2011 AFC Champions League final

Last updated

2011 AFC Champions League final
2011 AFC Champions League Final Logo.jpg
Event 2011 AFC Champions League
Al-Sadd won 4–2 on penalties
Date5 November 2011
Venue Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju
AFC Man of the Match Abdul Kader Keïta (Al-Sadd)
Fans' Man of the Match Mohamed Saqr (Al-Sadd)
Referee Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Attendance41,805
WeatherRainy
7 °C (45 °F)
60% humidity
2010
2012

The 2011 AFC Champions League Final was a football match which was played on Saturday, 5 November 2011, to determine the champion of the 2011 AFC Champions League. [1] It was the final of the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Contents

The game was contested between by Al-Sadd of Qatar and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea. This was the first AFC Champions League final involving a Qatari club since Al-Sadd themselves in 1989, during the Asian Club Championship era. Al-Sadd won 4–2 on penalties, after a 2–2 draw following extra time. [2] [3] [4] As Asian champions, they qualified to enter the quarter-finals of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan as the AFC representative.

Qualified teams

In the following table, finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, since 2003 were in the AFC Champions League era.

TeamPrevious finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Flag of South Korea.svg Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1 ( 2006 )
Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Sadd 1 ( 1989 )

Venue

The AFC decided that the final would be hosted by one of the finalists. [5] This format is a change from the 2009 and 2010 editions, where the final was played at a neutral venue. [6] On 7 June 2011, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final was made. For the final, the winner of semi-final 2 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 2 and 1) would be the home team, while the winner of semi-final 1 (played between the winners of quarter-finals 4 and 3) would be the away team. [7] Therefore, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were the home team, and Al-Sadd were the away team. The name of the stadium is Jeonju World Cup Stadium which is located in Jeonju, Republic of Korea which was also one of the main stadiums during 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Road to final

Flag of South Korea.svg Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Round Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Sadd
OpponentResult Qualifying play-off OpponentResult
ByeSemi-final Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg Al-Ittihad 5–1 (H)
Final Flag of India.svg Dempo 2–0 (H)
OpponentResult Group stage OpponentResult
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shandong Luneng 1–0 (H)Matchday 1 Flag of Iran.svg Esteghlal 1–1 (A)
Flag of Indonesia.svg Arema 4–0 (A)Matchday 2 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Pakhtakor 2–1 (H)
Flag of Japan.svg Cerezo Osaka 0–1 (A)Matchday 3 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al-Nassr 1–0 (H)
Flag of Japan.svg Cerezo Osaka 1–0 (H)Matchday 4 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al-Nassr 1–1 (A)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shandong Luneng 2–1 (A)Matchday 5 Flag of Iran.svg Esteghlal 2–2 (H)
Flag of Indonesia.svg Arema 6–0 (H)Matchday 6 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Pakhtakor 1–1 (A)
Group G winner
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of South Korea.svg Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6501142+1215
Flag of Japan.svg Cerezo Osaka 6402114+712
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shandong Luneng 621398+17
Flag of Indonesia.svg Arema 6015222−201
Final standings Group B winner
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Sadd 624086+210
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al-Nassr 6222107+38
Flag of Iran.svg Esteghlal 62221110+18
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Pakhtakor 6123814−65
OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Knockout stage OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tianjin Teda 3–0 (H) (one-leg match)Round of 16 Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al-Shabab 1–0 (H) (one-leg match)
Flag of Japan.svg Cerezo Osaka 9–5 3–4 (A) 6–1 (H)Quarterfinals Flag of Iran.svg Sepahan 4–2 3–0 (awd.) (A) 1–2 (H)
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al-Ittihad 5–3 3–2 (A) 2–1 (H)Semifinals Flag of South Korea.svg Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2–1 2–0 (A) 0–1 (H)

Summary

Jeonbuk had the first attempt on target after four minutes when Eninho saw a dipping shot from 25 yards punched away by Saqr. Mamadou Niang fired well over the top six minutes later before Park's cross from the left was glanced into Saqr's arms by Jeon Kwang-hwan. Jeonbuk then took the lead in the 17th minute. Eninho was brought down on the left edge of the box but the Brazilian picked himself to fire a brilliant free-kick into the far side of Saqr's net. [8]

The Al Sadd keeper gathered Eninho's low shot shortly afterwards before the Qataris silenced the raucous home crowd just before the half-hour mark. Keita flighted a cross towards Khalfan Ibrahim on the edge of the six-yard box and as the midfielder jumped with Sim, the defender flicked the ball past Kim Min-Sik in the Jeonbuk goal and the sides went in level at the break. Saqr comfortably held Jeong's low shot from outside the box as the second-half got under way before Kim Dong-Chan was presented with a sight of goal but the substitute could only sidefoot straight at the keeper from 10 yards. Eninho came close to grabbing his second goal of the game in the 57th minute. Having scored twice from corners against Al Ittihad in the semi-final, the Brazilian tried to repeat the trick but Saqr managed to tip his set-piece from the right against the bar. Al Sadd then took the lead in the 63rd minute when a low cross from the left picked out Keita and the striker spun and fired into the bottom corner from just inside the box.

Jeonbuk came agonisingly close to a swift reply six minutes later. Kim Dong-chan met Eninho's in-swinging corner with a header that came back off the far post and the midfielder's subsequent overhead kick was cleared off the line before Jeong blazed over from inside the area. Head coach Choi Kang-hee then introduced Lee Dong-gook for Luiz Henrique as Jeonbuk pressed for the equaliser. Kim Dong-chan pulled a low shot wide of Saqr's goal with 10 minutes remaining before the Al Sadd keeper did brilliantly to push Jeong's low drive from 12 yards through a crowd of players onto the post with three minutes to go.

Nadir Belhadj who converted the winning penalty Belhadj vs USA.jpg
Nadir Belhadj who converted the winning penalty

Urged on by a noisy home crowd, Jeonbuk piled on the pressure in the closing stages and grabbed a dramatic equaliser in stoppage-time when Eninho's corner from the right was headed in from close range at the back post by substitute Lee Sung-hyun as the stadium erupted and the game went into extra time. Lee Dong-gook wasted a great chance in the 101st minute when the ball fell to the striker unmarked eight yards from goal but he sliced horribly wide. Jeong headed Eninho's cross off target two minutes into the second period of extra time before Saqr denied him with a fantastic save with seven minutes to go, pushing his shot past the post after Abdulla Koni's slip had let the Jeonbuk striker in. The home side were again foiled by the woodwork shortly afterwards when Eninho's corner hit and Al Sadd defender but bounced off the base of the post.

Al Sadd players celebrating their second time winning the ACL trophy Al Sadd AFC Champions League.jpg
Al Sadd players celebrating their second time winning the ACL trophy

Substitute Afif collected a second booking a minute from the end for bringing down Choi Chul-soon but Al Sadd held on for penalties. After the first three spot-kicks all found the back of the net, Kim Dong-chan had his effort saved by Saqr before Al Sadd's Lee Jung-soo calmly strode up but sidefooted his penalty against the underside of the bar. Jeonbuk could not capitalize on this as Park blasted his shot straight at Saqr. Ibrahim Majid then blasted into the corner and Kim Sang-sik scored but Belhadj displayed fine composure to fire home the winning penalty.

Belhadj held his nerve in front of over 41,000 spectators – a club record – to drive home the crucial spot kick in the shootout as Al Sadd became the first Qatar side to win the AFC Champions League and book their place at the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup. Nadir Belhadj converted the winning penalty as Al Sadd lifted the 2011 AFC Champions League trophy following a dramatic final against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

Match details

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Flag of South Korea.svg 2–2 (a.e.t.) Flag of Qatar.svg Al-Sadd
Eninho Soccerball shade.svg17'
Lee Seung-hyun Soccerball shade.svg90+2'
Report Sim Woo-Yeon Soccerball shade.svg30' (o.g.)
Keïta Soccerball shade.svg61'
Penalties
Eninho Soccerball shad check.svg
Kim Dong-Chan Soccerball shade cross.svg
Park Won-jae Soccerball shade cross.svg
Kim Sang-Sik Soccerball shad check.svg
2–4Soccerball shad check.svg Niang
Soccerball shad check.svg Al-Haydos
Soccerball shade cross.svg Lee Jung-soo
Soccerball shad check.svg Majid
Soccerball shad check.svg Belhadj
Kit left arm jeonbuk11h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body jeonbuk11h.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm jeonbuk11h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body valencia0910H.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Al-Sadd
GK21 Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Min-sik
RB25 Flag of South Korea.svg Choi Chul-soon
CB3 Flag of South Korea.svg Sim Woo-yeon
CB5 Flag of South Korea.svg Son Seung-joon
LB33 Flag of South Korea.svg Park Won-jae
CM4 Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Sang-sik (c)Yellow card.svg 90+5'
CM13 Flag of South Korea.svg Jung Hoon Sub off.svg 51'
RW8 Flag of Brazil.svg Eninho Yellow card.svg 80'
AM10 Flag of Brazil.svg Luiz Henrique Sub off.svg 71'
LW26 Flag of South Korea.svg Seo Jung-jin Sub off.svg 71'
CF9 Flag of South Korea.svg Jeong Shung-hoon
Substitutes
MF7 Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Young-Woo
MF11 Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Seung-hyun Sub on.svg 71'
FW15 Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Dong-chan Sub on.svg 51'
MF18 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Huang Bowen
FW20 Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Dong-gook Sub on.svg 71'
DF29 Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Kwang-hyun
GK41 Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Beom-soo
Manager
Flag of South Korea.svg Choi Kang-hee
GK30 Flag of Qatar.svg Mohamed Saqr
RB32 Flag of Qatar.svg Ibrahim Majid Yellow card.svg 73'
CB6 Flag of Qatar.svg Mohammed Kasola Yellow card.svg 21'Sub off.svg 53'
CB40 Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Jung-Soo
LB3 Flag of Algeria.svg Nadir Belhadj
DM21 Flag of Qatar.svg Abdulla Koni (c)
RM15 Flag of Qatar.svg Talal Al-Bloushi Yellow card.svg 66'
LM25 Flag of Qatar.svg Wesam Rizik
AM14 Flag of Qatar.svg Khalfan Ibrahim Sub off.svg 74'
CF9 Flag of Senegal.svg Mamadou Niang
CF12 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Abdul Kader Keita Yellow card.svg 52'Sub off.svg 90+5'
Substitutes
GK1 Flag of Qatar.svg Saad Al Sheeb
DF8 Flag of Qatar.svg Mesaad Al-Hamad
MF10 Flag of Qatar.svg Mohammed Al Yazeedi
FW11 Flag of Qatar.svg Hassan Al-Haydos Yellow card.svg 89'Sub on.svg 74'
DF19 Flag of Qatar.svg Nasser Nabeel
DF20 Flag of Qatar.svg Ali Afif Yellow card.svg 100' Yellow-red card.svg 120'Sub on.svg 90+5'
DF26 Flag of Qatar.svg Taher Zakaria Yellow card.svg 80'Sub on.svg 53'
Manager
Flag of Uruguay.svg Jorge Fossati

AFC's Man of the Match:
Abdul Kader Keïta (Al-Sadd)

Assistant referees:
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)
Bahadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)
Fourth official:
Tan Hai (China P.R.)

See also

References

  1. "AFC Champions League 2011 Manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  2. Al Sadd win AFC Champions League
  3. "Controversial Qatari Club Wins Asian Champions League Final". New York Times. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  4. "History for Qatar as Al Sadd win Asian title in dramatic shootout". CNN. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  5. "AFC Champions League 2011 Competitions Regulations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  6. "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". AFC. 31 July 2010.
  7. "Korea challenge for former champions". AFC. 6 July 2011.
  8. "Al Sadd win AFC Champions League". AFC. 11 May 2011.