The notable surprises come the end of this stage, include a severely dented representation from South Korea, after FC Seoul exited in the “Group of Death” to join previously exiled reigning champions Jeonbuk Motors on the scrap heap, while UAE champions Al-Jazira also bowed out offering little. A clean sweep of exits for Australian and Uzbek clubs may have different causations attached to them, but neither was greeted with surprise.
The final 16 lineup includes the following breakdown; West - Iran (3 clubs), Saudi Arabia (2), UAE (2), Qatar (1) and in the East - Japan (3), China (3), Korea Republic (1), Thailand (1). Looking back on the first three months of action, here are my standout points.
The Player
After a few years of Brazilians hugging the headlines, 2017 offers promise that Asian talent is still thriving in domestic football past the genius that is Omar Abdulrahman. The diminutive Emirati (who may finally be leaving this summer) has been at his very best in Al Ain’s progression to the knockout stages, but he can be positively joined in that regard by Omar Al-Somah, Mahdi Taremi, Marat Bikmaev and Rodrigo Tabata who also had great group campaigns. My focus however falls on the constantly influential Nam Tae-Hee, who after 6 years of quality service with Lekhwiya in the Champions League, finally might have the right accompaniment to go further than their record equalling quarter-final finish last year.
Alongside the African duo of Youssef El-Arabi and Youssef Msakni, Lekhwiya have blown away their competition, scoring 15 times, (the highest in the West) whilst scoring 3 goals or more in half of their games, alongside the domestic title. They’ve regularly been a threat over the years, but this campaign feels different. Nam plays an integral part in their success, scoring 4 and laying on at least the same number in their opening three ACL matches. His opening two efforts; arguably the goal of the ACL season so far against Al-Fateh (a late equaliser no less) and their opener against Esteghlal Khuzestan weeks later encapsulated his threat to cut in and provide the sensational from little to no opening.
The worry for opponents goes further than closing down long range efforts, hence the space he’s sometimes afforded in those positions. The speed of thought to either give and go or dribble directly himself has long been his calling card, but his ability with a static ball has risen to meet this. His outside of the foot assist for Msakni against Al-Fateh this week was a marvel, in a match where he may have failed to get on the scoresheet but he fully orchestrated the win. With Lekhwiya in translation, merging with El Jaish over the summer, many have questioned which players will be retained, when you consider the wealth of overseas riches both sides possess. I’d argue that there’s been no better use of the AFC player slot in the Champions League over the last few years than that of Nam Tae-Hee; the newly formed Al-Duhail should snap him up as soon as possible.
The Team
On the back of a historic year of national team football for the country, Thai champions Muangthong United have kept up their side of the bargain going into 2017, clinching a knockout stage progression spot with a game to spare, a first for the country since 2013. The side have by no means scraped through, this isn’t one of those stories of team spirit and tactics playing the main part either; this side as is the case with the War Elephants in World Cup qualification, possess talent in abundance and how they’ve shown it in a difficult group on paper.
Wins against sides from Australia, Japan and South Korea are big calling cards, and they were in the most part dominant victories. When you possess goal power through former Newcastle United striker Xisco, alongside the highly experienced Teersail Dangda and are regularly supplied by the best fullbacks in the business; Theeratom Bunmathan and Tristan Do, you’re always going to start on the front foot. Throw in the magical midfield quality of Chanathip Songkrasin (who scored a mazed Maradona-esc solo goal against Brisbane) and you’ve the makings of dare I say it an ACL contender.
The area I did worry about, (prior to the group stage anyway) was their defence, but after recording 4 clean sheets from 6, including two away in Ulsan and Brisbane, there’s little doubt the Twin Qilins can dig in when needed. In the end the only defeat suffered was their final match, when qualification was assured, and the fact that they knew their destiny beforehand, urgency to win and top the group over Club World Cup finalists Kashima Antlers to set up a match with former ACL champions Guangzhou Evergrande might have been turned down a tad. It’s remarkable to be suggesting this, as Thai clubs have been largely the whipping boys over the last few years; but Muangthong look well placed to make a run for the final.
The Talking Point
The quality on the pitch in Asia is at it’s highest ever level. The concern however is how this can be harnessed to paint a positive picture to the rest of the world, something that the AFC continually fall down upon. General perceptions count against Asian football; Europe (quality), South America (charm, skill), Africa (passion, raw talent) and arguably North America (seen as the future, professionalism) are all seen as desirable locations for football, but everytime Asian football is mentioned; be it Qatar hosting the World Cup or the growth of the Chinese Super League, many deride the lack of heritage and question motives apart from the money. And while there is an element of ignorance and racial stereotypes affixed to this, the AFC need to look closer to home for this to be improved.
The AFC in comparison to other continental federations are relatively wealthy, but you wouldn’t know it by the press surrounding their Champions League and Asian Cup competitions. As Scott McIntyre highlighted this week, the politics of Asian football has been at the forefront of those in power’s minds rather than improving the product that is their game. There is an argument that there’s plenty of social/political/locational boundaries in place that stop a successful product taking flight; ie. the vast landscape of Asia and fraught relations between neighbouring nations, but some of the decisions that have particularly risen this last year haven’t helped matters.
The mess involving Eastern and Guangzhou Evergrande started the competition off in typically farcical fashion. A tense relationship that had already come to a head when China and Hong Kong met in World Cup qualification last year, the AFC surely knew what was coming, but nothing was done to deter each club from going about tarnishing Asian football's name; by excluding fans from games, inciting racist chanting, and fueling an already toxic relationship. There’s always a sense in these matters that the AFC stands back and let's issues play out, that they don’t understand what negative impact it has on the brand.
This goes past sensitive regional relations and goes down to purely simplistic mechanisms, such as TV rights (which are vastly underutilised), marketing of tournaments and disciplinary issues. Jeonbuk’s exclusion which was delayed while they clinched last year’s ACL title showed up all that needed to be said about the AFC - delayed decision making and self-preserving above all. .From the top the decisions rarely make any sense, concluding with the Round of 16 draw which was drawn back in December. Now this would be acceptable if all group games kicked off at the same time, however as was seen on the last matchday Muangthong United and Kashima Antlers squared up knowing the winner would have the more difficult tie to come.
While the product on the pitch continues to rise in quality, the support from it’s federation just doesn’t match it. The divide between West and East continues to grow ever larger, while Australia seems to be off on its own nowadays. With displaced power being thrown around, progress will never be made and Asian football will continue to be a largely forgotten entity in the world game.
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