When the committee that was charged with establishing the initial J.League competition in 1992 was first canvassing teams that wanted to enter the brand new tournament the corporate side of the Sumitomo organization was one of the more enthusiastic voices.
One of the nation’s largest steel manufacturers, its semi-professional football side had existed since 1947 without any great success yet in its push to earn a J.League slot it gambled heavily – twice – and it was a series of moves that lead all the way to Parramatta Stadium this evening.
The first was to sign Brazilian great Zico in the twilight years of his career and the second was to directly confront one of the kingmakers in the establishment of the new league - Saburo Kawabuchi.
With the J.League pushing to only award licences to regions with a population of greater than 100,000, rural Kashima (where the team was based) with barely half that was regarded as little to no hope of earning one of the 10 slots.
In desperation officials met with Kawabuchi who when asked what the team needed to do to convince him told the club, in somewhat optimistic tones, that if they could build a 15,000 seat, football specific stadium then he’d consider their claims.
Plans were rushed through, the league approved and in barely a year the Kashima Soccer Stadium was opened with a match between the now J.League side and Brazilian giant Fluminense.
It’s from - and through - these humble origins that Kashima views its club as one of the outsiders despite the trophy laden two decades since its inception as one of the league’s founding clubs.
The legacy of Zico too lives on with the Antlers perhaps more closely identified with Brazilian football than any club outside the South American nation.
Another of the all-time greats of the selecao, Toninho Cerezo, kicked things off with back-to-back league titles in 2000 and 2001 before Oswaldo Oliveira swept all before him – winning three league titles, two Emperors Cups and a league cup – prior to a relatively lean spell under Jorginho, which led the side to return once again to Cerezo.
He was charged with two simple aims – win and develop the club’s younger players.
Finishes of fifth and third in his first two seasons back hint at an upswing that has him well ahead of the curve.
While 22-year-old national team defender Gen Shoji may be missing through suspension for the clash with the Wanderers, 20-year-old centre back Naomichi Ueda, two 22-year-old defensive midfielders in the outstanding Gaku Shibasaki and Takahide Umebachi will provide the steel while another of the same age, Shoma Doi, will pull the strings in a three-man midfield line that also contains slashing 21-year-old winger Caio.
By any reading this is the dawn of a new-look Antlers.
Veteran midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara, on the injury comeback trail, is only a long-shot to start although he did travel while Brazilian hitman Davi is a long-term absentee – meaning the Wanderers have an ideal opportunity to put a major stake in the road to knockout stage progression.
With a trip to Guangzhou looming on the final matchday Tony Popovic knows just how important three points are at Parramatta Stadium and to that end the entire side will stay at a hotel in the Olympic Park precinct to have what he called the best possible preparation.
Australia defender Matthew Spiranovic is expected to start alongside returning skipper Nikolai Topor-Stanley in central defence.
Yet it’s a pair of central midfielders that are apparently the target of advances from other domestic clubs who may well hold the key to the home side's chances.
Iacopo La Rocca, believed to be in the sights of Perth Glory and Yojiro Takahagi, who is attracting interest from Newcastle Jets, provide the perfect fusion of technique and physical presence that many north Asian sides struggle to counter.
The other difference may well be the in-form Kerem Bulut or Tomi Juric up front – whereas Mu Kanazaki has done a serviceable job on his return from Portugal for Kashima, Bulut has been electric on his introduction to top-flight football in Australia.
Cerezo spoke pre-match of the need to avoid conceding long thrown-ins and set pieces where the home side can use its physicality and with Japanese sides often struggling to adapt to the different tactical vagaries in Asia, the Wanderers have an ideal chance to derail Kashima's continental ambitions.
As Popovic said pre-match, the visiting team travels knowing a loss will eliminate it from the competition.
Sydney was deluged with rain on Monday and with that set to continue there are some concerns that the pitch may not be playable, however should things go ahead as planned this is set to be a vital match.
The reigning Asian champion against one of the region’s biggest clubs with a burning ambition to collect the one trophy it's yet to win - the stakes could barely be any greater.
