Asian Champions League Season 2016 Gets Underway
Paul Williams
For 32 teams and their fans, these are the emotions they'll be feeling as the 2016 AFC Champions League prepares to kick off.
One of the most enduring features of the ACL is its sheer unpredictability. Whereas in Europe you know which teams will reach the pointy end, not so in Asia.
Who could have predicted in 2014 that the largely unknown Western Sydney Wanderers would go all the way, knocking off heavyweights such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Al Hilal along the way?
Who could have foreseen Al Sadd, who had to go through the preliminary playoffs just to qualify, would go all the way and claim the title in 2011 at the expense of the more fancied Jeonbuk?
Buriram United, Seongnam, Adelaide United - all have made it out of the group and deep into the competition when no one expected anything of them going into the tournament.
As more and more eyeballs land on the tournament, what can we expect this year? Here are four big questions just waiting to be answered.
Will China dominate?
Unless you've been living under a rock you'll have seen the significant spending by Chinese teams in the transfer window, with players such as Ramires, Alex Teixeira and Jackson Martinez saying goodbye to the UEFA Champions League and hello to the AFC Champions League.
But will this lead to domination by Chinese teams? The AFC has a great natural leveller known as the 3+1 rule. While the quality of your foreigners is important, at least seven of your starting XI are going to be domestic players. So while foreigners such as Ramires, Teixeira and Martinez are the icing on the cake, they're only as good as those around them.
Of course the AFC's decision to split the tournament into East and West means we can't have a China vs China final, but certainly on paper the four Chinese Super League teams Guangzhou Evergrande, the holders, Shanghai SIPG, Shandong Luneng and Jiangsu - appear good chances to make it out of the group stage. From there it's game on.
Can Al Ain live up to their potential?
For the last two years Emirati side Al Ain has threatened to sweep all before them, but twice now they've fallen short. In 2014 they were beaten in the semi final by Al Hilal, while last year they succumbed to local rivals Al Ahli in an enthralling Round of 16 encounter.
They've since lost goal scoring machine Asamoah Gyan to Chinese side Shanghai SIPG and it remains to be seen just how big a hole the Ghanaian, who has scored 17 goals in the last two campaigns, leaves in the Al Ain side.
Douglas, who won the J.League title with Sanfrecce Hiroshima last season, has been signed to replace Gyan and the Brazilian has big boots to fill. Once again a lot will rest on the shoulders of arguably the best player on the continent, Omar Abdulrahman.
If the 24-year-old can produce the form he is capable of then he is capable of almost single-handedly taking Al Ain deep into the tournament.
Last year's loss to arch rivals Al Ahli, who went on a fairytale run to the final, stung the side nicknamed 'The Boss', who are determined to add a second AFC Champions League trophy to their 2003 triumph.
Who will be the surprise package?
It's the great thing about the AFC Champions League, there is always a fairytale story to be told.
Al Ahli in 2015, Western Sydney in 2014, Buriram United in 2013, Al Sadd in 2011.
Each year a team who no one suspects rises to the occasion and takes the continent by surprise. Who will it be in 2016?
Will it be Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC? The two Australia sides have competed in the ACL a combined six times before their appearance in 2016 and not once have they managed to make it past the group stage. Both teams are determined to make their mark in Asia, is 2016 their year?
Will Uzbek side Lokomotiv Tashkent with the silky Server Djeparov, twice named AFC Player of the Year, and their band of Uzbekistan national team players announce their rival on the continental stage in just their second appearance in the group stage?
Can Al Jazira, sitting eighth and struggling in the Arabian Gulf League, replicate the efforts of Al Ahli from 2015 and rediscover their form on the continent? With stars such as Thiago Neves (formerly of Al Hilal), Park Jong-woo, Ali Mabkhout and Kenwyne Jones, and now coached by former Barcelona and Chelsea assistant Henk ten Cate, they're certainly more than capable.
Who will be the individual performer of the tournament?
Just indulge me for a moment, but these are just some of the stars that will participate in the ACL this year.
Ramires, Alex Teixeira, Jo, Dario Conca, Asamoah Gyan, Elkeson, Jackson Martinez, Ricardo Goulart, Omar Abdulrahman, Yasuhito Endo, Lee Dong-gook, Ali Mabkhout, Kenwyne Jones.
And that's just some of them. There are many more across East and West Asia who, while not household names across the world or indeed even across Asia, are stars in their own right and capable of match-winning wizardry.
Who will be the standout this year and lead their team to glory?
Copyright: Paul Williams & Soccerphile.com
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