Brazilian striker Lucas Severino scored a double as FC Tokyo beat Kyoto Sanga 4-2 to become the first second division side to win the Emperor's Cup on Sunday. Tokyo, who had already won the J.League second division title, qualified for the Asian Champions League with victory in a scrappy final in front of 41,000 at National Stadium.
It was also a first Emperor's Cup triumph for Tokyo, who came from a goal down to win the tournament's first final contested by a pair of clubs from the Japanese second tier. "I want to say a big thank you to the players," Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma after his last game before taking up a front office job at the club.
"It's been a great season and to complete it with a first Emperor's Cup title is special. I think we've shown we can live with life in the first division next season." Japan defender Yasuyuki Konno quickly cancelled out Hiroki Nakayama's 13th-minute opener with a smart header before a dipping Masato Morishige free kick put Tokyo in front. Lucas smashed in a third goal to knock the stuffing out of Kyoto three minutes before halftime and silence the purple half of the New Year's Day crowd.
The former Rennes striker superbly clipped in his second after 66 minutes, effectively killing off the game, before Yuya Kubo headed home to add some respectability to the scoreline. Tokyo captured the J.League Cup in 2004 and 2009 while Kyoto lifted the Emperor's Cup in 2002.
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