Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: A clash of two continental giants gets the 2019 AFC Champions League semi-finals underway as Qatar’s Al Sadd SC welcome Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC to Jassim bin Hamad Stadium for the first leg on Tuesday.
The two sides are both domestically nicknamed ‘Al Zaeem’ or The Boss, as the most decorated in their respective nations.
They also boast a proud continental history, having won Asia’s prime club competition on two occasions each.
Al Hilal’s two triumphs came in the Asian Club Championship in 1992 and 2000, while Al Sadd won it in 1989 before lifting the 2011 AFC Champions League title.
www.the-afc.com/en/club/afc_champions_league/video/preview_semi-finals.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/al_sadd_sf_-_team_stats.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/al_hilal_sf_-_stats.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/abdelkarim_-_kanno_-_h2h.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The four remaining teams in the 2019 AFC Champions League will return to action in the coming days with the first legs of the semi-finals to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Two-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan and China PR's Guangzhou Evergrande are aiming to lift the coveted trophy for an unprecedented third time, while 2011 winners Al Sadd from Qatar and Saudi heavweights Al Hilal will be looking to return Asian football's club crown to the West for the first time in eight years.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: After 10 rounds of fixtures, the 2019 AFC Champions League semi-finals are upon us, with four Asian giants to continue their quests for Continental glory in the first legs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
First up, the 2011 winners Al Sadd of Qatar take on Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, followed by a pair of two-time champions in Urawa Red Diamonds and Guangzhou Evergrande meeting a day later. Ahead of the eagerly awaited clashes, here’s the-AFC.com’s five things to look out for.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The 2019 AFC Champions League semi-finals kick off on Tuesday with teams from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China PR and Japan set to go head-to-head in must-watch ties.
The two-legged fixtures will kick off on Tuesday and Wednesday with the return legs three weeks later. The two winning sides will progress to the final to be played on November 11 and 24.
We look at four players – one from each of the semi-finalists – who could be key for their respective teams' chances of victory.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Sadd midfielder Nam Tae-hee is excited about the prospect of facing his close friend and Al Hilal defender Jang Hyun-soo in the 2019 AFC Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
Born just two months apart in 1991, Nam and Jang were international teammates in the Korea Republic side that finished runners-up in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. But on Tuesday, they line up on opposite sides as Al Sadd SC and Al Hilal SFC battle for a place in the 2019 AFC Champions League final.
Having moved to Qatar in 2012 - joining Lekhwiya from French side Valenciennes - Nam swapped sides in the summer, joining Al Sadd to replace captain-turned-coach Xavi as the side’s main creative midfielder. In turn, Jang joined Al Hilal from FC Tokyo, replacing Australian defender Milos Degenek.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Urawa Red Diamonds defender Tomoaki Makino believes that the 2019 AFC Champions League has seen the Saitama club raise their game to new heights, despite domestic woes, ahead of Wednesday's semi-final first leg against Guangzhou Evergrande.
Two-time Continental champions Urawa have endured an odd 2019 so far.
Torrid form in the J.League sees them hovering nervously close to the relegation zone, while they recently suffered a humiliating elimination in the Emperor's Cup against amateur side Honda FC.
Yet on the Continent, Urawa are echoing shades of their 2017-winning side. Progression from a tough Group G was followed by impressive wins over Ulsan Hyundai (Round of 16) and Shanghai SIPG (quarter-finals), both clubs that are flying high in their respective domestic leagues.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Qatar’s Al Sadd are set to face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the 2019 AFC Champions League semi-final next week, having overcome another Saudi opponent - Al Nassr – in the previous round and this will be the latest in a long series of Saudi-Qatari clashes in the competition’s knockout stages.
Although clubs from Saudi Arabia and Qatar have appeared in every single edition of the AFC Champions League since its inception in 2002-03, they managed to avoid facing-off in the knockout stages until 2009, but in the decade since, they have been pitted together on 10 occasions. The-AFC.com looks back at how each of these encounters panned out.