Al Ittihad 2004-2005: The last team to win back-to-back ACL titles

Thu, 20 Apr, 2023

Al Ittihad 2004-2005: The last team to win back-to-back ACL titles

Riyadh: The upcoming AFC Champions League™ final carries an added weight of history for Al Hilal SFC who not only want to make it five continental titles, but also dream of becoming only the second side to ever retain their crown since 2002-03.

The two last editions of the Asian Club Championship saw Korea Republic’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings lift the trophy back-to-back in 2000-01 and 2001-02, but since the mantle was passed on to the AFC Champions League the following year, only one team has been able to replicate this success.

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Urawa Red Diamonds' ACL history

Wed, 19 Apr, 2023

Urawa Red Diamonds' ACL history

Saitama: The most successful Japanese side in Asia’s premier club competition, Urawa Red Diamonds have won the AFC Champions League™ twice and reached the final four times, while only two teams have lifted the continent’s most prestigious trophy on more occasions.

Should they win the final of the 2022 edition against four-time champions Al Hilal SFC of Saudi Arabia, the Saitama side would move level on three titles apiece with Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers and write yet another chapter in their continental success story.
 
Ahead of the first leg of the final in Riyadh on April 29, the-AFC.com looks back at Urawa in the AFC Champions League. 

Al Hilal’s ACL history

Tue, 18 Apr, 2023

Al Hilal’s ACL history

Riyadh: The AFC Champions League™ 2022 Final will offer Al Hilal SFC the chance to extend their record as the most successful side in the history of the competition as they chase a fifth title, which would put them two clear of the next best side in the continent.

When the competition was relaunched under the AFC Champions League name in 2002-03, Al Hilal had already been one of a few clubs who had two titles to their name, alongside the likes of Esteghlal, Thai Farmers Bank and Korean duo Pohang Steelers and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but in the years since then, the club set out on a journey to stand out from the rest.

4 memorable Saudi Arabia v Japan ACL clashes

Mon, 17 Apr, 2023

4 memorable Saudi Arabia v Japan ACL clashes

Riyadh: Between them, clubs from Saudi Arabia and Japan have won a total of 13 continental titles in Asia’s top club competition, and when Al Hilal SFC and Urawa Red Diamonds clash in the AFC Champions League™ 2022 final, they will be reviving a tradition of classic encounters between teams from the two powerhouses.

While there were many clashes between Saudi and Japanese teams in the Asian Club Championship, most famously the 2000 final in which Al Hilal defeated Jubilo Iwata, there is also no shortage of classic encounters in the AFC Champions League era. The-AFC.com looks at four of the best Saudi-Japanese clashes in the competition since 2002-03.

Urawa Red Diamonds: The new arrivals

Fri, 14 Apr, 2023

Urawa Red Diamonds: The new arrivals

Saitama: It's been eight months since Urawa Red Diamonds edged Korea Republic's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on penalties to book a place in the final of the AFC Champions League™ 2022. With the eagerly awaited title clash against Al Hilal SFC now on the horizon, a lot has changed at the Japanese outfit since that memorable semi-final last August. 

The two-time Asian champions initially progressed behind K League 1 side Daegu FC from a group that also featured Singapore's Lion City Sailors and China PR's Shandong Taishan before overcoming Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim and Thailand's BG Pathum United in the knockout stages to book the last-four tie against Jeonbuk.  
 
Key players have departed and others have arrived at Saitama Stadium since then and there is also a new head coach in charge. So, ahead of the first leg of the final at Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium on April 29, the-AFC.com looks at the new faces at Urawa Red Diamonds.

#ACL2022 Final: The Venues

Sat, 15 Apr, 2023

#ACL2022 Final: The Venues

Kuala Lumpur: The two legs of the AFC Champions League™ 2022 Final will take place at two of Asia’s most iconic football venues: King Fahd International Stadium and Saitama Stadium.

As Al Hilal SFC and Urawa Red Diamonds get set to renew one of Asia’s greatest rivalries by meeting in the final for the third time in six editions, their respective stadiums offer the perfect settings for the continent’s biggest club game. 
 
With the first leg set to take place in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on April 29 and the return meeting slated for Saitama Stadium in Saitama on May 6, the-AFC.com takes a closer look at the two venues. 

Koroki: Stronger-than-ever Al Hilal will be Urawa’s toughest test

Thu, 13 Apr, 2023

Koroki: Stronger-than-ever Al Hilal will be Urawa’s toughest test

Saitama: Shinzo Koroki may have played no part in Urawa Red Diamonds’ run to the AFC Champions League™ 2022 final but the veteran striker is under no illusion that opponents Al Hilal SFC provide the biggest obstacle yet in the Japanese club’s bid to become three-time Asian champions. 

Having spent nine years at Urawa, playing in two continental finals and winning one of them, Koroki was loaned out to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo for the 2022 campaign and thus missed his parent club’s march to a fourth AFC Champions League finale. 

Al Hilal ready to fight for title, says Al Faraj

Thu, 13 Apr, 2023

Al Hilal ready to fight for title, says Al Faraj

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC captain Salman Al Faraj is in a race against time as he tries to recover from injury to lead his boyhood club in their defence of the  AFC Champions League™ title when they take on Urawa Red Diamonds in the 2022 final.

The 33-year-old midfielder is also pursuing a personal record as he aims to join an elite group of players to appear in five AFC Champions League finals; a feat he could share with teammates Salem Al Dawsari, Yasser Al Shahrani and goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mayouf.
 
The quartet represented Al Hilal in the 2014 and 2017 finals which they lost to Western Sydney Wanderers and Urawa respectively, before picking up the trophy against Urawa in 2019 and against Pohang Steelers in 2021, while Al Mayouf only joined Al Hilal in 2015, but had already appeared in the 2012 final in Al Ahli Saudi colours.