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2014 AFC Champions League final

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2014 AFC Champions League Final
Event2014 AFC Champions League
on aggregate
First leg
Date25 October 2014
VenueParramatta Stadium, Sydney
AFC Man of the MatchSalem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)[1]
Fans' Man of the MatchTomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers)[2]
RefereeAlireza Faghani (Iran)
Attendance20,053
WeatherPartly cloudy
22 °C (72 °F)
42% humidity[1]
Second leg
Date1 November 2014
VenueKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
AFC Man of the MatchAnte Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers)[3]
Fans' Man of the MatchNawaf Al Abed (Al-Hilal)
RefereeYuichi Nishimura (Japan)
Attendance63,763
WeatherClear
27 °C (81 °F)
51% humidity[3]
2013
2015

The 2014 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2014 AFC Champions League, the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title.

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Australian team Western Sydney Wanderers and Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal. The first leg was hosted by Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney on 25 October 2014, while the second leg was hosted by Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on 1 November 2014. This was the first AFC Champions League final involving an Australian club since Adelaide United in 2008, as well as the first to not involve a South Korean representative since the said final.

Western Sydney Wanderers won the match 1–0 on aggregate to become the first Australian team to win the trophy. As champions, Wanderers also earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, entering at the quarter-finals.[4]

Qualified teams

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Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Australia Western Sydney Wanderers None
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 1987, 1991, 2000

Venues

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The Parramatta Stadium hosted first leg of the final.

The 2014 AFC Champions League Final is contested in two-legged home-and-away format, held at the home of both finalists. It is the second consecutive year that the AFC adopted such an arrangement, following the success of the 2013 AFC Champions League Final.

Western Sydney Wanderers' home venue, Parramatta Stadium, is a 21,500 seated stadium located in the city of Sydney. The stadium was chosen in preference to the 45,500 seated Sydney Football Stadium and 84,000 seated Stadium Australia.[5] Although the experience during the final was widely praised, the stadium was built in 1985, and the lack of modern facilities saw the Wanderers lobby the NSW Government to replace the stadium with a new one, as an example, because VIP patrons were kept waiting for elevators to their corporate boxes. The stadium was demolished in February 2017 and replaced on the same site by the Western Sydney Stadium.

Only one previous final has been held in Australia. In the second leg of the 2008 final, Adelaide United was defeated by Gamba Osaka 0–2 in Hindmarsh Stadium in the city of Adelaide. Gamba Osaka eventually claimed the title 5–0 on aggregate.

Al-Hilal's home venue, King Fahd International Stadium, is a 61,781 seated stadium located in the capital city of Riyadh. It is also the home ground of several other Saudi Premier League clubs.

In the history of the competition, seven finals have been held in Saudi Arabia and this final was the fifth that Riyadh hosted. The first final hosted by a Saudi Arabian city was the first ever Asian final, the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, which was won by South Korean side Daewoo Royals 3–1 against Al-Ahli in the city of Jeddah. The next two consecutive finals, the 1986 and second leg of the 1987, were hosted in the Riyadh. The 1986 final was won by Japanese side Furukawa Electric, with Al-Hilal finishing runners-up. The 1987 final was awarded to Yomiuri FC after a walkover by Al-Hilal. Eight years later, Al-Nassr hosted the 1995 final, when Ilhwa Chunma won the match 1–0 in the King Fahd International Stadium. Al-Hilal brought the final back to Riyadh for the 1999–2000 final, in which the club won 3–2 against Japanese side Júbilo Iwata. The first leg of the 2004 final saw Al-Ittihad lose to South Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 1–3 in the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium (6–3 on aggregate). The second leg of the 2005 final returned to Al-Ittihad's home, when the club was crowned Asian Champions after a 4–2 thrashing of United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain (5–3 on aggregate).

Background

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Al-Hilal have made 21 appearances in continental football and been crowned champions of Asia on two occasions, in the 1991 and the 1999–2000 edition of the tournament. The 2014 Champions League was Western Sydney Wanderers first appearance in continental football, with the club only established in 2012.

Both clubs qualified directly to the Champions League group stage through their respective leagues; Al-Hilal finished second in the 2012–13 Saudi Professional League and Western Sydney Wanderers ended their first ever season of competition (the 2012–13 A-League) as league winners.

In the lead-up to the 2014 Champions League both finalists had strong seasons, with both clubs finishing second in their respective leagues (Al-Hilal in the 2013–14 Saudi Professional League and Western Sydney Wanderers in the 2013–14 A-League). Al-Hilal also managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 King Cup of Champions where they were eliminated, and Western Sydney Wanderers reached the 2014 A-League Grand Final which they eventually lost in extra time.

The clubs began competing in the Champions League group stage in February 2014 during mid-season in their domestic competitions, and they continued in the tournament after the end of the 2013–14 football seasons in Australia and Saudi Arabia due to the calendar format of the Asian tournament. For Al-Hilal, the 2014–15 Saudi Professional League started in early August before the resumption of the Champions League quarter-finals, while for the Western Sydney Wanderers, the 2014–15 A-League started in early October, after the Champions League semi-finals and before the final.

Prior to the final, Al-Hilal coach Laurențiu Reghecampf dismissed the Wanderers as "a small team", and frequently promised that Al-Hilal would win the title.[6]

Road to the final

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Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Australia Western Sydney Wanderers Round Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1–3 (H) Matchday 1 United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli 2–2 (H)
China Guizhou Renhe 1–0 (A) Matchday 2 Iran Sepahan 2–3 (A)
Japan Kawasaki Frontale 1–0 (H) Matchday 3 Qatar Al-Sadd 2–2 (A)
Japan Kawasaki Frontale 1–2 (A) Matchday 4 Qatar Al-Sadd 5–0 (H)
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 2–0 (A) Matchday 5 United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli 0–0 (A)
China Guizhou Renhe 5–0 (H) Matchday 6 Iran Sepahan 1–0 (H)
Group H winner

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers 6 4 0 2 11 5 +6 12 Advance to knockout stage
2 Japan Kawasaki Frontale 6 4 0 2 7 5 +2 12
3 South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7
4 China Guizhou Renhe 6 1 1 4 4 10 −6 4
Source: [citation needed]
Final standings Group D winner

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 6 2 3 1 12 7 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage
2 Qatar Al-Sadd 6 2 2 2 8 14 −6 8
3 United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7
4 Iran Sepahan 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7
Source: [citation needed]
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knock-out stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–3 (a) 1–3 (A) 2–0 (H) Round of 16 Uzbekistan Bunyodkor 4–0 1–0 (A) 3–0 (H)
China Guangzhou Evergrande 2–2 (a) 1–0 (H) 1–2 (A) Quarter-finals Qatar Al-Sadd 1–0 1–0 (H) 0–0 (A)
South Korea FC Seoul 2–0 0–0 (A) 2–0 (H) Semi-finals United Arab Emirates Al-Ain 4–2 3–0 (H) 1–2 (A)

Rules

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The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by draw. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[4]

Match details

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First leg

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Summary

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The first leg was played at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney on 25 October 2014.[1]

The game started in a manner that did not reflect the eventual result. Moments after kick-off Salman Al-Faraj broke into the area on the left flank but couldn't find a team-mate and the Wanderers cleared the ball behind for a corner. Al-Hilal dominated possession and the chances but couldn't find any cracks in the Aussies' armoured defence. Moments before half-time Al-Hilal had their best chance of the night after a defensive clearance came off Mateo Poljak's face and into Nasser Al-Shamrani's position, but the striker skied his shot.

Super-sub Tomi Juric came on in the 58th minute and it took him merely 6 minutes to make his mark: a peach of a cross from Antony Golec on the left wing found him up front, the number 9 connecting with a right boot that saw the ball slide under Abdullah Al-Sudairy to give the Wanderers a priceless goal. Golec later described it as the best cross in his entire career.

As the clock ticked past the 70th minute Juric nearly had a brace, picking up the ball after Digão made a mistake and then went on a mazy run at the Al-Hilal defence. Juric opened up enough space for a placed shot from the edge of the penalty area, which beat the keeper but not the woodwork, the ball bouncing away from the path of Mark Bridge who would have been faced with a tap-in.

Al-Hilal had the better of the match but lacked a truly cutting edge and it proved to be their downfall. Without an away goal to show for their trip, the Wanderers will win the Champions League trophy with a win or draw at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. If the Wanderers can continue their streak of scoring in away ACL matches their opponents will need at least three goals to win the tie.[7][8]

Details

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Western Sydney Wanderers Australia1–0Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Juric 64' Report
Attendance: 20,053
Western Sydney Wanderers
Al-Hilal
GK 1 Australia Ante Covic
RB 2 Australia Shannon Cole downward-facing red arrow 83'
CB 35 Australia Antony Golec
CB 4 Australia Nikolai Topor-Stanley (c)
LB 8 Croatia Mateo Poljak Yellow card 31' downward-facing red arrow 76'
CM 33 Australia Daniel Mullen
CM 18 Italy Iacopo La Rocca
CM 17 Australia Brendan Hamill
RF 7 Australia Labinot Haliti
CF 11 Australia Brendon Santalab Yellow card 43' downward-facing red arrow 58'
LF 19 Australia Mark Bridge
Substitutes:
GK 20 Australia Dean Bouzanis
DF 13 Australia Matthew Spiranovic upward-facing green arrow 76'
DF 23 Australia Jason Trifiro
DF 32 Australia Daniel Alessi
MF 10 Brazil Vítor Saba upward-facing green arrow 83'
FW 9 Australia Tomi Juric upward-facing green arrow 58'
FW 14 New Zealand Kwabena Appiah
Manager:
Australia Tony Popovic
GK 28 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Sudairy Yellow card 53'
RB 4 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Zori
CB 26 Brazil Digão
CB 23 South Korea Kwak Tae-hwi
LB 12 Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Shahrani
DM 27 Saudi Arabia Saud Kariri (c)
DM 25 Romania Mihai Pintilii
CM 13 Saudi Arabia Salman Al-Faraj downward-facing red arrow 80'
RF 7 Brazil Thiago Neves Yellow card 74'
CF 15 Saudi Arabia Nasser Al-Shamrani
LF 29 Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari downward-facing red arrow 90+1'
Substitutes:
GK 22 Saudi Arabia Fahad Al-Thunayan
DF 33 Saudi Arabia Sultan Al-Deayea
MF 6 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Qarni
MF 10 Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Shalhoub
MF 24 Saudi Arabia Nawaf Al-Abed upward-facing green arrow 80'
FW 9 Saudi Arabia Hamed Al-Hamed
FW 16 Saudi Arabia Yousef Al-Salem upward-facing green arrow 90+1'
Manager:
Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf

AFC Man of the Match:
Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)
Fans' Man of the Match:
Australia Tomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers)

Assistant referees:
Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)
Reza Sokhandan (Iran)
Fourth official:
Nagor Amir Noor Mohamed (Malaysia)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • The first leg of a two legged tie.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics

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Second leg

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Summary

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The second leg was hosted by Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on 1 November 2014.[3]

In the 18th minute Al Hilal had the first chance of the game, swinging a free kick from the left flank that the Wanderers weren't able to get anything on, thankfully for them neither did one of their opponents, a right boot stuck out but agonisingly distant from making contact.

A minute before half-time the first penalty shout of the night was waved away by referee Yuichi Nishimura. Inside the area a ball rolled into the path of the flying Nawaf Al-Abed, Antony Golec clipped the right foot of the attacker but the theatrical leap perhaps weighed the incidence in the favour of the Australians.

After the break, it was another stonewall penalty turned down, when Salman Al-Faraj latched onto a through ball deep on the right corner of the penalty area and was clearly brought down by Ante Covic, but the goalkeeper punished for the indiscretion. Another potential penalty came when the ball was kicked at short range into the arms of Brendon Santalab. However, Nishimura judged that it was ball to hand rather than hand to ball.

The Saudi representative pushed on and on, pressing for a goal that would take the game into extra time and it looked certain that they had one in the 84th minute: a cutback found Yasser Al-Qahtani, who fired a shot from near the penalty spot that had no right to be saved, but the hands of Covic found a way. The ball bounced once before spinning out for a corner just inches away from the goalpost.

The Wanderers had precious little attack of their own, the best chance coming from a mazy Vítor Saba dribble that released Labinot Haliti, the shot being blocked desperately. Western Sydney didn't need a goal however, an eventual 6 minutes of injury time passed before the final whistle blew and the Wanderers were officially crowned Champions of Asia. As the sun rose in Parramatta the large crowd of Wanderers fans that had packed out the viewing party in the open air Centenary Square celebrated with cheers, chanting, smoke bombs and flares in a cacophony of noise. The Wanderers fans then came in prodigious numbers and filled the arrival hall at Sydney Airport when the team returned back home.

Details

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Al-Hilal
Western Sydney Wanderers
GK 28 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Sudairy
RB 27 Saudi Arabia Saud Kariri (c) downward-facing red arrow 57'
CB 26 Brazil Digão
CB 23 South Korea Kwak Tae-hwi
LB 25 Romania Mihai Pintilii
RM 29 Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari
CM 13 Saudi Arabia Salman Al-Faraj
LM 12 Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Shahrani
AM 7 Brazil Thiago Neves downward-facing red arrow 77'
AM 24 Saudi Arabia Nawaf Al-Abed downward-facing red arrow 87'
CF 15 Saudi Arabia Nasser Al-Shamrani
Substitutes:
GK 22 Saudi Arabia Fahad Al-Thunayan
DF 4 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Zori
MF 6 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Qarni
MF 10 Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Shalhoub upward-facing green arrow 77'
MF 11 Saudi Arabia Abdullaziz Al-Dawsari upward-facing green arrow 87'
FW 16 Saudi Arabia Yousef Al-Salem
FW 20 Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Qahtani upward-facing green arrow 57'
Manager:
Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf
GK 1 Australia Ante Covic Yellow card 90+1'
RB 2 Australia Shannon Cole
CB 35 Australia Antony Golec
CB 4 Australia Nikolai Topor-Stanley (c)
LB 8 Croatia Mateo Poljak
RM 7 Australia Labinot Haliti
CM 18 Italy Iacopo La Rocca downward-facing red arrow 77'
CM 17 Australia Brendan Hamill
LM 19 Australia Mark Bridge
SS 14 New Zealand Kwabena Appiah downward-facing red arrow 49'
CF 11 Australia Brendon Santalab downward-facing red arrow 59'
Substitutes:
GK 20 Australia Dean Bouzanis
DF 13 Australia Matthew Spiranovic upward-facing green arrow 77'
DF 23 Australia Jason Trifiro
DF 33 Australia Daniel Mullen
MF 10 Brazil Vítor Saba upward-facing green arrow 49'
FW 9 Australia Tomi Juric upward-facing green arrow 59'
FW 26 Australia Jaushua Sotirio
Manager:
Australia Tony Popovic

AFC Man of the Match:
Australia Ante Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers)
Fans' Man of the Match:
Saudi Arabia Nawaf Al-Abed (Al-Hilal)

Assistant referees:
Toru Sagara (Japan)
Yagi Akane (Japan)
Fourth official:
Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • The second leg of a two legged, aggregate scored tie.
  • The Away goals rule is in force for the 90 minutes of regulation and extra time, if required.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

Statistics

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Reactions

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Western Sydney Wanderers coach, Tony Popovic, spoke after the match about the win, saying "we were called a small club yesterday, today we are the biggest in Asia."[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "AFC Champions League 2014 Match Summary: Western Sydney Wanderers v Al-Hilal". Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ^ @TheAFCCL (25 October 2014). "AFC Champions League". Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c "AFC Champions League 2014 Match Summary: Al-Hilal v Western Sydney Wanderers". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b "AFC Champions League 2014 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  5. ^ "Parramatta Stadium to host Champions League Final". wswanderersfc.com.au. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ^ Dominic Bossi (1 November 2014). "Al-Hilal coach Laurentiu Reghecampf dismisses Western Sydney Wanderers as 'a small team'". smh.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. ^ "ACL Final 1st Leg: Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 Al Hilal". AFC. 25 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Wanderers edge Al Hilal in first leg". FIFA.com. 25 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Western Sydney Wanderers win Asian Champions League title 1-0 on aggregate after 0-0 draw in second-leg final". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
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