December 14 – South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai came from behind to defeat Japan’s Vissel Kobe 2-1 after extra time at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar on Sunday to win the East zone of the Asian Champions League (ACL). They now face Iranian giants Persepolis next Saturday in final.
The completion of the East zone stage of the ACL is a tribute to the resilience of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and their Qatari hosts who also stepped up to stage the final rounds of the West zone qualifiers.
Across a huge football region covered by the AFC that was the first to suspend matches when the pandemic struck, the progression to getting international matches played – whether club or national team – has been fraught with difficulty. Different levels of the virus in different countries and the numerous different international travel and quarantine restrictions left complex and changing logistics to manage.
With the AFC encouraging its member nations to focus on getting domestic leagues played, it has been forced to suspend multiple competitions but drove through its showpiece Champions League club competition which has shone as the jewel in its crown for 2020.
It has proved to be a competition worth waiting for.
Japan’s Vissel Kobe looked to progressing to the final from the East zone with Hotaru Yamaguchi having put them ahead seven minutes into the second half. With 15 minutes left it looked like they had secured the win but Daiju Sadaki goal was ruled out after VAR spotted a foul in the build up.
This left open a door for Ulsan Hyundai who came back with substitute Bjorn Johnsen levelling in the 81st minute, forcing extra time. In the 118th minute, Brazilian striker Júnior Negrão earned and converted a spot-kick to settle the game.
Ulsan Hyundai were the 2012 AFC Champions League winners and now have six days to prepare for the final against Persepolis.
At the same time that Ulsan Hyundai were qualifying, their final opponents Persepolis – Iranian champions for the last four seasons – were boarding an aircraft for their return to Doha and preparation for Saturday’s final.
That match will bring the curtain down on an Asian season that started and ended with hope for a bright future, but in the middle faced the biggest structural and competition-threatening challenge the AFC has ever faced.
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