This year’s AFC Champions League final has set up a contest between the competition’s newest team and the continent’s most decorated side for the title of Asia’s best soccer club.
Formed just two years ago, Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers are just a step away from lifting the continental title and earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup after a fairy-tale lead into today’s first leg at home.
The Wanderers have knocked out several top sides, including defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande of China in the quarter-finals and 2013 runners-up Seoul of South Korea in the semi-finals, but coach Tony Popovic does not want to hear his team have done well just to qualify, saying the club has always had high ambitions.
Photo: Reuters
“We don’t want to be a club where you look back and say: ‘You made the final, well done, but you didn’t produce when it mattered,’” Popovic said at a press conference yesterday.
Western Sydney are looking to become the first Australian club to lift the title, but standing in their way in the final are Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal.
Al Hilal have amassed dozens of international and domestic titles during their 57-year history, including a pair of Asian Club Championships in 1991 and 2000.
“I’ll have no fear looking in their eyes,” Popovic said. “While I’m extremely proud of the group, we’re here to win the final. Our only focus is to be champions.”
The final will be decided over two games, with the first leg at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney’s western suburbs today and the return match at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh the following Saturday.
Much could hinge on the opening encounter at the compact 20,000-seat Sydney ground, where the Wanderers have proven formidable during their debut season in the AFC Champions League.
The Wanderers lost 3-1 to 2012 champions Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea in their opening game in February, but they have since won five consecutive matches at home without conceding a goal.
While Western Sydney could be without forward Brendon Santalab due to a hamstring strain, Popovic is confident that his side can rise to the occasion once again.
While Al Hilal have twice been crowned Asian champions, this is the first time that they have reached the final since the competition evolved into the AFC Champions League in 2003.
They took only two points from their first three games this season, but then went on with striker Nassir al-Shamrani netting 10 goals and goalkeeper Abdullah al-Sudairy keeping eight consecutive clean sheets, which culminated in a 3-0 victory over highly-fancied Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the first leg of the semi-finals.
Despite losing 2-1 in the return match, they progressed 4-2 on aggregate and have left little to chance for the final, arriving in Australia a full week before the first leg to acclimatise.
“We’re a very big team — one of the biggest in Asia — but we respect our opponent and in a final it’s 50-50,” Al Hilal coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said yesterday. “Tomorrow will be a very tough game for us, but I hope for a good result.”
One player who is determined to taste glory with Al Hilal is South Korean defender Kwak Tae-hwi, who captained Ulsan to victory two years ago, before moving to Saudi Arabia.
“A second victory in the AFC Champions League would rewrite history for myself and Al Hilal,” the South Korea international centerback said. “The AFC Champions League is very big and I hope to win it again.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS