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: 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. 

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.

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.

Ristić: It was an amazing feeling to be the best on the continent with Pohang Steelers in 2009

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Ristić: It was an amazing feeling to be the best on the continent with Pohang Steelers in 2009

Kuala Lumpur: When Pohang Steelers take to the pitch against Al Hilal SFC in the 2021 AFC Champions League final in Riyadh on Tuesday, it will bring memories flooding back of the last time they reached the showpiece event, in 2009, when they defeated another Saudi Arabian side, Al Ittihad, to be crowned kings of Asia. 

The ‘Class of 2009’, among them Macedonian Stevica Ristić, wrote their names into Asian footballing history as the Korean side became the first team to win the continent’s biggest club prize on three occasions. 
 
Ristić, now 39, played a huge role in that success, scoring an extra-time winner in the quarter-final against Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor and another goal in the semi-final victory over Qatar’s Umm Salal. In just 18 months with Pohang, he won the FA Cup, League Cup and AFC Champions League title. 
 
Twelve years on, the-AFC.com caught up with Ristić to discuss that memorable 2009 campaign, the current Pohang side's chances, his views on former teammate Kim Gi-dong (now the head coach) and much more. 

Al Jaber expects a stern Pohang test for Al Hilal, reflects on glory days

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

Al Jaber expects a stern Pohang test for Al Hilal, reflects on glory days

Riyadh: As Al Hilal SFC prepare for an AFC Champions League final against Pohang Steelers that would bestow upon the winner the undisputed title of Asia’s most successful club, a man who was central to the Saudi club’s finest era of success around the turn of the millennium remembers some of those moments of continental glory.

Very few names in Asian football are as synonymous with their clubs as Sami Al Jaber is with Al Hilal. A one-club man in his country and widely considered one of the greatest Saudi players of all time, Al Jaber has remained a fan favourite as he transitioned from rising starlet in the mid-1990s, to the nation’s bonafide talisman in the early 2000s to head coach and club president in the 2010s.

Fresh from helping Saudi Arabia to their third AFC Asian Cup title in the UAE in 1996, Al Jaber announced himself on the Asian club scene with a series of impressive performances including scoring the opener in the final as Al Hilal defeated Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight 3-1 to win the 1996-97 Asian Cup Winners Cup, setting up an Asian Super Cup clash with that year’s Asian Club Championship winners Pohang Steelers.

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

2021 AFC Champions League - Pohang Steelers: Road to the Final

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League - Pohang Steelers: Road to the Final

Kuala Lumpur: Three-time Asian champions Pohang Steelers will return to the AFC Champions League final 12 years after last appearing in the showpiece event when they take on Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal SFC at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium on Tuesday. 

The eagerly awaited contest will see Pohang taking part in the continent’s biggest club game for the first time since they were crowned champions after beating another Saudi Arabian powerhouse, Al Ittihad, back in 2009. 

In what has been a disappointing campaign domestically, the K League 1 side have saved their best for the 2021 AFC Champions League as they surprised many by reaching the grand finale. The-AFC.com relives their journey to Riyadh. 

2021 AFC Champions League - Al Hilal SFC: Road to the Final

Fri, 19 Nov, 2021

2021 AFC Champions League - Al Hilal SFC: Road to the Final

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC’s road to the 2021 AFC Champions League final was not an easy ride by any means, but they persevered to reach their fourth final in the last eight editions.

Facing Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers, this will be their 11th final in AFC competitions, and their fourth in the AFC Champions League era as they look to wrestle the bragging rights to a record fourth Asian title.