“It’s a wonderful moment. This was one of the reasons why I joined Al Hilal,” said Jardim.

“Today is my first title with the club. Special thanks to the players for their attitude and commitment in this match. We fought from start to finish and kept the opponents under pressure throughout the game."

Jardim’s continental journey with the club started in the Round of 16 where they demolished Islamic Republic of Iran giants Esteghlal 3-0, then followed through by knocking out the other Tehran powerhouse Persepolis 2-0 and booked their place in the final with a 2-1 win over domestic rivals Al Nassr.

“We fully deserved to be the champions. In the four games we played in this competition since my arrival, we scored nine goals and conceded just one, and that shows how strong and dominant we have been."

With left-back Yasser Al Shahrani, one of the club’s most experienced players unfit to start, Jardim fielded 22-year-old Nasser Al Dawsari from the start, and the youngster repaid his manager’s faith instantly and in some style.

Straight from kick-off, Al Dawsari applied pressure and dispossessed an opponent deep inside Pohang Steelers’ half, then unleashed a thunderous drive that nestled into the back of the net after just 16 seconds, making it the fastest goal in the history of AFC Champions League finals.

“Nasser and Yasser are two top-quality players who are both important for the club and the national team. 

"Nasser has played in the AFC Champions League before and was in a good incremental form, while Yasser has not played for a month with injury, so our objective was to start a player who is fully fit rather than one who is recovering, and we were not sure he could play for 90 minutes. 

"Al Dawsari was very good and played an important role to help us win the trophy."

With their victory, the new Asian champions are set to join the likes of Chelsea and Egypt’s Al Ahly as well as hosts Al Jazira in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup taking place in the UAE early next year; the second time in the club’s history.

“We play every game to win it. We know there will be strong teams in the FIFA Club World Cup, and we will not be favourites, but our objective will be to win as many matches as possible.”