AFC Champions League 2020 Archive

Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara topped Semi-final 1 with a whopping 69.43 percent of the votes for his goal against Al Nassr in the semi-finals while another Iran club, Esteghlal FC will also be represented in the final with Cheick Diabate's effort against Al Ahli Saudi FC in the group stage garnering 22.15 percent of the votes.

Al Nassr's Abderrazak Hamdallah, the 2020 AFC Champions League top scorer with seven goals, also advanced to the final with his group stage goal against Sepahan FC receiving the third highest number of votes.

Check out the Semi-final 1 nominees and results below and don't forget to cast your vote in Semi-final 2 which starts at 14:00 (UTC+8) on Thursday. The top three will advance to the final which kicks off on January 7.

Al Nassr's youth team coach Alen Horvat will replace the former Benfica tactician, who leaves Al Nassr after spending two seasons with the the Riyadh-based club.

There were several standout performers and performances from the 2020 edition of Asia's premier club tournament that thrilled fans the Continent over.

We break down the statistics – provided by the AFC's official data provider Stats Perform – to review some of the key categories and those who excelled in them.

Hong replaces Kim Do-hoon, who led Ulsan to their second AFC Champions League title last Saturday, beating Islamic Republic of Iran's Persepolis FC in the final.

Hong, a former professional footballer who played in Korea Republic, Japan and the United States, will be looking to stamp his mark in the K League 1 next season, with Ulsan Hyundai having finished runners-up twice in a row.

Working in close co-operation with the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Qatari Authorities, especially the medical teams, and the Local Organising Committee (LOC), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted 12,139 tests between November 9 and December 19, 2020 and no positive tests were recorded among those in the bio-secure bubble.

Announced as Jose Morais' replacement on Tuesday, Kim has a huge responsibility going into the 2021 season with Jeonbuk having won the last four K League 1 titles and the Korean FA Cup this year.

Kim, however, believes he has the recipe to ensure Jeonbuk continue their dominance.

Kim takes charge at the 2006 and 2016 AFC Champions League winners following the conclusion of Morais’ two-year stint in charge, during which time the Portuguese led Jeonbuk to back-to-back K League titles as well as the 2020 Korean FA Cup.

The Horangi's victory added to the title they won back in 2012 as the Korean side made up for a disappointing end to their K League 1 season, while defeat for Persepolis meant the Iranian team have now been on the losing end in two of the past three Continental finals.

As the dust begins to settle on the 2020 AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com looks back at the facts and figures that caught the eye a thrilling finale.

Ulsan Hyundai made it 11 of 14 AFC Champions League final wins for East Asian sides against West Asian opposition thanks to defensive adaptations and striker Junior Negrao's tenacity.

Persepolis may have suffered heartbreak at the final hurdle for the second time in three years, but there were positives from the match for the Islamic Republic of Iran champions.

With Qatar’s Al Duhail SC having suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Al Shorta of Iraq in the group earlier match on Tuesday, Al Ahli Saudi and Esteghlal went into their tie at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium knowing victory would place them in pole position to win the group and seal the sole automatic ticket to the Round of 16.

Instead, the 90 minutes ended in a stalemate, with both tied on eight points with Al Duhail going into Matchday Six on Thursday.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-Kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals while Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last-Minute Goals, his teammate Hamed Lak won the Best Saves, while Pedro Conde topped the Best Clinical Finishes.

For our final week, we have a selection of seven scorers celebrating their goals in unique styles and invite you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals, Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals while his teammate Hamed Lak won the Best Saves.

Our next instalment looks at the goals scored by clinical finishes and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals while Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals.

Our next instalment looks at some game-defining saves and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks of 2020, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals of 2020, while Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals of 2020.

Our next instalment looks at the goals scored right at the very end and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara topped Semi-final 1 with a whopping 69.43 percent of the votes for his goal against Al Nassr in the semi-finals while another Iran club, Esteghlal FC will also be represented in the final with Cheick Diabate's effort against Al Ahli Saudi FC in the group stage garnering 22.15 percent of the votes.

Al Nassr's Abderrazak Hamdallah, the 2020 AFC Champions League top scorer with seven goals, also advanced to the final with his group stage goal against Sepahan FC receiving the third highest number of votes.

Check out the Semi-final 1 nominees and results below and don't forget to cast your vote in Semi-final 2 which starts at 14:00 (UTC+8) on Thursday. The top three will advance to the final which kicks off on January 7.

Al Nassr's youth team coach Alen Horvat will replace the former Benfica tactician, who leaves Al Nassr after spending two seasons with the the Riyadh-based club.

There were several standout performers and performances from the 2020 edition of Asia's premier club tournament that thrilled fans the Continent over.

We break down the statistics – provided by the AFC's official data provider Stats Perform – to review some of the key categories and those who excelled in them.

Hong replaces Kim Do-hoon, who led Ulsan to their second AFC Champions League title last Saturday, beating Islamic Republic of Iran's Persepolis FC in the final.

Hong, a former professional footballer who played in Korea Republic, Japan and the United States, will be looking to stamp his mark in the K League 1 next season, with Ulsan Hyundai having finished runners-up twice in a row.

Working in close co-operation with the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Qatari Authorities, especially the medical teams, and the Local Organising Committee (LOC), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted 12,139 tests between November 9 and December 19, 2020 and no positive tests were recorded among those in the bio-secure bubble.

Announced as Jose Morais' replacement on Tuesday, Kim has a huge responsibility going into the 2021 season with Jeonbuk having won the last four K League 1 titles and the Korean FA Cup this year.

Kim, however, believes he has the recipe to ensure Jeonbuk continue their dominance.

Kim takes charge at the 2006 and 2016 AFC Champions League winners following the conclusion of Morais’ two-year stint in charge, during which time the Portuguese led Jeonbuk to back-to-back K League titles as well as the 2020 Korean FA Cup.

The Horangi's victory added to the title they won back in 2012 as the Korean side made up for a disappointing end to their K League 1 season, while defeat for Persepolis meant the Iranian team have now been on the losing end in two of the past three Continental finals.

As the dust begins to settle on the 2020 AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com looks back at the facts and figures that caught the eye a thrilling finale.

Ulsan Hyundai made it 11 of 14 AFC Champions League final wins for East Asian sides against West Asian opposition thanks to defensive adaptations and striker Junior Negrao's tenacity.

Persepolis may have suffered heartbreak at the final hurdle for the second time in three years, but there were positives from the match for the Islamic Republic of Iran champions.