JEDDAH: The Asian Professional League, formally known as AFC Champions League, kicks off under its new name today with eight matches.
The competition has boiled down to 10 countries being deemed good enough, with Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, China and South Korea all having four teams in contention. Saudi outfits Al-Hilal, Al-Shabab, Al-Ittifaq and Al-Ittihad are looking to push the competition to another level and keep their hopes high to win the title.
Hilal was the first team to clinch title in 1992 and then again in 2000 followed by Ittihad who secured the title twice in 2004 and 2005. The four Saudi teams have been drawn in from Group A to Group D and will face their regional rivals.
• Group A: Al-Hilal (KSA), Al-Ahli (UAE), Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Saba Battery (Iran)
• Group B: Al-Shabab (KSA), Al-Garrafa (Qatar), Piroozi Athletic (Iran) and Al-Sharjah (UAE)
• Group C: Al-Ittihad (KSA), Esteghlal (Iran), Al-Jazira (UAE) and Umm Salal (Qatar);
• Group D: Al-Ittifaq (KSA), Kuruvchi Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan), Foolad Sepahan (Iran) and Al-Shabab Al-Arabi (UAE).
The match between Hilal of Saudi against Iran’s Saba Batry will be held in Riyadh.
The current Hilal club, under Prince Abdul Rahman ibn Musaed, has only one dream: to win the title and to take part in World Cup for Clubs.
Though the assistant coach is shouldering responsibilities, the major concern for Hilal club at this time is to find a replacement of the sacked coach Cosmin Olaroiu of Romania.
Shabab will play against Al-Garrafa in Group-B opener in Qatar.
Seeking the title for the first time in the club’s history, Shabab is depending heavily on the striking line of Naser Al-Shamrani, Ahmad and Abdu Utaif.
Getting three points against Al-Garrafa will be a big boost in Shabab’s journey to qualify to the next round of its group.
Heinz Hector, the Argentine coach of Shabab, prepared the team physically and mentally to gain the upper hand in the opener.
For the Argentine coach, the last match against Hilal in the Saudi Professional League was a good preparation for the team.
“All players are ready with exception to two — Badr Al-Hagbani and Majed Al-Amri — who are injured,” he said.
Al-Ittihad is at home to Iran’s Esteghlal while UAE outfit Al-Ahli takes on Uzbek heavyweights Pakhtakor in their Group C matches.
Asia’s top club competition has been expanded from 28 to 32 teams with new rules restricting each team to a maximum of four foreign players.
Stricter participation criteria have also been imposed in an effort to raise the level of play.
The group stages wrap up on May 20 with the knockout rounds starting later that month ahead of the final in Japan in November.
— With input from agencies
