Korean quartet, Riyadh duo through to quarter-finals
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Saudi champions Al Hilal sealed their reputation as one of the favourites for this year’s AFC Champions League by beating Uzbek giants Bunyodkor 3-0 in a round-of-16 clash in front of over 52,000 fans at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Zobahan edged Mes Kerman 1-0 in an all-Iran clash in Wednesday night’s other west-zone encounter. Al Shabab, also from Riyadh, and Qatari champions Al Gharafa earlier progressed to the quarter-finals, which will be held in September.
In the east zone, holders Pohang Steelers spearhead a quartet of Korean giants in the last eight after beating J.League champions Kashima Antlers 1-0 away on Wednesday.
Jeonbuk Motors beat Adelaide United 3-2 in a thriller in Australia, where Korea Republic striker Lee Dong-gook headed an extra-time winner for the K-League champions. Suwon Bluewings and Seongnam Ilhwa both had home wins on Tuesday.
The open draw for the quarter-finals will be held on May 25 at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur.
All four Korean clubs and Hilal are former Asian champions. Pohang are gunning for their fourth continental crown, having also won the former Asian Club Championship in 1997 and 1998.
Seongnam were champions in 1995 and reached the final of the AFC Champions League in 2004, while Jeonbuk won the 2006 AFC Champions League. Suwon won back-to-back Asian Club Championship titles in 2001 and 2002.
Hilal, Saudi Arabia’s most successful club with 12 league titles, won the Asian Club Championship in 1991 and 2000 after reaching the final in 1986 and 1987, and also lifted the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996 and 2002.
In the east
Pohang defied their domestic form and a sudden change of coach to beat Kashima and continue their bid to become the first East Asian club to successfully defend the AFC Champions League.
Brazilian striker Mota, a former star for Seongnam, scored his first goal in seven starts in this year’s competition when he netted in the 29th minute after latching onto a ball from compatriot Almir.
Steelers captain Hwang Jae-won and fellow centre-back Kim Hyung-il, two of four Pohang players named in Korea Republic’s provisional World Cup squad, provided a defensive wall at the back.
It was a memorable first match in charge for former assistant coach Park Chang-hyun, who took over earlier this week following the sacking of Waldemar Lemos.
“I’m so pleased as we won against a very good team. We had a stronger determination to win than they had,” said the 43-year-old, who was missing suspended midfielder Kim Tae-su.
“I didn’t make any big changes to what the ex-coach did, but I focused on bringing last year’s form back to the team. With that style, we can be strong enough to go further ahead in the AFC Champions League and the K-League.”
For the third successive year, the Antlers – winners of the last three J.League titles – exited at the first round of the knockout stage after topping their group.
Jeonbuk also won away after a spectacular extra-time victory over Adelaide, runners-up in 2008. Brazilian winger Eninho put the Motors ahead in the 38th minute after starting and finishing a counter-attack, while Adelaide defender Robert Cornthwaite headed a 78th-minute equaliser from a corner.
Eninho thought he had won it for the visitors with a thunderous strike from outside the area in the 87th minute, but in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Sergio Van Dijk bundled in a last-gasp equaliser from a corner.
However, substitute Lee had the last laugh with four minutes of extra-time left as the 31-year-old ‘Lion King’, who has been recovering from injuries, headed in Park Won-jae’s cross at the far post.
“Both teams gave everything,” said Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee, who played in the 1990 World Cup. “As a game of football it was exciting to watch. Adelaide played a very good game and everyone tried their best.”
Suwon and Seongnam made it through after enjoying home wins over Chinese champions Beijing Guoan and Japan’s Gamba Osaka respectively. Jose Mota scored in either half as Suwon beat Beijing 2-0 and the Brazilian striker took his tally in this year’s competition to nine.
“It was great to win in front of our fans,” said under-pressure Suwon boss Cha Bum-kun. “We’ve achieved our target. We have a strong desire for success in this competition and our play showed that.”
Seongnam scored three times in the last 15 minutes for a 3-0 win over Gamba, champions two years ago. Mauricio Molina scored a 75th-minute penalty after the former Colombia international was adjudged to have been fouled while attempting to convert a low cross by substitute Song Ho-young.
Song, 22, added a second in the 84th minute after being set up by towering Montenegrin target man Dzenan Radoncic, before Molina completed the scoring with a spectacular free-kick in stoppage time.
“We’ve played a game every three days recently, so it has been a really tough schedule, but my players showed great determination. I’m proud of them,” said 39-year-old coach Shin Tae-yong, who won six K-League titles during his playing career with Ilhwa.
In the west
Eric Gerets’ Hilal sent out a warning from the west when they crushed Luiz Felipe Scolari’s big-spending Bunyodkor, who reached the semi-finals in 2008 and the quarters last year and have won the last two Uzbek league titles.
Saudi Arabia centre-back Majed Al Marshadi delighted the home fans by heading a ninth-minute opener and former Sweden winger Christian Wilhelmsson and Brazilian Thiago Neves settled the game with goals in the 57th and 61st minutes.
“I'm very proud of my players as they played great. They really deserved to win this match,” said Gerets, who played at the 1982, 1986 and 1990 World Cups and is Belgium’s second most-capped player.
“We scored an early goal and could have added more. We then started the second half with the same level of intensity we began with. As a result we added two more goals and that reflected the excellent match my players had.”
Zobahan became Iran’s only club in the last eight when they beat domestic rivals Mes Kerman at the Foolad Shahr Stadium in Esfahan. Brazilian substitute Igor Castro headed in an 85th-minute corner against a 10-man Mes, who had midfielder Ghasem Dehnavi sent off in the 47th minute.
“My players deserve this victory. This was a difficult game but we finally managed to win,” said Zobahan coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh, whose side are fighting to finish second in the Iran Pro League.
“I have a strategy for the knockout matches and that is being careful not to concede and then try to score later on in the game.”
Shabab won 3-2 in a thrilling game against Esteghlal in which the lead changed three times at the King Fahd.
Striker Fisal Al Sultan put the hosts ahead in the 22nd minute after volleying home a through ball from Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Camacho. Esteghlal bounced back with a penalty from Siavash Akbarpour two minutes later and a goal by Hossein Kazemi in the 31st minute.
Just three minutes into the second half, Tareq El Taib equalised for the ‘White Lions’ as the former Libya captain dribbled into the area and stabbed home from the corner of the six-yard box.
Waleed Al Gizani, on as a substitute for Angola striker Flavio Amado, headed an 88th-minute winner following a right-wing cross by Abdoh Autef, one of several Saudi internationals at the club.
“I’m excited to see my team in the quarter-finals of this great competition. We’ve worked hard to reach this stage,” said Shabab’s Brazilian coach Edgar Perreira.
“The match was really tough. It was the hardest encounter Shabab have played so far in the AFC Champions League. My players were great and worked hard to get the win.”
Juninho – the Brazilian free-kick legend who seven straight French titles with Lyon – helped Gharafa reach the quarter-finals as they beat Uzbekistan Cup winners Pakhtakor 1-0. Brazilian striker Araujo converted an 86th-minute penalty for his fifth goal of the tournament.
“My strategy was not to take risks but control the game,” said Caio Junior, Gharafa’s Brazilian coach. “It actually happened as we controlled the 90 minutes, but the goal came late.”
Winners of the last three Qatar Stars League titles, Gharafa will now seek to emulate Umm Salal, who last year became the first Qatari club to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League.
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