🇯🇵 Machida Zelvia could become Asian champions after the unlikeliest rise from obscurity

A former high school coach has made the AFC Champions League final!

As anti-heroes go, Machida Zelvia are about as captivating as they come.

Less than a decade ago, they shared a clubhouse with a fitness club for pensioners. 13 years ago, they were in the Japanese fourth tier and 12 years ago, their manager was coaching high school football.

Now, Zelvia are preparing for their first-ever continental final in their first-ever AFC Champions League Elite campaign. Nobody could have envisaged this.

Saturday’s showpiece match will be the culmination of a story that has charmed so many in Asian football this season.

All that stands in Machida Zelvia’s way is a big-spending Saudi Arabian opponent. There’s a David and a Goliath, and it’s easy to tell which is which.