Ulsan crowned champions of Asia
Marathon tournament finally comes to an end in Qatar almost a year after it began
South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai ended a difficult year by defeating Persepolis of Iran 2-1 in the final of the AFC Champions League on December 19 in Doha, Qatar.
Goals number six and seven in the tournament from joint-top scorer Brazilian striker, Junior Negrao, also the leading goal-getter in the 2020 K League, gave Ulsan what was a deserved win after Persepolis had taken the lead.
It also gave the Tigers a second Asian title to add to the first won in 2012. For Persepolis it is a second final defeat in three years and the Tehran club, one of the best supported on the continent, are still waiting for a first Asian crown. Iran have been waiting since 1993 when Pas won the old Asian Club Championship.
That fact rankles in the football-mad country but at least the 2020 AFC
Champions League is finished, a full 11 months after it had started. It was a real slog. Most teams had played one or two group-stage games before the tournament was originally suspended due to coronavirus (though three of the four Chinese sides didn’t even manage one) back in March. The restart was pushed back to June and then September and October for the western zone, and November and December for the east.
Qatar hosted all the games after the action resumed and did well. There was a major outbreak among the Al Hilal squad in September but most believe that this had started before the team left Saudi Arabia. In the end, over 30 players and staff tested positive which resulted in the defending champions being forced to withdraw despite already having booked a place in the knockout stage.
Persepolis eventually came through in the west, defeating Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia in a semi-final penalty shoot-out, and had to wait more than two months to find out their final opponent from the eastern half of the draw.
The three Australian teams had not played since August and were almost treating the trip to Qatar as pre-season for the new A-League campaign that was due to kick off on December 27. Perth Glory, Sydney and Melbourne Victory were worried that if they reached the final then they would
be quarantined back home for Christmas and the start of the season.
Chinese teams had been stuck in hotel rooms, except for training and games, since July when the league season finally kicked-off. Shanghai SIPG, Shanghai Shenhua, Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guoan travelled to Qatar in Hazmat suits as soon as they finished the last game of the season. Korean teams finished a week earlier while the Japanese season was still carrying on forcing the three J.League clubs to split their squads.
It went better than expected. Andres Iniesta starred for big-spending Vissel Kobe in their first continental campaign and along with 2019 J.League champions
Yokohama F. Marinos, got out of the group stage with little fuss. That was not true of Guangzhou Evergrande. The Chinese team were champions in 2013 and 2015, yet went home early.
Led by Oscar, Shanghai SIPG arrived in Qatar with concerns over team spirit and a falling out between coach Vitor Pereira and Hulk. That relationship didn’t improve and Hulk played no part in the last two games after giving his boss a mouthful upon an earlier substitution.
Perth Glory and Sydney continued Australia’s struggles in the tournament, though at least Melbourne Victory squeezed past Seoul into the knockout stage before being knocked out by Ulsan. The Korean Tigers then went on to end Chinese representation in the quarter-finals, defeating Beijing Guoan. Beijing had been China’s sole hope after Kobe saw off SIPG in the second round. Iniesta picked up a knock and played little part as Kobe then squeezed past Suwon Bluewings of Korea in the quarters before losing to Ulsan in the last four.
It was Ulsan’s eighth successive win, a tournament record, and going into the final they were the favourites against a Persepolis team that had not played in December and were missing four key players due to injury and suspension.
It was a good game, with Mehdi Abdi scoring against the run of play after 45 minutes, but there was still time before the break for Junior to equalise, scoring from the rebound after his penalty had been saved. Early in the second half he made no mistake with another spot-kick and Ulsan held on to win a second title for the club and number 12 for the country. As the celebrations started, officials could breathe a sigh of relief that it was all over for a few weeks – at least until qualification for 2021 begins.
The 2020 AFC Champions League is finished, a full 11 months after it had started. It was a real slog