Mikic sets Sanfrecce sights on twin title assault
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 24, 2014
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Croatian midfielder Mihael Mikic is looking for J.League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima to make a winning start to their AFC Champions League campaign against China's Beijing Guoan on Tuesday. |
Sanfrecce Hiroshima midfielder Mihael Mikic is aiming to banish the memories of the club's disappointing showing in last season's AFC Champions League by launching a successful challenge for the continental crown on Tuesday against China's Beijing Guoan following the weekend's season-opening Super Cup win over fellow qualifiers Yokohama F. Marinos.
Sanfrecce, who defended their J.League title last season but crashed out of the AFC Champions League in the group stage, take on the Chinese Super League side at Big Arch Stadium after claiming the Super Cup on Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 win over Yokohama.
The victory – delivered thanks to goals by Gakuto Notsuda and Takuma Asano – was the perfect warm-up for the new season for Hajime Moriyasu's side and Croatian midfielder Mikic believes last year's chastening continental experience will push Hiroshima on to bigger and better achievements in 2014.
"We're trying to focus this year on the AFC Champions League," said Mikic. "Last year we tried to focus more on the J.League, although we wanted to go into the next round in the AFC Champions League.
"But we didn't have so much experience because the young players were given a chance in the ACL. This year, we have a bigger roster and I think this year we are putting the focus on the ACL and the J.League.
"The young players now are one year older, they have improved and this year we have a bigger roster and we can focus on both competitions."
Sanfrecce have been drawn in Group F and are joined by last year's beaten finalists FC Seoul of Korea Republic and Central Coast Mariners from Australia as well as Beijing, and Mikic is hoping he and his teammates can represent the J.League in a more positive light than last season.
"We want to present our club and the J.League well in the ACL and we want to fight this year for this title," he said. "It's not so simple, but that's how I look at the situation and how we talk about it. We will try our best to represent the J.League well in the ACL."
Sanfrecce's disappointing showing in the AFC Champions League was matched by a slow start in last year's J.League, only for the club to come back in the second half of the season to top the standings for the second year in a row.
Mikic, however, is hoping for a better opening to the 2014 season and is targeting maximum points against Beijing and Central Coast in their first two AFC Champions League matches.
"We always start slowly and nobody is thinking about us, but later we go up and up and we are hiding," said the 34-year-old. "We are here somewhere and then we come through.
"I've watched a little bit of Beijing and they're nothing special, but in the AFC Champions League you never know. We must win. These first two games, the home game and the game in Australia are important and if we win these two games then it's much easier to go to the next round. That's our plan."
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