JEDDAH: Al-Hilal’s foreign players have made the Saudi team one of the favorites to lift the Asian Champions League Elite title but Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo has his sights set on the club’s domestic contingent ahead of the quarter-finals on Friday.
The Riyadh-based outfit are aiming for a record-extending fifth continental title when the finals phase of this year’s competition begin in Jeddah with attention largely focused on the expensively acquired talent within Jorge Jesus’ side.
While Serbian duo Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have played key roles in a team of high-profile signings such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo, Lee believes the key to prevailing against Al-Hilal lies elsewhere.
“We have to take care of the Saudi Arabian players, their domestic players,” said Lee, who has led the South Korean club into the continental championship for the first time.
“We know the big name players, we know how they play. We have to keep an eye on Salem Al-Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno or Ali Al-Bulayhi. They’re the players who are the core of Al-Hilal. We have to take care of them.”
Gwangju go into the clash at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium as underdogs having already performed above expectations to reach the last eight.
After a series of impressive displays in the league phase, the Koreans battled back from a two-goal first-leg deficit to eliminate J-League champions Vissel Kobe in the previous round.
Gwangju’s Albanian winger Jasir Asani is the tournament’s leading scorer with nine goals and Lee knows his players will need to be switched on for the duration of the quarter-final if they are to prevail.
“Every minute, every second is going to be very precious for us,” he said. “The game will last maybe 100 minutes and this is a showcase for us, to show to the world how we play.
“Tomorrow’s game is do or die. One is going to win and one is going to die.”
Al-Hilal go into the clash in the middle of a stuttering run of form, prompting Jesus to temper the expectations of his club’s demanding supporters.
“We know that this team (Gwangju) is very strong, that they have had a good performance and good forward with good potential,” said the experienced Portuguese coach. “We will face a team that plays well in a collective way.
“We have watched the games they played before. We are aware of all the details of our opponent and we can say they are a strong team and that will make the match harder.”

RIYADH: Al-Nassr celebrated winning the 2024-25 Saudi Women’s Premier League title on Wednesday night after a thumping 6-0 win over Al-Taraji in their final match of the season in Riyadh.

Al-Nassr had secured the title several weeks ago and finished the season with a total of 51 points from 17 wins and only one loss.

Al-Nassr got off to a perfect start when Maria Eduardo (Duda) scored in the first minute, one of three goals she bagged in the game. Her second came one minute before the break, and she completed her hattrick after 64 minutes.

It was not the only treble of the night as Carla Luvanga repeated the feat for Al-Nassr, bringing her total for the season to 21 and making her the league’s top scorer.

The Tanzanian star opened her account after six minutes and followed up with strikes in the 17th and 36th minutes, as Al-Nassr ended the first half with a five-goal lead.

There were several other notable moments, with one yellow card issued for Al-Nassr and two for Al-Taraji, and eight and 15 fouls respectively.

Following the win, Al-Nassr’s goalkeeper Sarah Khalid told Arab News: “We prepared very well for this game, but we also wanted to enjoy every moment of it.

“It’s the last game of the season, we’re champions.”

Khalid added: “It was a good game for us ... we gave it our all, we wanted to score more obviously but at the same time, the coach decided to play as many players as possible and this is also amazing.”

The key to the championship was taking one game at a time. “Working hard towards a specific objective and lifting each other up through hardships and adversity is what makes this team very special.”

Speaking to Arab News, Al-Nassr’s head coach, Abdulaziz Al-Alwni, said: “What happened today was not easy … all the challenges we overcame were difficult, but we lucked out with this team.”

Al-Alwni added: “This year we achieved high stats and difficult numbers, and the group as a whole is the main reason why we reached as far as we did.”

“Off the field, away from the game, it’s a clean environment, an attractive environment, an environment of one heart and one family, that is the main reason why the team performs well on the field.”

The coach has already begun planning for next season.

“Next season is a hard one, we have Asia (AFC Women’s Asian Cup), West Asia (WAFF Women’s Championship), the league, the cup (Saudi Women’s Cup), and the Super Cup (Saudi Women’s Super Cup),” Al-Alwni said.

“There’s some pressure, the Saudi players are not used to these types of championships, but we have started working and next season will hopefully be a substantial one.”

Reem Al-Beloshi, a goalkeeper for Al-Nassr, spoke proudly of the result. “Today’s game was of course amazing,” she said. “We celebrated our third league win in a row … we feel great, we’re happy.”

Al-Beloshi said the attitude going into every game was to “push through” until the last minute.

“When that determination is combined with respect for the game and respect for the opposing team, that is when you will see your ambitions realized,” she said.