Jeonbuk Motors, South Korea's last representative in Asia's elite club competition, are 10 points clear in the Korean top flight but have not been firing on all cylinders this year due to a host of personnel changes and a drop-off in form.
Jeonbuk's attacking options were diminished when Brazilian duo Edu and Eninho left the club mid-season, and while manager Choi Kang-hee has brought in reinforcements they are taking time to bed in.
However, Jeonbuk are unbeaten at home in the Champions League this season and striker Lee, who turned 36 in April, said team chemistry was improving all the time.
"Overall, we’ve been playing well in the AFC Champions league and as the tournament has progressed the relationships between the players have been getting better and better," said Lee in a statement on Thursday.
"I believe the battle for ball possession in the midfield will be very competitive. The Japanese players are maybe weaker when put under pressure, so we will need to use our physical ability to take control of the game," added Lee, who was named last season's player of the year in Korea.
Choi, who led Jeonbuk to their maiden Champions League title in 2006 and took them to the final in 2011 where they lost on penalties to Qatar’s Al Sadd, said success was ingrained at the club.
"The players have the confidence that they can win in any game, and that winning mentality and DNA can work in the league and in parallel in the AFC Champions League," he added.
Choi said, however, that his side still had some way to go before they could emulate the 2011 vintage.
"The 2011 squad was the best, the current team needs to match that level of maturity and also improve our strength in depth," said Choi, who returned to Jeonbuk in 2013 after a two-year spell in change of the Korean national team.
Jeonbuk, who were eliminated in the last 16 of the competition in the last two years, travel to Osaka for the return leg on Sept. 16.
(Writing by Peter Rutherford; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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