In this Nov. 1, 2014 file photo, Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers players celebrate after winning the Asian Champions League final against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. The Wanderers travel to Japan's Kashima Antlers Wednesday to kick off the defense of their continental club championship. — AP
SEOUL — It really has been tough at the top for the Western Sydney Wanderers in the months since becoming the first Australian club to win the Asian Champions League title. Struggling and in last place in the domestic A-League with one win from 16 matches, the Wanderers travel to Japan's Kashima Antlers Wednesday to kick off the defense of their continental club championship. No team has won back-to-back ACL titles in the last decade, and the Wanderers appear to be at long odds of ending that drought. The Wanderers, who beat Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in a two-legged final last November, have landed in a tough group that includes 2013 champion Guangzhou Evergrande, 2014 semifinalist FC Seoul and Kashima, the most successful team in J. League history. Kashima has the chance to give the Japanese game a welcome boost. The Japanese national team has been a disappointment to fans in recent times, leaving the 2014 World Cup without a win and exiting the 2015 Asian Cup in January at the quarterfinal stage, its worst showing since 1996. Since then, Javier Aguirre has been fired as coach and no replacement has been appointed. Japanese clubs have failed to reach the Asian Champions League final since 2008. Gamba Osaka was champion then and returns to the tournament along with 2007 winner Urawa Reds and Kashiwa Reysol. The strongest challenge could come from China. Guangzhou Evergrande may have lost Marcello Lippi as head coach but the Italian has been replaced by his 2006 World Cup winning captain. Fabio Cannavaro is bidding to add a fifth successive domestic title to Guangzhou's trophy cabinet while lifting the big-spending club, boosted by the arrival of highly-rated Brazilian Ricardo Goulart signed in January for around $20 million, to a second continental title. Other Chinese clubs have been spending, too. Guangzhou R&F, led by former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, beat Australia's Central Coast Mariners in the final playoff for ACL qualification earlier this month. Beijing Guoan takes on Brisbane Roar in the opening round. South Korea has the best record in the Asian Champions League with 2014 marking the first final not to feature any K-League teams since 2008. Three of its four representatives — Suwon Bluewings, Seongnam FC and Jeonbuk Motors — have been Asian champions in the past while Seoul FC reached the final in 2013. Over on the western half of the draw, Al-Ain will be closely watched. Not only does the United Arab Emirates team possess perhaps the most dangerous striker in Asian football in Asamoah Gyan of Ghana but it is also home to Omar Abdulrahman, one of the region's biggest stars. Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia is determined to bounce back from its unexpected defeat in November's final to Western Sydney to win a third continental crown and has been grouped with 2011 winner Al-Sadd of Qatar. Doha-based Al-Sadd, along with Lekhwiya, makes up the Qatari challenge. — AP ACL groups Group A Al-Nasr (KSA), Lekhwiya (QAT), Persepolis (IRI), Bunyodkor (UZB) Group B Pakhtakor (UZB), Al-Shabab (KSA), Al-Ain (UAE), Naft Tehran (IRI) Group C Foolad Khouzestan (IRI), Lokomotiv (UZB), Al Hilal (KSA), Al Sadd (QAT) Group D Al-Ahli (UAE), Tractorsazi Tabriz (IRI), Nasaf (UZB), Al Ahli (KSA) Group E Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR), Shandong Luneng FC (CHN), Binh Duong (VIE), Kashiwa Reysol (JPN) Group F Gamba Osaka (JPN), Seongnam FC (KOR), Buriram United (THA), Guangzhou R&F (CHN) Group G Brisbane Roar (AUS), Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN), Suwon Samsung FC (KOR), Beijing Guoan (CHN) Group H Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN), Western Sydney Wanderers (AUS), Kashima Antlers (JPN), FC Seoul (KOR).
