AFC Champions League Round Review (Group Stage)

The culmination of the AFC Champions League group stage is finally upon us. Even if (at the time of writing) the postponed Zob Ahan v Al-Nassr match is yet to be played the outcome is certain; we know our final 16 set to face off in June.

For all the build-up that this was the West’s “year” the quality of football and performance in general has backed this up. The greatest performers have hailed from the Middle East, namely Qatari duo Al Sadd and Al-Duhail, Saudi giants Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr as well as perennial overachievers Zob Ahan. The supporting cast saw a step up in quality also; Al-Zawra’a on debut flew the Iraqi flag proudly (only for their fans to let them down on occasion), while Pakhtakor made a decent fist of escaping a daunting group stage draw.

The East in comparison has been laboured, if thankfully open. Amidst heavy rotation and sluggish form, the big guns progressed as expected, but it remains difficult to pick an out right favourite, from a crowd that looks at a pain to make this competition a priority. The most in form side, current K-League table toppers Ulsan Hyundai muted expectations by losing 5-0 on the final matchday, to finish top with a negative goal difference. It summed up the East perfectly.

There was still magic, drama and emotion still on offer across the continent, and with that here’s a quick rundown of the winners and question marks from the first half of the Asian domestic calendar.

The Player

Backing up a Champions League title win is a difficult ask on any continent, but to do so alongside one of the most competitive leagues around, navigating a ludicrously long domestic schedule and doing so reacting to crucial injuries, and Kashima Antlers’ plight was already looking like a daunting one. But the 2018 champions continue unabated, far from the devastating style they illustrated last term but instead in effective production, relying on individual bursts to see them through to the knockout stages of the ACL on the final matchday.

Given how even things have been in the East, moments of quality have mattered more than consistent waves of performance, and Kashima have indeed benefited from that. Their final day reversal of Group E pacesetters Shandong Luneng tipped them over the progression threshold, in no small part thanks to their goalscorer in chief for this year – one Sho Ito.

On the run up to the 2019 season, few would’ve suggested Ito would become the focal point he has materialised as (even though he was my “cover star” for my ACL preview, I wasn’t expecting it either). Last season’s attack of Yuma Suzuki, Hiroki Abe and Serginho was an eye-catching blend that spearheaded their continental glory. Through injury, lack of form and rotation, the baton has been thrust towards 30-year-old Ito to shoulder the expectation. An electric start to the season both domestically and in Asia (scoring three in their first two ACL matches), Ito has himself struggled for consistency since, but has provided when it mattered.

His double on the final day to force the final three points home stood testament to Ito’s impact this year. Coming alive to a melee in the box following a corner to equalise Marouane Fellaini’s opener, Ito went on to strike the winner, delicately chipping the onrushing keeper with the iciest of nerves. You’d expect Shandong should know better, after all Ito demonstrated the same poise in the reverse fixture two months back.

Ito is an interesting case in general. Never a player that has been considered Samurai Blue material, but his physical attributes alone, both in stature and speed makes him a sought after forward. The clamour for him to receive his first national team callup may seem to be falling on deaf ears at present, but while influential striker Yuya Suzuki remains laid up with the same hamstring injury that curtailed his ACL final appearance against Persepolis last November, Ito is providing the next best option, a player who has kept Kashima right in the reckoning for another extended Asian run.

The Team

Domestic champions for the first time in six seasons, Al Sadd are looking to go one step further than last year’s semi-final run in Asia and have a shot at replicating their ACL triumph a decade ago. In a tough group stage campaign, the Doha club recovered from a weak start to qualify for the knockouts with a game to spare. With question marks in the dugout as well as on the pitch to look at over the summer break, can they emulate Qatar’s national team to succeed continentally in 2019?

Al-Sadd have one of the most terrifying attacks in West Asia, coupling Algerian colossus Baghdad Bounedjah (39 goals from 22 QSL matches last term) with Asian Cup final MVP Akram Afif (26 from 22), teed up by the likes of Spanish legends Xavi and Gabi, Korean international Jung Woo-young and Qatari captain Hassan Al-Haydos. The big names have all stood up at key times in the group stage; Bounedjah’s last minute winner and equaliser against Persepolis and Pakhtakor early on, Xavi’s emphatic double out in Tashkent and Akram Afif’s winner against Al-Ahli, all in their own way demonstrable of the side’s sizeable might in goalscoring positions.

While they have the stars, they can also count on a solid core made up of the bulk of Qatar’s Asian Cup squad. Keeper Saad Al-Sheeb marshals in effect four of the five that performed admirably against Japan in February, giving Al-Sadd the perfect foundations to build off. All signs point to a long and fruitful run towards the finals, but as we reach the off-season break, question marks are starting to be posed of the QSL champs.

Primarily their opponents for the Round of 16 – Qatari rivals Al-Duhail. While Al-Sadd came out on top of the end of the season ladder, recent form suggests a shifting balance; with Al-Sadd having only overcome Al-Duhail once in their last six encounters. After a month of shaky transition, Rui Faria is starting to find his feet in management, and with the return from injury of Almoez Ali, to dovetail perfectly with the growing in stature Edmilson Junior, Al-Duhail can warrant a claim of having as strong a squad, if not stronger than their rivals.

Al-Sadd will indeed have to adapt accordingly after Xavi retired from football upon the group stage completion, coinciding with the exit of the coach that brought their title success Jesualdo Ferreira. While it looks highly likely Xavi will make the transition into management with Al-Sadd, a debut for either himself, or any interim coach against Al-Duhail in June is a daunting task. Whatever transpires, the all Qatari Round of 16 matchup looks to be one of the hottest clashes of the season.

The Talking Point

An injury time goal, that’s all that stood in the way of Pakhtakor making it through one of the most enticing groups in the ACL’s first round. However, for Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s winner for Al-Ahli, Tashkent’s primary club will see out a decade without progression to the continental knockout phase and stretching the country’s record to three years since Lokomotiv’s unlikely run in 2016. In a manner typical of much about Uzbek football of late, there are positives and there are negatives, leading many to ask whether it promises hope of progress in the future, or that they’ve missed their best opportunity yet?

Despite feeling handicapped slightly by the fact they hadn’t kicked a ball over the winter months, come the start of the new ACL season Pakhtakor started like a rocket. Showing no sign of rustiness or incoherence, given their extended layoff compared to their opponents and broadly a newly assembled squad, their form at a well-attended Markaziy Stadium became the bedrock to their campaign. Introducing some of the best Uzbek talent around, in Odiljon Hamrobekov, who joined from Nasaf Qarshi, Javokhir Sidikov from Kokand and welcoming back Dostonbek Khamdamov from Russia, Pakhtakor took what youthful inspiration had been gleamed from a moderately successful Asian Cup campaign internationally and ran with it.

The attacking duo of Serbian giant Dragan Ceran and returning poacher Marat Bikmaev provided the dividends early on. Ceran strikes the opposition as an archetypal target man, but with the link up play and spatial awareness to blossom in behind a frontman, while Bikmaev started where he left off in seasons gone by, scoring in each of the club’s first four continental matches of the season. Half way through they topped the charts; beating Al-Ahli, drawing with Al-Sadd, whilst notching a point away in the Azadi. The early signs were positive.

Their run in however cut them short. Narrow defeats to Al-Sadd in Doha and Al-Ahli in Jeddah (both to late winners) were both critical blows to their progression hopes. A point in either would have seen them through, but the away hoodoo that seems to plague Uzbek clubs in Asia continues unabated. Combining Pakhtakor’s and Lokomotiv’s ACL results this term, 14 points were accrued from a possible 18 at home, while a mere 2 points were picked up away.

The crumbling centre was plainly on display in the dying embers of the Al-Ahli encounter. Neither side were great, but Pakhtakor were able to force an equaliser with minutes to spare. Instead of offering a resolute spell going into added on time, Pakhtakor crumbled and succumbed to the winning spirit of a side who have barely gotten out of second gear during the group stage. As January’s Asian Cup attested, Uzbek football is brimming with promise, but many a talented generation are let down by mentality, something that needs to be ironed out in the coming years if we are to see a return to Uzbek success in Asia.