AFC Champions League 2021 set for historic showdown in Riyadh

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

AFC Champions League 2021 set for historic showdown in Riyadh

Kuala Lumpur: Asian football history will be made at the AFC Champions League 2021 Final between Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC and Korea Republic’s FC Pohang Steelers with both teams aiming to lift the Continent’s most sought after club accolade for an unprecedented fourth time. 

After a thrilling campaign in the AFC Champions League, both teams will go head-to-head in the winner-takes-all single-leg battle at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Tuesday, November 23, at 7pm (local time; UTC+3) in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) approved full spectator attendance strictly in line with health and safety protocols. 

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Leonardo Jardim (Al Hilal SFC)

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Leonardo Jardim (Al Hilal SFC)

Riyadh: Leonardo Jardim hopes to become the first Portuguese manager to win the AFC Champions League as he leads Al Hilal SFC against Pohang Steelers in the final on Tuesday.

An honour first achieved in Europe by Arthur Jorge in 1987 with FC Porto and followed twice by Jose Mourinho since, in South America in 2019 by former Al Hilal boss Jorge Jesus with Flamengo and the following year by Abel Ferreira at Palmeiras, remains unprecedented in the world’s largest continent, offering Jardim the opportunity to create history for his nation.

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Kim Gi-dong (Pohang Steelers)

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Kim Gi-dong (Pohang Steelers)

Riyadh: Not many people have tasted success as both a player and a head coach for their beloved club, but Kim Gi-dong is on the verge of doing just that for Pohang Steelers. 

Having been part of the 2009 AFC Champions League-winning squad and claiming several other titles with Pohang during his playing days, Kim has now led the side to the 2021 continental final. 

Ahead of the grand finale against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC on November 23, the 49-year-old is aiming to become one of a select few to have won Asia’s biggest club prize as both a player and head coach. 

2021 AFC Champions League Final: Al Hilal SFC v Pohang Steelers - The Form Guide

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final: Al Hilal SFC v Pohang Steelers - The Form Guide

Riyadh: Football lovers around the continent were gripped by two outstanding 2021 AFC Champions League semi-finals in October, but – as the final between Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal SFC and Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic draws ever closer - how have the two sides fared since?

Key league fixtures and a crucial international window have come and gone since Tuesday’s finalists booked their place in the decider, and there’s much to ponder ahead of the biggest match on the Asian club football calendar.

Join the-AFC.com as we fill you in on all the key events and results since the semi-finals, and how each side has prepared for the final.

Al Jaber expects a stern Pohang test for Al Hilal, reflects on glory days

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Al Jaber expects a stern Pohang test for Al Hilal, reflects on glory days

Riyadh: As Al Hilal SFC prepare for an AFC Champions League final against Pohang Steelers that would bestow upon the winner the undisputed title of Asia’s most successful club, a man who was central to the Saudi club’s finest era of success around the turn of the millennium remembers some of those moments of continental glory.

Very few names in Asian football are as synonymous with their clubs as Sami Al Jaber is with Al Hilal. A one-club man in his country and widely considered one of the greatest Saudi players of all time, Al Jaber has remained a fan favourite as he transitioned from rising starlet in the mid-1990s, to the nation’s bonafide talisman in the early 2000s to head coach and club president in the 2010s.

Fresh from helping Saudi Arabia to their third AFC Asian Cup title in the UAE in 1996, Al Jaber announced himself on the Asian club scene with a series of impressive performances including scoring the opener in the final as Al Hilal defeated Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight 3-1 to win the 1996-97 Asian Cup Winners Cup, setting up an Asian Super Cup clash with that year’s Asian Club Championship winners Pohang Steelers.

Ristić: It was an amazing feeling to be the best on the continent with Pohang Steelers in 2009

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Ristić: It was an amazing feeling to be the best on the continent with Pohang Steelers in 2009

Kuala Lumpur: When Pohang Steelers take to the pitch against Al Hilal SFC in the 2021 AFC Champions League final in Riyadh on Tuesday, it will bring memories flooding back of the last time they reached the showpiece event, in 2009, when they defeated another Saudi Arabian side, Al Ittihad, to be crowned kings of Asia. 

The ‘Class of 2009’, among them Macedonian Stevica Ristić, wrote their names into Asian footballing history as the Korean side became the first team to win the continent’s biggest club prize on three occasions. 
 
Ristić, now 39, played a huge role in that success, scoring an extra-time winner in the quarter-final against Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor and another goal in the semi-final victory over Qatar’s Umm Salal. In just 18 months with Pohang, he won the FA Cup, League Cup and AFC Champions League title. 
 
Twelve years on, the-AFC.com caught up with Ristić to discuss that memorable 2009 campaign, the current Pohang side's chances, his views on former teammate Kim Gi-dong (now the head coach) and much more. 

2021 AFC Champions League - Al Hilal SFC: Road to the Final

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League - Al Hilal SFC: Road to the Final

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC’s road to the 2021 AFC Champions League final was not an easy ride by any means, but they persevered to reach their fourth final in the last eight editions.

Facing Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers, this will be their 11th final in AFC competitions, and their fourth in the AFC Champions League era as they look to wrestle the bragging rights to a record fourth Asian title.

2021 AFC Champions League - Pohang Steelers: Road to the Final

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League - Pohang Steelers: Road to the Final

Kuala Lumpur: Three-time Asian champions Pohang Steelers will return to the AFC Champions League final 12 years after last appearing in the showpiece event when they take on Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal SFC at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium on Tuesday. 

The eagerly awaited contest will see Pohang taking part in the continent’s biggest club game for the first time since they were crowned champions after beating another Saudi Arabian powerhouse, Al Ittihad, back in 2009. 

In what has been a disappointing campaign domestically, the K League 1 side have saved their best for the 2021 AFC Champions League as they surprised many by reaching the grand finale. The-AFC.com relives their journey to Riyadh. 

2021 AFC Champions League Final - The Venue: King Fahd International Stadium

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final - The Venue: King Fahd International Stadium

Riyadh: One of Asia’s most iconic stadiums, the King Fahd International Stadium, is set to host the spectacle of the 2021 AFC Champions League final on Tuesday.

Facing Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers, home side Al Hilal SFC will be contesting their eighth continental final at the stadium across all AFC competitions, while the Koreans have also played at King Fahd International Stadium, losing to the same opponents in the 1997 Asian Super Cup first leg with Sami Al Jaber scoring the only goal of the game back then.

Pohang Steelers: A glorious Asian history revisited

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Pohang Steelers: A glorious Asian history revisited

Kuala Lumpur: When Pohang Steelers meet Al Hilal SFC in the 2021 AFC Champions League Final in Riyadh on Tuesday, the game will see the sides battle it out to win Asia’s biggest club competition for an unprecedented fourth time.

For Pohang Steelers, it marks a return to the continent’s most prestigious club game for the first time since winning the 2009 AFC Champions League as the current edition has brought back memories of glorious years gone by. 

While Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Ulsan Hyundai have achieved notable success on the continent over the past decade, no Korean team can match the triumphs of Pohang, who also claimed back-to-back Asian Club Championships in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Ahead of the 2021 showpiece event, the-AFC.com looks back at their proud history. 

Al Hilal SFC: A glorious Asian history revisited

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Al Hilal SFC: A glorious Asian history revisited

Kuala Lumpur: Al Hilal SFC will be dreaming of becoming the only club in Asia to win a fourth premier Asian title when they take on Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers - who hold the same ambition - in the 2021 AFC Champions League final on Tuesday.

Over the course of their history, Al Hilal have established themselves as the joint most successful club in the competition, with their record of two Asian Club Championship and one AFC Champions League victories only matched by their Tuesday opponents. The-AFC.com takes a trip down memory lane to revisit all three of Al Hilal’s triumphs.