20 Junichi INAMOTO

Position: Midfielder

Date of Birth: 18-Sep-1979

Height/Weight: 181/75

Place of Birth: Kagoshima

Previous Team(s): Seiei Gakuen SC; Gamba Osaka Youth; Gamba Osaka; Arsenal(ENG); Fulham(ENG); West Bromwich Albion(ENG); Cardiff City(ENG); Galatasaray(TUR); Eintracht Frankfurt(GER); Rennes(FRA)

First Appearance: 12-Apr-1997 - J.LEAGUE Div. 1 - Gamba Osaka(vs Bellmare Hiratsuka@Expo '70)

First Goal: 19-Apr-1997 - J.LEAGUE Div. 1 - Gamba Osaka(vs Shimizu S-Pulse@Expo '70)

AFC Champions League: Group E Schedule

Frontale's 2010 campaign gets under way with a tricky Asian Champions League fixture away to K-League runners-up Seongnam Ilhwa FC.

The match will take place on Tuesday, 23rd February - almost 2 weeks prior to the start of the domestic season on 6th March.

Frontale can look forward to a familiar travel itinerary, as they once again face teams from Korea, China and Australia. However, the quality of the opposition looks a step up from last year's, at least on paper.

One would expect Melbourne Victory to provide a stiffer challenge than Central Coast Mariners. And, after the pandemonium in Tianjin last year, the prospect of a trip to China for the final group game must be a little daunting.

Here's the full schedule for Group E.

#	Opponent	Date	Venue
1	Seongnam Ilhwa FC (KOR)	23 Feb (@ 19:00)	Tancheon Sports Complex
2	Beijing Guoan (CHN)	09 Mar (@ 19:00)	Todoroki Stadium
3	Melbourne Victory (AUS)	23 Mar (@ 19:00)	Todoroki Stadium
4	Melbourne Victory (AUS)	31 Mar (@ 19:30)	Etihad Stadium
5	Seongnam Ilhwa FC (KOR)	14 Apr (@ 19:00)	Todoroki Stadium
6	Beijing Guoan (CHN)	28 Apr (@ 19:30)	Beijing Workers Stadium

Inamoto in the Bag?

Junichi Inamoto's move from Rennes to Frontale is a done deal according to the French team's official website.

Nothing official from Frontale yet, but looking at the 2010 squad numbers allocated at the weekend, the number 20 seems to have been set aside for somebody.

Also announced this weekend, at the club's annual season launch show, was a new slogan. Last year's "One Step" wasn't quite achieved, so the powers that be have plumped for "+α"!?

What is this "+α"? Well, it comes from "plus alpha" (or "Plus ALFA" if, like Frontale, you feel the need to stick a gratuitous F in there) - a Japanglish phrase meaning something along the lines of "that little bit extra".

Whether Inamoto can provide the necessary plus alpha for the club to claim their first major trophy remains to be seen.

26 Hidenobu TAKASU

Position: Forward

Date of Birth: 29-Nov-1991

Height/Weight: 175/65

Place of Birth: Aichi

Previous Team(s): Osaka Toin High School

24 Yu KOBAYASHI

Position: Forward

Date of Birth: 23-Sep-1987

Height/Weight: 177/69

Place of Birth: Aomori

Previous Team(s): Takushoku University; Mito HollyHock

8 Takanobu KOMIYAMA

Position: Defender

Date of Birth: 3-Oct-1984

Height/Weight: 174/72

Place of Birth: Chiba

Previous Team(s): JEF United Ichihara Junior Youth; Municipal Funabashi High School; Juntendo University; Yokohama F. Marinos

First Appearance: 12-Aug-2006 - J.LEAGUE Div. 1 - Yokohama-F-M(vs Kawasaki-F@Todoroki)

First Goal: 08-Mar-2008 - J.LEAGUE Div. 1 - Yokohama-F-M(vs Urawa@Nissan)