2021 AFC Champions League Final in Numbers

Tue, 23 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final in Numbers

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC and Pohang Steelers will square off for the right to be crowned kings of the continent when the sides meet in the 2021 AFC Champions League final at King Fahd International Stadium on Tuesday. 

Both teams will be looking to write their own piece of history in the one-legged showpiece event as they prepare to go head-to-head for the first time since the Asian Club Championship semi-finals in 1998. 

Ahead of the grand finale in Riyadh, the-AFC.com highlights some of the standout numbers surrounding the fixture. 

Al Hilal SFC: Ones to Watch

Tue, 23 Nov, 2021

Al Hilal SFC: Ones to Watch

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC go into the 2021 AFC Champions League final against FC Pohang Steelers on the back of stellar performances from key players across the pitch, with impressive numbers and achievements to show for it.

With the tie taking place on Tuesday at the King Fahd International Stadium, the-AFC.com looks at three of the club’s top performers throughout this campaign who could be the difference makers as Al Hilal pursue their fourth title.

Pohang Steelers: Ones to Watch

Tue, 23 Nov, 2021

Pohang Steelers: Ones to Watch

Riyadh: Pohang Steelers are aiming to be crowned kings of Asia for a record fourth time when they take on Al Hilal SFC in the 2021 AFC Champions League finale in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The current crop of Pohang players will hope to emulate the class of 2009 when the club last lifted the famous trophy, but face a daunting challenge away from home at a partisan King Fahd International Stadium in the Saudi Arabian capital. 

Ahead of Tuesday’s hotly anticipated one-legged showpiece, the-AFC.com has selected three players who could prove to be the key in Pohang's bid to overcome the final hurdle.

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Leonardo Jardim (Al Hilal SFC)

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Leonardo Jardim (Al Hilal SFC)

Riyadh: Leonardo Jardim hopes to become the first Portuguese manager to win the AFC Champions League as he leads Al Hilal SFC against Pohang Steelers in the final on Tuesday.

An honour first achieved in Europe by Arthur Jorge in 1987 with FC Porto and followed twice by Jose Mourinho since, in South America in 2019 by former Al Hilal boss Jorge Jesus with Flamengo and the following year by Abel Ferreira at Palmeiras, remains unprecedented in the world’s largest continent, offering Jardim the opportunity to create history for his nation.

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Kim Gi-dong (Pohang Steelers)

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final – The Coach: Kim Gi-dong (Pohang Steelers)

Riyadh: Not many people have tasted success as both a player and a head coach for their beloved club, but Kim Gi-dong is on the verge of doing just that for Pohang Steelers. 

Having been part of the 2009 AFC Champions League-winning squad and claiming several other titles with Pohang during his playing days, Kim has now led the side to the 2021 continental final. 

Ahead of the grand finale against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC on November 23, the 49-year-old is aiming to become one of a select few to have won Asia’s biggest club prize as both a player and head coach. 

Al Mofarij reflects on red card against Pohang Steelers, explains Al Hilal's recipe for success

Wed, 24 Nov, 2021

Al Mofarij reflects on red card against Pohang Steelers, explains Al Hilal's recipe for success

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC will count on the experience of many key players when they take on Pohang Steelers in the 2021 AFC Champions League final, but beyond the pitch, few are as experienced in occasions like this as former defender turned CEO of Football Operations at the club, Fahed Al Mofarij.

The 43-year-old has spent half of his life at Al Hilal, coming through the youth ranks in the early 1990s to establishing himself as a key first team player between 1996 and 2009, then after hanging his boots returning to the club in an administrative capacity to help build the current generation of players that has made reaching AFC Champions League finals a club tradition.

Of the 10 continental finals Al Hilal competed in across all AFC competitions, Al Mofarij was present in eight of them, in one capacity or another, but it is against Tuesday’s opponents that he has had some of his earliest and most prominent memories as a player.

2021 AFC Champions League Final - A history of Korean players at Al Hilal

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League Final - A history of Korean players at Al Hilal

Riyadh: As Al Hilal SFC prepare to take on Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers in the 2021 AFC Champions League final on Tuesday, we reflect on a long tradition of Korean players at the Saudi club.

Defender Jang Hyun-soo already became the first Korean to win the continental title in Al Hilal colours, and he is set to become the second to face a Korean club while wearing the famous blue jersey, but before him there have been four players from the East Asian nation who have left a mark at the club

Grant: We have to match the Pohang teams of before

Sun, 21 Nov, 2021

Grant: We have to match the Pohang teams of before

Riyadh: Having scored the goal that kept Pohang Steelers’ 2021 AFC Champions League campaign alive, Alex Grant has already made an impression on this year’s competition. 

As he prepares for Tuesday’s final against Al Hilal, the ex-Australia youth international tells the-AFC.com he is setting his sights on delivering a fourth Asian crown for the K-League club.