TOKYO (AFP) - Urawa Reds are setting their sights on taking AC Milan's scalp after they restored Japanese footballing pride by beating Iran's Sepahan to win their first Asian Champions League title.

Urawa beat Sepahan 2-0 at home Wednesday to win the title 3-1 on aggregate and so booking a spot in the Club World Cup in Japan next month as Asian champions.

"AC Milan will wait for us in the semi-finals if we beat our first opponents in the Club World Cup," Urawa coach Holger Osieck said.

"We want to go all out in order to fight them," the German said of the prospect of facing the European Champions League holders.

"That is to say that fighting AC Milan is very important not only for ourselves but also for Japanese football as a whole."

"Asian champions," "Strongest in Asia," were headlines in Japanese sports dailies Thursday, complete with full-blown front-page pictures full of red, the colour of the J-League title, Emperor's Cup and now Asian Champions League holders.

"Next up is the world," read a headline in the influential Asahi Shimbun. The Sankei Sports daily said: "Conquer the world! Urawa to show their true worth at the Club World Cup."

Urawa's victory -- the first time a Japanese club has won the Asian Champions League -- was seen by some as making up for Japan's failure in July to win a third straight Asian Cup.

Japan also made a winless exit from last year's World Cup in Germany under legendary Brazilian coach Zico.

The Sports Nippon daily hailed Urawa as, "the pride of Japan, the pride of the J-League."

Japan's coach Ivica Osim, a Bosnian tactician who guided the former Yugoslavia to the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals, said: "What is important is not how Urawa played but that they have won the title. You can analyse the match later."

The Club World Cup brings together continental champions. AC Milan and South American champions Boca Juniors of Argentina are seeded in the seven-team 2007 tournament.

Urawa will play the winners of the game between Waitakere United of New Zealand and Sepahan for the right to face AC Milan.

Sepahan qualify because Urawa already had a place as the team from the host nation.

For Brazilian-born Marcus Tanaka Tulio, a defensive lynchpin for Urawa and Japan, the Club World Cup, also known as the Toyota Cup, has long been a dream.

"For Brazilians, the Toyota Cup is at the top. Everybody playing football is hoping to get there," said the 26-year-old, who immigrated to Japan, the homeland of his grandfather, and was naturalised in 2003.

AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi admitted Urawa hardly register in his thoughts.

"I don't know any of the Urawa players," the Italian international told the Sports Hochi daily, adding of the Urawa supporters: "It will motivate me to play before an unfamiliar crowd."