AFC Champions League Round Review (Final)

It’s been a generally positive year for Asian club football on the pitch. While we were expecting a breath-taking assault from the Chinese Super League on the AFC Champions League (ACL), we were left content that the opposition across the continent remains on a similarly high footing. There were the unexpected underdog runs of Lokomotiv Tashkent and El Jaish, but in the end we were left with an all familiar final two, that were amongst the favourites back when the group stages kicked off in March. Korean runners up Jeonbuk Motors edged past Emirati club Al Ain to clinch their first ACL title in 10 years, while Asia’s most sought after talent Omar Abdulrahman is left waiting another year to pick up the continent's top domestic trophy. Here is my take on the final round of 2016 play.

The Player

In an age of zonal marking and a greater emphasis on team philosophy, the role of a man-marker is a rare sight in modern day football, which makes the performance of Jeonbuk Motors’ Choi Chul-Soon ever the more impressive. To successfully mute Asia’s best player in Omar Abdulrahman to all but a few glimmers over 180 minutes is no mean feat, given his usual position on the right of defence. Choi’s year which has culminated in his first national team call up in 3 years now has a cherry on top, with an ACL title for his locker and a deserved man of the round plaudit.

The man marking mission was by no means kept a secret. From the first whistle in Jeonju, Choi became “Amoory’s” shadow, following him from high up the pitch (given Abdulrahman started as a false 9 in the first leg), to much deeper as the tie moved on, with the Emirati playmaker having to drop back, feeling frustrated to look for the space he desired. All seemed to be getting too much for Abdulrahman in the second leg, as he first petulantly kicked out at Choi as early as the 12th minute, before being booked late on as he began to lose his temper. Choi however, remained a calm presence throughout, yet I’m sure I’m not alone in being surprised he escaped a yellow card (or two) over the last fortnight.

Choi’s involvement wasn’t restricted to purely his defensive duties either, and by no means did he look wildly out of position frantically returning to his main duty. In possession he was regularly trusted by his teammates, running the ball out of defence well, and picking the right pass when needed. He even nearly forced a second leg victory, having had his shot blocked in the box, Choi was bundled over on the rebound by the on rushing Khalid Eisa, who was very fortunate not to give away the penalty. An all-round game for the 29 year old then, who goes one step further from his runners up medal in 2011.

The Team

They may not be the most popular of victors, but for the players on the pitch at least (I’ll choose to ignore what’s going on off the field for this moment) this was a well-deserved title victory for Jeonbuk Motors. As I discussed last month, the match fixing scandal which has dominated the news across the continent has turned from being a potential distraction to a very real detrimental causation which has seen them collapse domestically and wobble in Asia. However, from when the season had finished in Korea, Jeonbuk’s focus on the ACL title has looked unfazed within a perfectly worked game plan.

In general this was a team effort, spurred on by their tactician Choi Kang-Hee, but there were key performances at the right time from a number of areas. Skipper and keeper Kwon Soon-Tae was solid throughout, making a number of timely saves, apart from a clumsy penalty giveaway Kim Hyung-Il managed his personal battles with the Ain attack well, Lee Jae-Sung was creative and cool in possession, Leonardo was the difference in the first leg, while super-sub Han Gyo-Won proved to be so in the second.

While some fans will look for further sanctions to be enforced going into a new continental season, man-for-man Jeonbuk are hard to pick apart on the pitch. This was a team victory, yes with the odd Brazilian imported flair within their ranks, but never relying solely on their input. While the Chinese Super League was assumed to run riot in Asia this year, the seasoned professionals of both Korean clubs (Seoul included) that made the ACL semi-finals this year have shown that pedigree and nous can’t be brought in overnight.

The Talking Point

While the pre-final story of eventual champions Jeonbuk surrounded their off-the-field misdemeanours, the positive snippets in the media previews surrounded their opposition’s star Omar Abdulrahman, in what was supposed to be his career defining moment. It may be harsh to write off this as a personal failure, given we’d be probably lauding over him if Douglas had stuck away his second leg penalty, but the comparisons with Leo Messi and Argentina’s 2014 World Cup final defeat (and Higuain’s big missed chance) are there for all to see.

Across the two legs, Abdulrahman was clearly targeted as Al-Ain’s main supply line, and for all the quality of Choi Chul-Soon, Amoory remained able to create something out of nothing, namely Al Ain’s opener in Korea for Danilo Asprilla. He was quieter than normal for sure, but his talent was always on show. He may have not got the time on the ball he needed to dictate play, but there were flashes of close interplay in tight situations and some impressive vision to bring other players into the game.

When we look back on 2016, Omar Abdulrahman will remain Asia’s top player (at least amongst those who still play within the AFC), he was by far the best player over the outgoing ACL campaign, and at times he’s kept his country within a shout of Russia 2018 singlehandedly in World Cup qualification. If ever there was a time to leave for Europe, now surely is? It’s been said countless times before, many have discussed the pros and cons, the player’s perspective and more, but this could be the last chance for the 25 year old to get given a promising opportunity to develop his potential. We’ll wait to see if anyone jumps in for a player who continues to look a class apart within Asia.