Pohang qualified for the 2021 AFC Champions League after finishing third in the 2020 K League to mark a return to the competition for the first time since exiting at the group stage in 2016. 

This time around they found themselves in Group G alongside Nagoya Grampus of Japan, Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim and Ratchaburi FC of Thailand. 

With the group stage taking place in a centralised format, Kim Gi-dong’s side descended on Bangkok, where they would play all six games at Rajamangala Stadium. 

Pohang got off to a perfect start, brushing aside debutants Ratchaburi 2-0 after Borys Tashchy headed home in the first half and Lim Sang-hyub netted a wonderful second from the edge of the area with 10 minutes remaining to round off their first win in the competition in more than five years.

They were then brought crashing back down to earth following a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at the hands of Nagoya to leave plenty riding on the double-header with JDT. 

It began badly as Pohang fell behind inside 20 minutes but penalties from Tashchy and Kang Sang-woo had them in front at the interval. Kwon Ki-pyo’s 82nd-minute goal and, incredibly, a third penalty, this time from Lim, completed 4-1 victory, before Lee Seung-mo and Kang scored to seal a 2-0 win in the return meeting with JDT. 

However, a goalless draw in their penultimate group stage match with Ratchaburi left Pohang’s hopes of advancing as one of the best-placed runners-up firmly in the balance ahead of their Matchday Six encounter with Group G winners Nagoya. 

A goal down with two minutes to play, things were not looking good for Pohang, but up stepped Tashchy to grab a tournament-defining equaliser in the 88th minute for a share of the spoils. 

The Ukrainian’s goal ultimately proved the difference between progressing and elimination as the Korean side ended up taking the third and final spot on offer for the group runners-up, advancing to the knockout rounds ahead of Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC by virtue of goal difference.

Knockout Stage       

The Round of 16 pitted Pohang against another Japanese side, Cerezo Osaka, with the 2009 champions faced with the daunting prospect of an away date in Japan in the one-legged match-up. 

But they were equal to the challenge as Lee Seung-mo nudged home following a corner from the right in the 25th minute with what proved to be the only goal of the game as the Koreans secured an impressive victory on foreign soil to return to the last eight for the first time since 2014. 

Familiar foes awaited in the quarter-finals as Pohang went up against Nagoya in a repeat of the group stage matches which the J1 League side had the better of. However, perhaps crucially, Pohang enjoyed the benefit of playing in their homeland as they made the short trip to Jeonju World Cup Stadium for the encounter. 

Regular first-choice goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-mu’s injury meant an AFC Champions League debut for his replacement Lee Jun and the 24-year-old proved he was more than up to the task, producing one of the saves of the tournament to deny Nagoya’s Sho Iganaki from point-blank range in the first half.

That paved the way for a stunning second-half display as Lim’s scrappy opener in the 53rd minute was followed by a thunderbolt from Lee Seung-mo with 20 minutes to play before Lim curled home a delighful effort in stoppage time to put the icing on the cake and seal a place in the semi-finals. 

Opponents don’t come any bigger than East Coast Derby rivals Ulsan Hyundai for Pohang and it was their near neighbours – and defending champions – who stood in the way of a place in Asia’s biggest club game. 

Pohang were quick out the blocks with Lee Seung-mo hitting the base of the post in the opening exchanges, but it was Ulsan who struck first in Jeonju when Yun Il-lok put the Horangi ahead in the 52nd minute after a mistake from Lee Jun.

Yoon Bit-garam was denied by the woodwork on the hour before the turning moment of the match arrived in the 68th minute when Ulsan captain Won Du-jae was sent off for a reckless challenge on Lim.

The 10 men of Ulsan were made to pay when Mario Kvesic’s floated free-kick into the box was headed in by Alex Grant in the 89th minute, and, with the game tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes, the winner would be decided by a penalty shootout.

Ulsan’s Dave Bulthuis blazed the opening spot-kick over before nine perfect penalties ensued, culminating in Kang showing nerves of steel to confidently dispatch beyond Jo Hyeon-woo and send Pohang into the final at the expense of the reigning champions and their biggest rivals. 

The 2021 AFC Champions League final will be a blockbuster occasion as Pohang, the champions of Asia in 1997, 1998 and 2009, take on Al Hilal, kings of the continent in 1991, 2000 and 2002. 

Few would have tipped Pohang to reach this stage ahead of the campaign; they now stand on the verge of creating history as the victors will become the first four-time winners of Asia’s biggest club competition.