Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: J.League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima winning bronze medal at the FIFA Club World Cup last weekend in Japan has served as a fitting conclusion to what has been yet another phenomenal year for Asian football, twelve scintillating months that have seen everything from history being made to the continuing evolution of the club game throughout the continent.
Asian football fans the world over couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year, with the Confederation’s flagship tournament - the AFC Asian Cup - kicking things off in style.
Australia hosted one of the finest editions in the tournament’s illustrious history, one which saw the Socceroos defeat Korea Republic in a pulsating final to conclude an event that saw the 2015 AFC Asian Cup set numerous records and milestones.
The competition itself set a record for the most consecutive matches at a major football tournament without a draw - the run of 26 eclipsing the previous record of 18 set at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay; UAE striker Ali Mabkhout found the net after just 14 seconds to score the fastest Asian Cup goal ever; and Australia became the first men’s national team to win continental titles in two FIFA confederations having also won the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup on a number of occasions.
Australia’s triumph also saw them become the first country to simultaneously hold the AFC Asian Cup and AFC Champions League titles, although Western Sydney Wanderers grip on the coveted ACL title would slip in the group stage of this year’s edition of Asia’s premier club competition which, alongside the AFC Cup, embraced a greater number of Member Associations following a significant revamp of the Confederation’s tournaments.
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