Can Jeonbuk break Asia's Club World Cup hoodoo?

The Club World Cup kicks off tomorrow in typically illusive fashion. I almost feel ashamed it’s crept up on me so quickly, yet the marketing for the competition remains low key to say the least. Considering the magnitude that should come with the tag of “World Champions”, FIFA have only really started pushing their highest club accolade in the last week, previously choosing to focus on their new “Best 11” awards series, which narrowly but predictably focuses solely on player’s plying their trade in Europe.

That has long been the issue with the Club World Cup, it doesn’t interest Europe. Its timing is terrible; the tournament kicks off before a European mid-week slot has concluded, it runs through a period where the majority of leagues are still playing competitive league football, but most pertinently the award doesn’t grant the current European champions any extra credibility back home.

Europe has won 8 out of the last 9 competitions, not at a canter by any means, and in most cases they’ve merely strolled through the two matches needed to ensure the title. The only defeat, Chelsea’s to Corinthians in 2012, was met with little criticism given its lack of profile back in Europe. Chelsea could return home ahead of more important matters being their league form, which the whole fan base were more concerned about, without a single eye brow raised across the continent.

For the rest of the world this instead is seen as the key opportunity to test their mettle with the very best, an actual attempt to clinch a sought after global accolade. Within Asia this remains the case. The timing of the tournament is ideally placed for them given the AFC Champions League final was only contested two weeks ago. This year’s champions Jeonbuk Motors, have the run of form, no domestic distraction and the incentive to contest for the trophy.

The gulf in class between Asia and Europe, let alone anyone else and Europe, makes a triumph extremely unlikely however. Even if they were able to make it through, to say the final (something that hasn’t ever happened in the tournament's 16 year history), by beating their European counterparts, little would be made of the achievement in the West. In reality, in this sort of scenario, the European side (Real Madrid) would be seen to have played in 2nd gear, to have put less effort in than necessary, and to be honest that would likely be true.

At the beginning of the year, the Chinese Super League ramped up spending for another transfer window in succession that finally demanded the attention of Europe. The signings were grander than ever before, while players were being swayed in their peak (rather than at the end) of their careers from leading European clubs and no less lucrative deals to ply their trade in a league that continues to be criticised as being below par.

This view is generally accurate, as long as you're comparing par to the standard of a Top 5 European league, the CSL has a long way to go, but with spending set to increase again this year the gap will close, and the question is what will be the yard stick used to plot this decreasing divide? The Club World Cup, at present, if not in the long term with reported plans to create a global Champions League type of format, is the only recognisable “semi-competitive” environment to test clubs against one another from different continents.

Since the increased awareness of Chinese football, with the inevitable scepticism and ignorant slating that comes from the Western media towards this, I rooted for the likes of Guangzhou Evergrande and Jiangsu Suning in this year’s Asian Champions League, to clinch the trophy and set up the intercontinental end of year Battle Royale I’d hope for in Japan this week. I went too far ahead of myself at the prospect, we’re a long way from China competing with Europe, this can be illustrated by both side’s stunted progress in even their initial continental challenge. A football superpower isn't created overnight.

Attention switches to personnel, namely Asia’s leading light in Omar Abdulrahman. Clearly a talent that has outgrown his continent, ready for the test that Europe can offer him. The stumbling block in his way seems to be trust, he’s never going to have Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United come in for him, on the wages he desires, with a first team fast track written into his contract. His nationality stops this to a degree; however talented an Emirati player is, a so called big club isn’t going to roll out anything more than a short term contract on modest wages.

In this case a Neymar-esc shop window at the Club World Cup could be hoped for. When Barcelona cruised past Santos in 2011 to seal their CWC title, Neymar for the most part was a mere spectator, but it was at least a chance for clubs to run the rule over a player against top class opposition. I would never expect Abdulrahman or Al Ain to challenge the likes of Real Madrid, but it could potentially be a bridging opportunity to generate interest in a move.

In the end of course football is played on the pitch by a team of 11 men, merely money thrown in from China or a one man magician in the shape of Abdulrahman is no match for the best all-round team in Asia at the moment, being Jeonbuk Motors. Functional, over any real wow factor, no big names (outside East Asia anyway), but the best unit of the year, the most worthy candidate to take on the rest of the world.

Their draw is tough, they’ve been paired with the CONCACAF champions America of Mexico in the quarter-finals, a hurdle where Asia representation has fallen twice over the last four years. On the other side, being drawn against either the African or Oceania champions has proved an easier route in the past, while aside to Guangzhou last year (which conveniently was against America also), Asia have usually been one step behind their North American equivalent.

It would however set up the glamour tie that all Asia wants; an encounter with UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid. Putting aside the fact we won’t have the chance of an intriguing battle of new money vs. old money, or Amoory vs. CR7, Jeonbuk v Real still offers something, if not too much promise. Until one of these matches, however fortunately it may come, falls for the underdogs, I think we’ll continually hear snobbery at the culmination of the end of year showpiece, which is continually ignored across Europe. I’ll be left with hope though, however small, that this could this be the year Asia makes it's way to the final.

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.

AFC Champions League Round Review (Semi-Finals)

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.

AFC Champions League Round Review (Quarter-Finals)

Last week saw the AFC Champions League narrow down to the final four, with the second legs of the Quarter-Finals taking place across the continent. Lokomotiv Tashkent’s impressive journey as one of the tournament’s most talked about underdogs is over after losing to Al Ain, while El Jaish were gifted much of their result after Al Nassr had to forfeit their comfortable first leg victory over player ineligibility. In the East it was a clash of countries with Korea Republic’s K-League coming out on top; meaning Jeonbuk Motors and Seoul will contest for a final place at the expense of Chinese Super League duo Shanghai SIPG and Shandong Luneng.

The Player

With Omar Abdulrahman struggling through illness, failing to make a greater impact than he did against Lokomotiv, Al Ain had to turn to a resolute defensive performance to overcome their Uzbek opposition and make it to the final 4, led strongly by the ever improving Khalid Essa in goal. Back-to-back clean sheets alongside a string of saves to keep them in it over the two legs, Essa’s really starting to put his name forward as one of West Asia’s top keepers, after only really breaking through on the international scene over the last couple of years.

His problems previously have surrounded his stature, hardly a keeper’s build at just over 5’6’’ and relatively slender also for his positioning. He has all of a sudden seemed to show confidence, be it in claiming crosses or contesting 50-50 challenges while upping his regularity on what he’s always been good at, spectacular saves or bursting off his line at speed. His form has now cemented him a place in the national side, which he carried forward into last week’s WCQ’s producing a couple of notable performances against Japan and Australia.

Back to the Champions League, and you can reel off tie defining moments; from his save to deny a long range effort from Sandjar Shaakhmedov in the first leg, before brilliantly denying Marat Bikmaev late on in Tashkent. I’ve always had a worry over Essa, mainly due to his style which can often leave him being labelled as quite erratic. Over the last month however, his performances have become consistent and dare I say it solid, a true run of form which he’d hope to take through to the semi-final with El Jaish.

The Team

Hulk’s long awaited debut in the ACL for his new club Shanghai SIPG turned from anti-climax to downright embarrassment within 45 minutes as Jeonbuk Motors hammered the Chinese outfit 5-0 on Tuesday. Shanghai were touted as the Chinese Super League’s greatest hope after Guangzhou Evergrande swiftly exited in the group stage, but the Korean champions proved that their experience and team chemistry are still worth plenty above that of a growing SIPG side and their glamourous star striker.

The tie was finely poised, 0-0 in China before heading back to Korea this last week. While the match stayed level going into half time, Jeonbuk were clearly the better side creating plenty of promising openings, it seemed a case of when rather than if. And when it did come, it well and truly open the flood gates. Jeonbuk scored two within quick succession; a well worked move ended emphatically by Brazilian winger Leonardo from outside the area before Lee Jae-Sung, who’d openly snubbed CSL the day before, mazed through the limp SIPG defence before forcing an own goal by Shi Ke.

The goals kept coming after Lu Wenjun saw red (rather unfairly) for Shanghai for a high boot, Leonardo scoring from the penalty spot before substitute Lee Dong-Gook added a brace late on. In truth Jeonbuk ran riot in attack, in a match that was reminiscent of the same nation’s competing on the international stage in last week’s World Cup qualifiers. While the score wasn’t as emphatic, the nous, quality in the final third and general game plan displayed by the Koreans was again streets ahead of that of Chinese. It’s been an admirable debut ACL campaign for SIPG, but a demonstration in class by East Asia’s leading side at present Jeonbuk shows they have much more work to do.

The Talking Point

While much has been digested over Wanderley’s forged passport situation, the talking point concerning the football on the pitch surrounded the aforementioned billed coming of age round for the Chinese Super League sides. In the end they flattered to deceive, with both Shanghai SIPG and Shandong Luneng exiting to Korean opposition. While much will be put on the supposed false dawn of the Chinese Super League, there are areas to explain the last week’s round of exits rather than simply the league’s glamour clubs aren't living up to their lofty expectations.

Firstly the run of form the clubs have experienced. The fact Shandong at least made it through to this stage of the competition was a relative surprise given their struggles domestically and their changing managerial situation, while Shanghai themselves look to a distance behind ACL qualification also at present. While money has been continually splashed across the league, Shanghai have been less than fortunate in terms of injury, Hulk made his debut in the ACL in the second leg after missing much of his short spell with SIPG through a knee injury, while further setbacks for Dario Conca and Elkeson left the physical Brazilian broadly alone in attack on Tuesday.

The other area to comment on is pure quality, which isn’t going to improve over night, especially against such experienced campaigners like Jeonbuk and Seoul. Last week we saw the league’s national teams do battle with similar results, the truth is the Chinese local talent base needs time to improve to reach continental class levels. It doesn’t matter how much overseas talent is brought in, if the foreign player cap remains, the home based players need to pick up the slack. While Jeonbuk and Seoul regularly rely on the likes of Lee Jae-Sung, Kim Shin-Wook and Kwak Tae-Hwi within their ranks, the Chinese outfits have yet to develop those players with that sort of experience to call upon.