Al Taawoun stun Al Ittihad to win Saudi King’s Cup

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Al Taawoun stun Al Ittihad to win Saudi King’s Cup

Kuala Lumpur: Al Taawoun completed their dream run in the 2018-19 Saudi King's Cup by stunning AFC Champions League regulars Al Ittihad 2-1 in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Thursday.

Al Taawoun came from a goal down to win, with Leandre Tawamba scoring a dramatic winner in the 89th minute.

HM King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presented the title to Al Taawoun, their first King’s Cup trophy.

Xavi calls time on career

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Xavi calls time on career

Doha: Al Sadd midfielder and Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez has announced he will retire at the end of the current Qatar Stars League season.

Xavi, who has been playing for Al Sadd since 2015, said that he will move into coaching after hanging up his boots.

Xavi, who played a record 767 times for Spanish giants Barcelona and earned 133 caps with Spain, announced his retirement plans in an open letter to the Spanish media on Thursday.

Seventh heaven: Beijing set win record in CSL

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Seventh heaven: Beijing set win record in CSL

Shanghai: Roger Schmidt praised his side's thirst for victory after Beijing FC made it a record seventh win in a row since the start of the Chinese Super League season.

No team in the Chinese top flight has begun a campaign so well and it makes the German coach's team early favourites to win the CSL.

Spanish attacking midfielder Jonathan Viera hit a hat-trick in a 4-1 defeat of Dalian Yifang on Sunday to extend Beijing's perfect run.

Esteghlal suspend head coach Winfried Schäfer 

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Esteghlal suspend head coach Winfried Schäfer 

Tehran: Iran Pro League side Esteghlal FC have suspended head coach Winfried Schäfer, the club announced on Monday.

Schäfer’s assistant, Farhad Majidi is the caretaker coach and will take charge of the club for the remaining games in both the Iran Pro League and the AFC Champions League.

It was a disappointing week for the 69-year-old German and Esteghlal, who lost 1-0 to Padideh in the Iran Pro League on Saturday, following a similar 1-0 defeat to Al Hilal in the 2019 AFC Champions League Group C on Matchday Four.

Matchday Four: The Week In Numbers

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Matchday Four: The Week In Numbers

Kuala Lumpur: After another week of dramatic AFC Champions League action, the eight groups have taken shape as the group stage moves towards the business end of proceedings. 

As the 32 sides begin to prepare for the crucial fifth round of fixtures from which some will advance and others may fall by the wayside, join the-AFC.com as we look back on the week in numbers.

Photos: Getty Images

Matchday Four: What They Said

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

Matchday Four: What They Said

Kuala Lumpur: Big wins, debuts, disappointment and hope rekindled were all in the air after the 2019 AFC Champions League's Matchday Four of the Group Stage concluded this week.

Another exciting round of Continental football across Asia brought with it a series of intriguing ties, the-AFC.com talks to those involved to reflect on their latest matches.

ACL 2019 Allianz Goal of the Week: Sebastian Giovinco (Al Hilal SFC)

Thu, 28 Oct, 2021

ACL 2019 Allianz Goal of the Week: Sebastian Giovinco (Al Hilal SFC)

Kuala Lumpur: The-AFC.com has announced that Al Hilal SFC's Sebastian Giovinco is the winner of this week’s Goal of the Week presented by Allianz for Matchday Four of the 2019 AFC Champions League.