The business end of Asia’s biggest club competition is about to kick-off and the tension is already unbearable as some of the giants of Asian football go head-to-head in a fight to come off as the continent’s best football club.
The 14th edition of the AFC Champions League got off to a flying start as the Group Stages saw some heavyweights get knocked out of the competition to comparatively smaller names. The biggest surprise of the Group Stage was the elimination of three-time Champions League winners Pohang Steelers who finished at the bottom of their group with just five points to their name. To keep up the tradition of giant killing, two-time winners of the tournament Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Guangzhou Evergrande and Al Ittihad all dropped out at the Group Stage after some shockingly poor results.
Just 16 teams remain in the hunt for glory and it’s almost impossible predicting a winner out of them. We, however, will put our heads up on the block as we try to make meaning out of the chaos that is the intensely competitive AFC Champions League and bring you who we believe could go all the way.
Shanghai SIPG
Chinese powerhouse Shanghai SIPG has shot to the top of the Asian game from out of nowhere. The Red Eagles are just ten years old and are already making waves in the world of football. Sven Goran Eriksson has been masterminding the functioning of the club since 2014 and has led them to the Round of 16 in their very first appearance in the AFC Champions League.
The Shanghai-based outfit has surprised everyone this season and with international stars like Asamoah Gyan and Kim Ju-young, there’s every chance of them going all the way in this year’s tournament. The rise of Shanghai as a footballing powerhouse has been combined with the rise of Chinese football in general. A lot of money is being poured into Chinese football and a Champions League victory by arguably their strongest team at the moment should seal their position as a superpower in Asian football.
Outright Odds: 4.50
Best Champions League finish: Round of 16 (Present season)
Al-Hilal
Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Hilal made it to the Round of 16 of this year’s Champions League after pipping Uzbeks Pakhtakor to earn the second spot in Group C. Al-Hilal are true champions of the Asian game having lifted the glorious trophy on two previous occasions.
The Blue Wave, as they have always been known, is seen as one of the strongest challengers for this edition of the Champions League. The Saudi team will be keen to go all the way this time as the memories of their 2014 final defeat at the hands of the Western Sydney Wanderers surely still haunts them.
Managed by former Greek icon Giorgos Donis, Al Hilal has been on top of the Saudi game for decades and is their nation’s most successful football club. Their Asian pedigree is also proven even though the last time they won the Champions League was in 2000.
Outright Odds: 7.50
Best Champions League finish: Winner (1991 & 2000); Runner-up (1986, 1987 & 2014)
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
South Korean giants Jeonbuk Hyundai, probably the strongest football team in South Korea for the past few seasons, is yet another team that is being strongly tipped to go all the way in the hunt for the 2016 Champions League.
Despite being so highly rated, Jeonbuk qualified as winners of Group E, but only on goal difference. The Korean side has been on the up since the turn of the decade after winning their national league three times. In terms of continental success though, the closest they came to winning the Champions League was in 2011 when they lost out to Qatari side Al Sadd.
Jeonbuk’s Brazilian triumvirate of Leonardo, Ricardo Lopes, and Luis Henrique have gotten the team beyond many obstacles this season and they’ll be hoping to take their team all the way in the hunt for the elusive Champions League.
Outright Odds: 7.50
Best Champions League finish: Winner (2006); Runner-up (2011)
FC Seoul
Yet another South Korean team that is being highly rated is FC Seoul. The capital based club has never won the Champions League despite having finished as runner-up on two occasions.
Seoul has been in stupendous form this season and it’s not surprising at all that the bookmakers rate them so highly. They eased through the Group Stages with a total of 13 points to their name, scoring 17 goals in the process while conceding just five.
Seoul has come agonizingly close to getting their hands on the coveted trophy on a few occasions but all their attempts at lifting the cup have ultimately failed. The football pundits, however, rate the Koreans very highly this time around especially due to their superior form in the Group Stages. 188BET currently has them at 8.50 to win the Champions League.
Outright Odds: 8.50
Best Champions League finish: Runner-up (2002 & 2013)
Urawa Red Diamonds
One of only two Japanese teams in the Round of 16, the Urawa Red Diamonds head into this stage of the competition as one of the favourites to lift the ultimate prize. The Reds have tasted Champions League success previously as they won the tournament in 2007 but they will be trying desperately to get their hands on it yet again.
The Red Diamonds made tough work of their Group Stage ties as they barely managed to secure the second spot with nine points, just one point ahead of Guangzhou Evergrande in third place.
In fact, they are another team that has been successful in their domestic tournaments without achieving the same results in the continental tournaments. Their Serbian boss Mihailo Petrovic has done well since taking over the club in 2012 but a lack of true Champions League success is sure to be biting away in the back of his mind.
Outright Odds: 8.50
Best Champions League finish: Winner (2007)
Shandong Luneng
Shandong Luneng is China’s second entrant in the Round of 16 and the sixth favourite side to lift the Champions League. The Shandong-based side lacks the continental pedigree of some of the other teams in this stage of the competition as the highest that they’ve gone in the Champions League is the quarterfinals stage.
What Shandong Luneng lacks in pedigree though, they seem to have made up for it in form as they beat highly rated J League side Sanfrecce to secure the second spot in their group. Taishan, as they are called by their fans, has consistently done well in the Super League over the past few seasons, but their good domestic form has never really been replicated on the continental stage.
The Chinese outfit will be hoping to change that as they embark on what should be a grueling knockout phase of the AFC Champions League.
Outright Odds: 11.00
Best Champions League finish: Quarterfinals (2000 & 2005)
