Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Suwon: Suwon Samsung Bluewings striker Dejan Damjanovic admits his sights are set on signing off his playing career as an AFC Champions League winner, and the tournament's all-time top goalscorer, ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Kashima Antlers.
34 goals down, two more to go. Legendary forward Damjanovic's love-affair with Asia's premier club competition keeps enduring.
A runner-up in 2013 with FC Seoul and again a semi-finalist in 2016 with the capital city club, the prolific Montenegrin is now back in the business end of the tournament with Suwon.
Just a brace off the record of current AFC Champions League all-time top scorer Lee Dong-gook, whose side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were eliminated by Suwon in the quarter-finals, Damjanovic has one eye on that record but - naturally - both on lifting the title itself.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/dejan_damjanovic_-_suwon_samsung_bluewings_-_group_h_md6_2.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Sadd star Akram Afif has warned Persepolis his performance is only getting better the further the 2018 AFC Champions League progresses ahead of their semi-final clash against the Tehran giants next week.
Leading scorer Baghdad Bounedjah and Spanish superstar Xavi may have hogged the headlines as Al Sadd reached the AFC Champions League semi-finals, but it is young Qatari talent Akram Afif who has been one of the real success stories of the Doha club's continental campaign.
And according to the 21-year-old forward, who was recently named AFC Champions League Toyota Player of the Week, the best is very much still to come.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Macau: Kashima Antlers booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2018 AFC Champions League in style on Tuesday, cruising to a 3-0 win away against Tianjin Quanjian of China.
That wrapped up a 5-0 aggregate scoreline for the Japanese side, who ensured their smooth progression with an efficient display all over the pitch.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Akram Afif has been named the Toyota Player of the Week after the forward played a starring role in Al Sadd’s 2-2 draw with Esteghlal in the second leg of the 2018 AFC Champions League quarter-final on Monday as the Qatari side advanced 5-3 on aggregate.
Kuala Lumpur: Akram Afif has been named the Toyota Player of the Week after the forward played a starring role in Al Sadd’s 2-2 draw with Esteghlal in the second leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-final on Monday as the Qatari side advanced 5-3 on aggregate.
With Al Sadd leading 3-1 from the first leg, Afif burst into the box to open the scoring with a low, angled drive before, with his side 2-1 down on the night, the 21-year-old was brought down for a penalty in injury time as the hosts salvaged a 2-2 draw to advance.
Afif had five attempts on goal, posted a passing accuracy of 86 percent and created three chances for his teammates as he scored an 8.0 rating to help Al Sadd return to the semi-finals for the first time since winning the competition in 2011.
Second in this week’s ranking is Kashima Antlers midfielder Serginho (pictured below), who scored for the second successive game against Tianjin Quanjian as the Japanese side claimed a 3-0 second-leg win to progress to their first ever AFC Champions League semi-final 5-0 on aggregate.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: And then there were four. Al Sadd, Kashima Antlers, Persepolis and Suwon Samsung Bluewings have all confirmed their places in the AFC Champions League semi-finals following the conclusion of the quarter-finals last week.
Just four teams remain in the hunt for continental glory, while Al Duhail, Esteghlal, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Tianjin Quanjin will hope to return for another shot in 2019. As the tournament edges closer to its finale, the-AFC.com takes a look back at the facts and figures from the latest round of fixtures.
Photos: Getty Images
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The-AFC.com has announced that Persepolis' Jalal Hosseini is the winner of this week’s Goal of the Week presented by Allianz for the second leg of the 2018 AFC Champions League Quarter-finals after amassing over 40,000 votes.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The AFC Champions League semi-finalists were decided this week after some exciting encounters across Asia, the-AFC.com looks back at the reactions of the key players involved in the action-packed quarter-final second leg clashes.
This was one of the best games in the world this year! We won three zero there, they won three zero here, a missed penalty in stoppage time - a crazy game, but great for Asian football. I am so tired, but so happy that we made it to the semi-finals.
Dejan Damjanovic shares his thoughts on Suwon Samsung Bluewings' rollercoaster quarter-finals tie with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, after the hosts came out on top 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 aggregate draw.