Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
How they qualified: Winners - Emperor's Cup 2011
Established 1935
Nickname The Gas Men
Home stadium Tokyo Stadium (49,416)
Website www.fctokyo.co.jp
Club Honours
Emperor's Cup winners 1 - 2011
J.League Cup winners 2 - 2004, 09
Previous ACL appearances
Nil
After they suffered the agony of relegation from the J.League's top flight on the final day of the 2010 season, FC Tokyo bounced back in impressive fashion last year as they won promotion at the first attempt by finishing eight points clear at the top of the J2 table.
The Gas Men then capped a magnificent campaign by beating Kyoto Sanga 4-2 in the Emperor's Cup final. It was the club's first victory in the competition and earned them a shot at the AFC Champions League for the first time.
While FC Tokyo have retained many of the players from their successful 2011 campaign, they did suffer a major loss during the off-season when their captain, Japan international defender Yasuyuki Konno, moved to Gamba Osaka after eight seasons with the club.
Kenichi Kaga has joined Tokyo from Jubilo Iwata as Konno's likely replacement and the club have also made a couple of interesting additions with the signing of Japan internationall full-back Kosuke Ota from Shimizu S-Pulse and winger Hiroki Kawano from Tokyo Verdy.
Expectations
It will be interesting to see how FC Tokyo divide their energies between the J.League and AFC Champions League in 2012. While they will be keen to make an impression in their first continental campaign, they will also be wary about stretching their resources too far, particularly after their relegation of two seasons ago.
Coach
Ranko Popovic
With Kiyoshi Okuma stepping down after the Emperor's Cup victory, FC Tokyo have brought in Ranko Popovic as their new manager. The 44-year-old Serbian has previously coached in Japan at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Oita Trinita and Machida Zelvia, who he guided to promotion from the Japan Football League to J2 last year.
Did you know?
The 91st Emperor's Cup final between FC Tokyo and Kyoto Sanga on New Year's Day marked the first time in the tournament's long history that the final had featured two second-tier sides. FC Tokyo's victory made them only the third second-tier side and the first since 1982 to win the country's most prestigious club knock-out competition.
Key Player
Lucas
Brazilian striker Lucas has proven the man for the big occasion and shown a fine knack for scoring in important games for his clubs. The 33-year-old helped Gamba Osaka to win the AFC Champions League in 2008 with three goals in the two-legged final against Adelaide United and he then fired in a brace for FC Tokyo in their 4-2 victory over Kyoto Sanga in last season's Emperor's Cup final.