Asian Champions League Semi-final

John Duerden reports on Seongnam's route to the final

Recently, President Roh of South Korea had a plan to move Korea’s capital city from the overcrowded and dominant Seoul to the central regions. His vision failed but Korean football’s efforts, in 2004 at least, to wrest power away from the dominant champions of 2001, 2002 and 2003, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, have been more successful.

Many things have changed in the world of football over the past year (just ask Greece or Wayne Rooney). In November 2003, few followers of Korean football would have predicted the way in which the K-League has unfolded in 2004. Indeed, most of the talk at the beginning of the season was along the lines of, ‘who can stop the Chunma?’

To surprise of everyone, the answer to that has been, well, everyone. Even Bucheon, who finished 70 points adrift of the winners a year ago, have held the champs in both meetings this season, as the team in yellow and blue have amassed a mere twenty-one points in eighteen games prompting many on the peninsula to claim that Seongnam’s stranglehold on the K-League is over.

Or maybe the six-time Korean Champions are simply shifting their attention elsewhere, for just as the team has struggled domestically, it has excelled internationally- namely in the Asian Champions League.

Although there have been Asian Club competitions on and off since 1967; the Asian Champions League has only been in existence for two years. To European minds, the music may not be as inspiring/annoying and some of the venues may not be traditional football hot-beds but there are still an awful lot of bragging rights to be won on the giant continent.

For Seongnam, the competition has proved to be a welcome distraction from the K-League and has witnessed the team’s best performances of 2004.

One of these came in the group stage victory at the home of Japanese Champions, Yokohama Marinos, the club that Seongnam just managed to pip to the top spot due to a superior goal difference. This superiority was largely because of a fifteen goal feast in a single game, the unlucky recipients being Persik Kediri, the Indonesian Champions. This record victory in the competition led many in Korea to believe that 2004 could be Chunma’s year.

In the quarter-finals, UAE outfit Sharjah were contemptuously brushed aside 11-2 on aggregate to earn a semi-final clash with Uzbekistan’s champions Pakhtakor who were still smarting over an unexpected defeat at the same stage of the 2003 competition at the hands of Thai team, BEC Tero Sasana, 3-2 on aggregate.

Fast forward to October 20th; the night before in the other semi-final, Chonbuk Motors narrowly lost to Saudi Arabian side, Al Ittahid in the last minute but a 2-1 scoreline and an away goal left the tie wide open.

The following night, a crisp late October one in the city of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the local team is hoping to join the winners of the other tie in the final. As attractive as an all-Korean final may sound to those on the peninsula, Seongnam may just fancy a crack at the team from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The only continental title the Korean side has won came against Al Nassr, a Saudi League team in the Asian Club Championship in 1995. Their record in continental competition against Korean sides is less encouraging.

The following year, the new Asian Champions again reached the final but were beaten by fellow K-Leaguers Pohang Steelers. There was a disappointingly small crowd at Seongnam City Stadium to watch the Uzbeki team, clad in all white and the familiar yellow and blue combo of the home side. The team from Tashkent contained several national team members most notably, Asror Aliqulov, Aleksey Nikolaev and Bakhtiyor Ashurmatov who formed Uzbekistan’s formidable defence in July’s Asian Cup, one that conceded only twice in 390 minutes of football.

As the game began it seemed that the Uzbekis believed that their strongest form of defence was in fact defence as they seemed happy to absorb pressure from the Koreans. A couple of early free-kicks from the home side was about as much as had to be absorbed in the first half.

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With veteran playmaker Shin Tae-yong on the bench, the home side lacked any sort of cutting edge and with a resolute opposition who always managed to get a foot in or a body in the way, any passes had to be perfect but they were far from it. Therefore it was no surprise that the first half ended goalless.

The Uzbeki fans were certainly happier than their Korean counterparts at half-time. Kazim, from Tashkent, is a 23-year-old student at Seoul National University of Technology and was happy with his hometown team’s performance.

"Of course Seongnam are good, they are always Korean champions but in the first-half they didn’t play so well." said the young man who had already booked his ticket to Tashkent for the return leg.

"Pakhtakor have played better and I will be very happy if we win or draw and I think it will happen," the design student had every right to be confident as the Uzbekis have won all of their ten home games in two years of the Champions League and adds, "the best player on the pitch is midfielder Sever Djeparov, I used to play with him back in Tashkent, he can do everything."

Maybe Kazim was more impartial than he first seemed as his old team-mate was responsible for Pakhtakor’s best moment of the game when he turned outside the box, lost his marker and fired a shot just wide of Kim Hae-woon’s left-hand post.

The home team were livelier in the second-half mainly due to the introduction of K-League veterans, striker Kim Do-hoon and Shin Tae-yong. The two 34-year olds have 199 K-League goals between them but couldn’t find a way thorough a resolute and effective Uzbeki back line. Kim came the closest but his shot on the turn unfortunately hit the bar.

A goalless outcome put a smile on Uzbeki faces as they headed back west to their Central Asian fortress. They were quickly followed by the Korean team, intent on acclimatising fully in their most important game of 2004 to date as they arrived in Tashkent five days before kick off.

Getting used to a horrendous pitch in the Pakhtakor stadium should have taken closer to five years than five days but Seongnam quickly settled and were the better side throughout the ninety minutes. Kim Do-hoon may be missing more chances these days but showed that he still has an eye for goal with a striker’s finish in the first half. Recent Brazilian acquisition Dudu put the tie beyond the Uzbekis’ reach with a superb long-range effort just before the hour.

The two-goal margin of victory certainly didn’t flatter the East Asians who could have easily scored more and will be looking forward to the two-legged final in the last week of November.

Al Ittihad will be the opponents as they triumphed over Chonbuk Motors 4-3 on aggregrate after a 2-2 draw at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium, again stunning the Koreans with a last minute goal.

If the K-League Seongnam show up then the Saudi side will have few problems in winning its second continental trophy. However, Koreans will be hoping that the Champions League version plays, if so, few would bet against Korea making it six Asian club titles in nine years.

John Duerden

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