Elephant in the Asian Champions League
Knockout stages taking place in Saudi Arabia means big crowds for the local teams but hands them a huge advantage
The quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite take place from Friday to Sunday. The final will be held the following weekend, meaning that there is some intense action for fans around Asia in the coming week. Yet there is an elephant in the room, or rather, there won’t be many fans from five of the clubs watching their teams in the stadium.
All the games, the four in the last eight stage, the two semis and then the big match on May 3, will take place in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
It goes without saying that home advantage is a big deal To have it potentially for all three stages is huge, especially in Asia. The four quarter-finals are between teams from the west and teams from the east (the tournament is divided into two geographic zones, a division that used to end only at the final but now there is contact at an earlier stage).
The three Saudi Arabian hopefuls, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr of Riyadh and Jeddah’s Al-Ahli stay home. The fourth is Al-Sadd from Qatar who make the short trip. The other four all have lengthy flights. As someone who has flown from east to west and vice versa more than once, these are proper long-haul affairs.
The two Japanese teams Yokohama F.Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale would face direct flights, of over 11 hours. Gwangju FC are almost as far away from Seoul as you can get in South Korea and then face a minimum of ten. It could be that they will transfer in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi to add to the journey. There is also a six-hour time difference for teams that are in the middle of their domestic seasons to go and face three teams who simply can stay home throughout.
The same is, of course, for fans. Any of their faithful who wants to see their team in the Champions League has a long way to go. Not many will. In the former system, they were able to attend these continental clashes at home at least, but instead of two-legged affairs, two extra games were added to the revamped group stage.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will say that they are organising a memorable football extravaganza with big crowds and exciting atmospheres. That, though, would be the result of the three local teams being there, being well-supported and doing well. If Saudi Arabia’s contingent had been eliminated and the West Asian representatives were from, say, Qatar, UAE and Uzbekistan, there would be the prospect of the King Abdullah Sports City being a quarter-full.
That, however, would be better in terms of fairness. Unfortunately, the new format means that there are either empty stadiums and no atmospheres or big crowds and local teams being handed a huge advantage. There is some disquiet about this behind the scenes but in Asian football, few speak out.
It’s not as if Saudi teams needs the helping hand, the three teams would be the favourites wherever the games were played.
Al-Hilal vs Gwangju FC
Al-Hilal are Asia’s most successful with four titles and have stars such as Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Joao Cancelo and a whole host of Saudi Arabian internationals, especially the best of them all, Salem Al-Dawsari. This club, who set a world record winning streak of 34 games last year have won just five of the last 13 in the league and look unusually vulnerable. Coach Jorge Jesus, linked with the Brazil job, is under pressure. Six points behind Al-Ittihad with five games remaining in the Saudi Pro League, Asia offers their best chance of success.
This is their 11th appearance in this stage of the Champions League, equal to the record set by Jeonbuk Motors. They are not facing the experienced South Koreans, however, but their near neighbours Gwangju FC who are making their first appearance in the tournament. With a wage bill around one-thirtieth of the Riyadh giants, they do, however, have Albanian attacker Jasir Asani, the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals in the group stage and two, famously, in the dramatic come from behind second round victory from 2-0 down in the first leg at Vissel Kobe to win the tie 3-2 at home. The southwesterners need to channel some of that energy to get past Al-Hilal and stay in the hunt for a first ever trophy.
Al-Ahli vs Buriram United
Al-Ahli are actually at their home stadium in Jeddah and are heavily favoured to get past Buriram United of Thailand who are looking to get into the last four for the first time.
This match comes at a tricky time for the Thais as, at home, they are just one point ahead of Bangkok United with just one game left of the season left. Buriram have also lost their last two games. They showed their resilience in the last round when a single goal saw them get past Malaysia’s Johor Darul Tazim.
Al-Ahli will be a different proposition, especially on home soil. Ivan Toney and Riyad Mahrez are flying and will fancy their chances of adding to their tallies. Roberto Firmino is also registered to play in Asia after losing his domestic place to Galeno, signed from Porto in January. At the moment, the two-time finalist are looking good for a first title.
Al-Nassr vs Yokohama F.Marinos
The headlines are focused on Cristiano Ronaldo and his quest for a first trophy since moving to Riyadh almost two and a half years ago. The club is also desperate for silverware this season. Like Hilal, Asia offers the best chance. Ronaldo was rested in Tuesday’s league game and will be ready to go. Jhon Duran can be a game-changer and there is a lot of talent throughout the team. Al-Nassr are still a team that produces in moments but have the stars to do so on a regular basis.
Yokohama arrive by the Red Sea as the 20th out of 20 teams in the J.League and just days after firing their coach Steve Holland. Gareth Southgate’s former assistant at England lasted just four months. That time is a story on its own but suffice to say, that the five-time Japanese champions have plenty going on. Asia is a distraction, it just remains to be seen if it is a welcome one or not. That will depend on whether the leaky defence holds.
Al-Sadd vs Kawasaki Frontale
And, on Sunday, comes the only tie not to feature a local side. Al-Sadd take on a Kawasaki Frontale team that have underachieved on the continent in the past, never getting past this stage in ten previous appearances.
The former, who have won the title twice, have a fair proportion of the Qatar national team in their ranks but given how the Maroons have been performing of late, that may not be a complete positive. For club and country, however, Akram Afif is the main man. If the Asian Player of the Year shines, then the Doha giants could go all the way.
It is hard to know how Kawasaki will do. Frontale arrive in poor form with no wins in the last five. Like Yokohama, there is firepower in the team, much of it Brazilian-based, and like Yokohama there are issues at the back. In a home and away format, Kawasaki would have a real chance for a first title but as it is, the odds are against them and their fellow teams from the east.