December 17 – With the Champions League in Europe taking a break until February, all eyes are on the final of Asia’s equivalent competition on Saturday when South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai take on Iranian giants Persepolis in Qatar.
The 39th edition of the Asian Champions League final promises to be an intriguing affair with Persepolis specialising in defence and Ulsan boasting a formidable attacking line-up.
Persepolis are aiming to win the title for the first time while this is the furthest Ulsan have progressed in the competition since being crowned champions in 2012.
Wounds of losing the 2018 final to Japan’s Kashima Antlers remain fresh in the memory of the Red Army’s fans, but a largely unchanged group of players will aim to go one step further at Al Janoub Stadium.
In early October Persepolis beat Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia on penalties in what was their third semi-final in four years while Ulsan Hyundai came from behind to defeat Japan’s Vissel Kobe 2-1 after extra time on Sunday.
The excitement among Persepolis’ legion of fans has reached fever pitch, not least because no Iranian team has won a continental trophy since 1993 when the now-defunct PAS Tehran FC won the Asian Club Championship.
Persepolis, who have played before crowds of 120,000 in Tehran, have conceded just six goals in nine matches in the 2020 campaign but have been hit hard by suspensions with Ehsan Pahlavan and Vahid Amiri ruled out and key striker Issa Alekassir serving a six-month ban for a “discriminatory gesture” during their quarter-final win over Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor.
Ulsan’s irresistible attack boast the best offensive record in AFC Champions League 2020 with 21 goals from just nine matches and on paper the South Koreans, on an eight-game winning run, have the edge as they bid to become the fourth club from their country to be crowned continental champions twice.
Having lost their domestic cup final and been runners-up in the K League for the last two seasons, they will just as desperate as their opponents to get over the line in the climax of the Asian club season.
“Before we came here, morale was low in our squad because we had lost two domestic titles,” Ulsan head coach Kim Do-hoon Kim said after their semi-final win over Japan’s Vissel Kobe. “But after we arrived here the players tried to enjoy the moment and we tried to make our own atmosphere as a team.”
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