We now know our final two for November’s two legged AFC Champions League final, as Al Ain and Jeonbuk Motors sealed their progression with semi-final victories over El Jaish and FC Seoul respectively. Both clubs have won the title once before in the last 13 years, while both have side stories to focus on namely the brilliance of a certain Emirati playmaker and a bribery case that won’t go away for some time. In the mean time I look back at the key player, team and talking point of the semi-final round.
The Player
Asian football enthusiasts everywhere will be happy to see Al Ain pass through to their first Asian Champions League final in over a decade, as we’ll finally get to see arguably the continent’s best player in the club game’s show piece event. The mercurial genius that is Omar Abdulrahman is set for a potential career defining tie in November’s final with Jeonbuk Motors, after he at times single handily overcame El Jaish in the semis. Undoubtedly the very best performer of last year in Asia, a continental title to boot in 2016 will again give rise to pressure for him to move to Europe.
Amoory is a special player, we all know that, but at times he’s been seen to squander his gifts, especially in the latter stages of the ACL. This year seemed different however, and in the last round he’s clearly stamped his mark. The first leg, and ultimately the match that sealed progression for Ain was all of the little magician’s making. He created the first of Ain’s goals for Brazilian striker Douglas, making it to the bye line before perfectly clipping it to the back post for an easy tap in. Later in the half, he converted brilliantly from distance a wonderfully hit free kick, before again laying on an assist, this time for Caio in the second half, with a helping hand from the keeper.
Travelling to Qatar, Ain pretty much had it in the bag, but Abdulrahman sewed it up. One of the particular highlights didn’t result in a goal but demonstrated the high level in which he’s consistently performing at. A first time whipped through pass from half way to set up Danilo Asprilla was a carbon copy of a pass played through for Ali Mabkhout in the recent World Cup qualifier against Thailand for UAE. Clearly not a fluke, even if it seemed a casual almost arrogantly easy effort. A goal in the second half underlined his performance over the two legs, a type of goal he’s missed from his game over his career, bursting into the box late to finish off the move. He’s on a platform way above anyone at the moment, at least in West Asia; clearly all headlines will be written of his involvement in the run up to the final.
The Team
The unstoppable (Hyundai powered, of course) green machine Jeonbuk Motors continued their excellent continental form easing past national rivals FC Seoul in the semi-finals, confirming their third ACL final in their history, hoping to win it for the first time in 10 years. Despite off the field misdemeanours involving match-fixing which has seen them slapped with a potentially title stripping 9 point deduction and the subsequent loss of form, Jeonbuk continue to fire on in Asia, in the end beating their rivals for the domestic title 5-3 on aggregate.
The last couple of weeks have been tough for Jeonbuk, they’re now viewed through a much grubbier lens than ever before after the bribery allegations and subsequent penalty came into action, and in many ways returning to ACL football for the second leg this week was a welcome side show to their lowering stock within South Korea. The first leg, before this whole mess blew up was a truly professional effort, running up a 3-0 lead in front of a record home crowd before half time. Over the two legs either or both of their wingers Leonardo and Ricardo Lopes proved a threat, while the Seoul defence looked weak in their pursuit to halt the physical presence of Kim Shin-Wook.
The second leg was put to Seoul to provide the backlash, and while they took a half-time lead, Ricardo Lopes put paid to any sort of comeback. While it was far from impressive from Jeonbuk, in reality it didn’t need to be, switching attention back to their domestic run in of two away ties over the next two Saturdays before preparation starts for Al-Ain in November. Whatever the results over the coming month, Jeonbuk can’t come out of this period in a good light, with some calling for their exclusion from the ACL in addition to their domestic sanctions. But make no mistake about it they have the players and experience to prove an unpopular victor next month.
The Talking Point
After scoring his record equalling 13th goal of the ACL campaign, you can safely assume Seoul’s Adriano will be the 2016 Golden Boot winner. If anything strange were to happen, Jeonbuk’s Leonardo (currently on 8) is the next likeliest to win it, non-surprisingly he’s also of Brazilian nationality, something that is hardly new within the Asian game. You have to go back to 2011 for the last time an Asian player topped the goal scoring ranks, rather fittingly Lee Dong-Gook who will likely play a part in this year’s final with Jeonbuk. Should we be concerned with this from a developmental point of view, or is it typical of the world game?
It’s long been the case that to increase your competitiveness on the continental front, you buy in an overseas striker, in most cases a Brazilian (the fact 4 out of the last 5 golden boot winners have been Brazilian is no coincidence). The likes of Muriqui, Elkeson and Ricardo Goulart, who have all shone for Guangzhou Evergrande in the last few years have been the best examples of this. Clubs are tending to use their valuable 3 overseas ACL slots for attacking players, choosing to better utilise their home portion in more defensive areas. Looking out for a stand out Asian forward is difficult for sure. Igor Sergeev still stands as the joint highest scoring Asian, despite not playing a single game since the group stage.
This year’s upcoming final will showcase a typical formula of Brazilians working in tandem with local talent. The aforementioned Omar Abdulrahman alongside his brother Mohammed will work alongside a couple of notable Brazilians in Caio and Douglas, while the creative brilliance of Lee Jae-Sung will look to tee up fellow Korean poachers Kim Shin-Wook and Lee Dong-Gook alongside Jeonbuk’s Brazilian wingers Ricardo Lopes and Leonardo. Casting an eye over to other confederations the same seems to apply but with less made of it given the lack of overseas player restrictions. The fact that Barcelona, who’ve been praised for integrating a truly Spanish philosophy, have relied upon the South American talents of Neymar, Luis Suarez, and of course Lionel Messi over the last few years, lessens the concern for Asia. For now at least South America is clearly the go to region for reliable goal scorers.
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