ANTLERS HANDCUFF PERSEPOLIS FOR FIRST ASIAN CLUB TITLE

At Tehran, Iran:

A 0-0 Saturday road stalemate in the second game of the AFC Champions League enable Kashima Antlers to defeat Persepolis 2-0 on aggregate for their first Asian club championship.

The Antlers will play in the quarterfinal round of the FIFA Club World Cup as they will face Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara on December 15 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

AFC Champions League Final: Antlers Blank Visiting Persepolis In Series Opener

At Kashima, Japan:

In Saturday's opening game of the AFC Champions League Final, Leo Silva (58') and Serginho (70') each scored once in the second half as Kashima Antlers blanked visiting Persepolis 2-0.

The series will conclude next Saturday in Tehran.  The winner would reach the quarterfinal round of the FIFA Club World Cup, set to take place next month in the United Arab Emirates.

CRISTIANO RONALDO HAT TRICK CARRIES GALACTICOS PAST GUTTY ANTLERS IN OT FOR FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP TITLE

At Yokohama, Japan:

Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a natural hat trick on Sunday with his successfully-converted penalty kick in the 60th minute (shown here with Kashima goalkeeper Hitoshi Sogahata looking on) and a pair of overtime tallies (98', 104') as Real Madrid battled back and defeated Japan's Kashima Antlers 4-2 in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The title was the second for the Spanish titans who won Europe's club title this past May.

Associated Press photo by Shuji Kajiyama

Earlier on Sunday, also at Yokohama, after a 2-2 draw through 120 minutes, Jhon Mosquera, Daniel Bocanegra, Macnelly Torres, and Miguel Borja all converted their spot kicks as Atletico Nacional defeated Club America 4-3 in the penalty-kick shootout and won the third-place match.

FC Tokyo Gored By Antlers

At Kashima, Japan:

Junior Dutra delivered a hat trick (18', 71', 87') as Kashima Antlers received a big boost in their fight to avoid relegation from the J.League with their 5-1 Saturday home domination of FC Tokyo.

Struggling Antlers Post Road Win At FC Tokyo's Expense

At Chofu, Japan:

Yasushi Endo delivered the game winner in second-half stoppage time (90'+4) as Kashima Antlers, off to a rough start in the J.League campaign, knocked off FC Tokyo 2-1 on the road on Saturday.

Antlers Settle For 1-1 Season-Ending Road Draw

At Yokohama, Japan:


Masashi Oguru's equalizer in the 66th minute carried Yokohama F. Marinos to a 1-1 J.League season-concluding home draw with Kashima Antlers on Saturday.  Yuya Osako scored at 32 minutes for the visitors, who finished the 2011 league campaign in 6th place.  Kashiwa Reysol won the league crown by one point over Nagoya Grampus.  Those two clubs, along with Gamba Osaka, will play in the group stage of next year's AFC Champions League.  Ventforet Kofu, Avispa Fukuoka, and Montedio Yamagata, who finished in the bottom three spots, have been relegated.  Their places in J1 will be taken by FC Tokyo (which will be followed on this blog next year), Sagan Tosu,  and Consadole Sapporo.

Antlers Break Open Scoreless Stalemate With Three Second-Half Goals

At Kashima, Japan:


Fellype Gabriel (50'), Takuya Nozawa (70'), and Alex Santos (73') each delivered a goal as Kashima Antlers broke open what had been a scoreless deadlock with three goals in the second half and defeated visiting Shimizu S-Pulse 3-0 in Saturday J.League action.

Late Goal Gains Road Draw For Antlers

At Saitama, Japan:


Shinzo Koroki's late equalizer (90') carried Kashima Antlers to a 1-1 J.League Saturday road draw with Omiya Ardija.  Chun-Soo Lee scored for the hosts in the 67th minute.

Rafinha Sinks Antlers

At Suita, Japan:

In Thursday J.League action, Rafinha scored the lone goal of the match in the 58th minute as Gamba Osaka found themselves in second place in the league standings (two points in back of front-running Kashiwa Reysol with three games remaining) following their 1-0 home win over Kashima Antlers.

Antlers Settle For 1-1 Home Draw

At Kashima, Japan:


Takuya Nozawa's penalty kick in the 63rd minute enabled Kashima Antlers to salvage a 1-1 J.League home Saturday draw with Vissel Kobe.  Popo scored at 54 minutes for the visitors.

Big Win On Road Puts Antlers On Cusp Of Staying Up

At Iwata, Japan:

Kashima Antlers all but officially assured themselves of another season in the J.League top division following their 2-1 Saturday road win over Jubilo Iwata.

Antlers Knocked Off At Home

At Kashima, Japan:


Masato Kudo scored the only goal of the match (31') on Sunday as Kashiwa Reysol knocked off Kashima Antlers 1-0 on the road in J.League action.

Antlers Held To Scoreless Home Draw By Struggling Reds

At Kashima, Japan:


In Saturday J.League action, the contest between hosts Kashima Antlers and Urawa Red Diamonds ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Antlers Drop Points At Home And Settle For Draw

At Kashima, Japan:


Teruki Tanaka's equalizer in the 82nd minute lifted Nagoya Grampus to a 1-1 Sunday J.League road draw with Kashima Antlers.  Chikashi Masuda scored at 77 minutes for the hosts, who dropped to sixth place in the league standings.

Late Goals Carry Antlers To Road Draw

At Niigata, Japan:


Daiki Iwamasa (74') and Yuzo Tashiro (79') left it late on Saturday as Kashima Antlers erased a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 J.League road draw with Albirex Niigata.  Isao Homma (44') and Bruno Lopes (67') each scored once for the hosts.

Butt-Kickin' Win For Antlers

At Kashima, Japan:


Yuzo Tashiro (19', 88') and Yasushi Endo (45', 80') each scored twice, tallying once each half, as Kashima Antlers gored visiting Avispa Fukuoka 6-0 in Sunday J.League action.  The basement-dwelling visitors are already closing in on assuring themselves of relegation as they are currently 16 points adrift from safety with ten game remaining while Antlers remain in fifth place in the league standings.

Antlers Winning Streak Ends At Five But They Still Get Point On The Road

At Kofu, Japan:

Yoshiro Abe's 74th-minute equalizer lifted relegation-threatened Ventforet Kofu to a 1-1 Wednesday J.League home draw with Kashima Antlers, ending the visitors' five-match winning streak.  Yuzo Tashiro scored at 61 minutes for Antlers.

Five Straight Wins For Antlers

At Kashima, Japan:


Daiki Iwamasa (65') and Takuya Nozawa (87') provided the scoring on Saturday as Kashima Antlers racked up their fifth consecutive J.League victory, 2-0 over visiting Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Four Wins In A Row For Antlers

At Kashima, Japan:

Yuya Osako (56') and Chikashi Masuda (74') provided the scoring on Wednesday as Kashima Antlers came from behind to top visiting Cerezo Osaka 2-1 for their fourth straight J.League victory, enabling them to climb up to sixth place in the league standings.

Antlers Continue Comback With Road Win That Moves Up Them To Eighth

At Sendai, Japan:

In Saturday J.League action, Fellype Gabriel's successful penalty kick at 29 minutes provided the lone goal of the match as Kashima Antlers knocked off hosts Vegalta Sendai 1-0 to climb up to eighth place in the league standings and 11 points above the relegation zone.