유지호
| 2020-12-19 23:06:21
football club-tournament
Ulsan Hyundai FC win AFC Champions League title
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- Ulsan Hyundai FC are the champions of Asian club football for 2020.
The South Korean club defeated Persepolis FC of Iran 2-1 in the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in Qatar on Saturday.
Junior Negrao converted two penalties at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, just south of Doha, helping Ulsan rally from a 1-0 deficit.
This was Ulsan's first AFC title since 2012. They were the runners-up in both the K League 1 and the Korean FA Cup tournament this year, finishing behind Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors each time.
The script was flipped at the AFC Champions League when the group stage for East Asian clubs resumed, following a coronavirus-induced hiatus, in November in Qatar.
Jeonbuk, in their bid for a third major trophy, didn't even make it past the group stage. But Ulsan reeled off five consecutive victories to finish atop Group F, and then won three straight knockout matches to reach the final. In the process, Ulsan set a tournament record by scoring at least two goals in eight consecutive matches.
Ulsan's ninth consecutive win was a perfect sendoff gift for their outgoing head coach Kim Do-hoon. His four-year contract expires at the end of this year, and Kim said in his press conference after the semifinals last weekend that the Champions League final would be his last one with Ulsan.
Ulsan won the Korean FA Cup in 2017, Kim's first year at the helm, but the talented squad has often crumbled under the weight of expectations. They were runners-up in the K League 1 in 2019 and 2020, and at the FA Cup in 2018 and 2020.
The teams traded a goal apiece in the first half.
In the 45th minute, Mehdi Abdi put Persepolis on the board following a Ulsan turnover. Defender Park Joo-ho lost control of the ball in his own zone while trying to make a pass, and Abdi picked up the loose ball, sprinted to the center of the box, and rolled one into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 Persepolis lead.
Ulsan tied things up on the final play of the first half. Shortly after Abdi's goal, Ulsan were awarded a penalty following a video review, which showed Ahmad Noorollahi fouling Yoon in the box while trying to contain the Ulsan midfielder.
Junior Negrao's first attempt was saved by goalkeeper Hamed Lak but the rebound bounced right back to the Brazilian forward, who calmly put it into the gaping net for a 1-1 tie.
Junior, as he's commonly known, scored another penalty in the 55th minute to put Ulsan ahead for good.
And once again, Ulsan benefited from a video review. When Lee Chung-yong sent a cross intended for Junior in the box, Persepolis defender Mehdi Shiri touched the ball with his right hand as he jumped for a header.
The violation wasn't immediately called. But the video assistant referee alerted on-field official Abdulrahman Al Jassim, who didn't need much time to call the handball on Shiri after watching the replay.
Junior stepped up and beat Lak with his first attempt this time.
Ulsan averted a huge crisis in the 85th minute, when defender Kim Kee-hee was let off the hook by a video review after getting tangled up with Noorollahi inside the Ulsan box.
(END)
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]