Ahead of the long-awaited return of the 2020 AFC Champions League (East), six clubs touch down in Qatar, while one of the tournament’s star names is ruled out by an eleventh-hour injury, plus the latest domestic action from Japan, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.

Even for a team as successful as Jeonbuk, when it comes to on-field performances and results 2020 has been a banner year. A come-from-behind championship run saw them lift a fourth consecutive K League 1 title before winning a first FA Cup since 2005 to complete a memorable trophy haul.

And for midfielder Son Jun-ho it was a particularly noteworthy season as the 28-year-old was named the league's Most Valuable Player after a string of stunning showings. The Korea Republic international spoke exclusively to the-AFC.com to reflect on the year gone and look ahead to the resumption of the 2020 AFC Champions League (East) in Doha.

Vissel generated global headlines in 2018 when they lured the Barcelona legend and four-time UEFA Champions League winner to the J1 League, before they acquired Nishi from domestic rivals Kashima Antlers ahead of the 2019 season.

A year later and the pair both starred as Vissel defeated Kashima 2-0 to win their first major piece of silverware and secure a place in the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history.

Brebner’s team have struggled to prepare for the continental club championship due to the impact of a long-term lockdown put in place across their home state of Victoria, which lasted 112 days and severely limited the players’ opportunities to train and work together.

While some might look to use the issue as an excuse ahead of four challenging games in 10 days in Doha, Brebner remains focused on trying to pick up the wins needed to take Melbourne into the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League.

The K League side are currently bottom of Group G following their first two games earlier in the year, when Suwon lost to both Japan’s Vissel Kobe and Johor Darul Ta’zim from Malaysia prior to the suspension of the competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both of those losses occurred during the tenure of former coach Lee Lim-saeng, who was fired in July as Suwon’s disappointing performances in the K League prompted the club to make a change.

Two years ago Kashima Antlers enjoyed one of the most memorable years in their trophy-laden existence when the J1 League side went all the way to the 2018 AFC Champions League final and were crowned Asia's kings after defeating IR Iran's Persepolis.

But while his number 11 shirt was on display in the celebrations post-match at Tehran's Azadi Stadium, it was not on the back of Brazilian forward Leandro but being held aloft by countryman Leo Silva, with the player instead back in Japan recovering from surgery on a knee injury that had effectively ruled him out of action for much of the year.

A last-gasp 1-0 defeat to Vissel Kobe and then a shock 2-1 loss away at Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim was far from the start to their Continental campaign Australia forward Taggart and his Suwon teammates would have been after, and the K League 1 club will be playing catch up once the action returns in Doha.

First up will be a meeting with Chinese heavyweights Guangzhou Evergrande and the Socceroo knows that it's already taken on the role of a must-win.