers vs Newcastle Jets: Australian club returns to AFC Champions League Elite group stage for first time since 2009
On Tuesday, September 15, Kashima Antlers hosted Newcastle Jets FC in the opening match of the AFC Champions League Elite league phase — the first appearance by the Australian club in the tournament's main stage since the 2008/09 season.
Newcastle Jets, who earned their place in Asian football's top club competition as last season's A-League Men Premiers, travelled to Japan to face Kashima Antlers, one of the J1 League's most storied clubs, in the opening round of the ACL Elite East Region league phase.
Conflicting reports on the venue
Sources disagree on where the match was played: 365Scores lists the venue as "Karshi Stadium" with a capacity of 40,728, while the A-Leagues website and other outlets state the game took place at Kashima Soccer Stadium in Japan — the latter appearing far more plausible given the fixture. The Newcastle Herald adds that the stadium holds around 40,000 spectators, a striking figure considering the city of Kashima itself has a population of only about 67,000.
A vast financial gap
According to the Newcastle Herald, Kashima's 29-man squad is valued at roughly $31.5 million AUD on the transfer market, compared to the entire A-League salary cap of just $2.55 million last season. Kashima goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa, last season's J-League Player of the Year and a Japan World Cup squad member, is valued at $3.2 million. The Herald reports that striker Yuma Suzuki alone is worth more than the Jets' entire wage bill, while the A-Leagues preview highlights a different Kashima forward, Brazilian Leonardo de Sousa Pereira, who has scored eight goals in six matches this season.
Form and history
Kashima sit eighth in the J1 League after three straight defeats, despite winning their opening four matches of the season. Even so, they are strong at home in continental competition, having lost just one of their last nine home ACL Elite fixtures. Jets great Jason Hoffman recalled that the club progressed from the group stage in 2009 before losing 6-0 to eventual champions Pohang Steelers in the round of 16, and lost a 2019 play-off to Kashima itself 4-1.
Squads and tournament format
The Jets lost several players over the off-season, including Eli Adams to Gamba Osaka, but brought in Joe Lolley, Nikos Vergos and others. Max Burgess has been named permanent captain for the first time, with Joe Shaughnessy as vice-captain. In the group stage, the Jets will also face Shanghai Port, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Kashiwa Reysol, Gamba Osaka, Vissel Kobe, Beijing Guoan and Kyoto Sanga. The eventual champion will earn $10 million USD (about $14 million AUD), with Saudi club Al-Ahli defending their title.
