3 Nov 2003(Mon)

As the tension and excitement mounts ahead of Monday's Nabisco Cup final, I have a strong feeling that Urawa Reds will beat Kashima Antlers at Tokyo's National Stadium.

The same two sides met in last year's final, which Antlers won 1-0 with a deflected shot from Mitsuo Ogasawara.

Urawa could have no complaints last year, as clearly they lacked the big-match experience compared to Kashima.

But this season is different, and I would even go as far as saying that Urawa are the favourites.

This may sound strange, as they have still not won any of the three major domestic trophies since the J.League kicked off in 1993.

I have been very impressed with Urawa in the Nabisco Cup this time.

Especially their 2-0 win away to FC Tokyo in the quarter-final second leg, and then their exhilarating 6-1 victory over Shimizu S-Pulse in the semi-final second leg to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the away game.

Urawa, under the Dutch coaching duo of Hans Ooft and Wim Jansen, were on fire at Komaba, and destroyed a very dispirited S-Pulse team.

Brazilian hot shot Emerson scored a quickfire hat trick early in the second half after strike partner Tatsuya Tanaka had softened up Shimizu with two first-half goals.

There was an urgency and a belief about Reds that night, and I cannot see any reason why they will freeze in the final.

Antlers, too, showed their character in the semifinals by winning at Jubilo Iwata, but the dangerous Masashi Motoyama will be missing after recent surgery, and Hirase and Fernando are both suspended.

Toninho Cerezo's squad is stretched to the limit, and it should be a fascinating battle between Kashima's experienced defense and the Reds' young forwards.

The 55,000 or so tickets sold out in just 15 minutes, 15 minutes quicker than last season, and they have been trading for 80,000 yen on the internet.

This will be a cheap price for any success-starved Reds fans, and I believe they will not be disappointed on Monday afternoon.

I think Urawa will win 2-1.

ends