Jeonbuk complete Asian brace - AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Jeonbuk complete Asian brace - AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

AFP

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors edged Al Ain 3-2 over two legs to claim this year's AFC Champions League as they sealed the rights of representing the continent at this December's FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Having last lifted the trophy back in 2006, the K.League giants became the third club to clinch the Asian championship for a second time, joining Al Ittihad and Guangzhou Evergrande among the tournament's most successful teams. 

In what proved a hard-fought victory in the first half, Jeonbuk had to battle from behind to see off Al Ain 2-1 at home. Inspired by AFC Player of the Year nominee Omar Abdulrahman and cheered on by the home crowd, the United Arab Emirates side put in a series of impressive displays in a second leg that they largely dominated. Han Gyowon opened the scoring for the visitors with a stunner, but Lee Myungjoo drew the hosts level soon after. With the aggregate scoreline delicately poised at 3-2, though, a missed penalty by Dyanfres Douglas and the visitors’ resolute defence combined to see Al Ain narrowly lose out. JoinFIFA.com as we take a closer look at the epic showdown.

The matchLeonardo scored a brace as Jeonbuk came from behind to claim a 2-1 first-leg win at home. After an evenly contested first half that ended goalless, both sides upped the tempo after the interval as they sought to break the deadlock. But it was the visitors who took the lead on 63 minutes when playmaker Abdulrahman set up Danilo Asprilla to open the scoring. Spurred on by the home crowd, however, the hosts equalised in just six minutes courtesy of Leonardo's wonder-strike from distance. The in-form Brazilian midfielder would go on to complete a brace with 13 minutes left to seal the victory for Jeonbuk. Towering forward Kim Shinwook was fouled in the area and from the resulting spot-kick, Leonardo kept his cool to send goalkeeper Khalid Eisa the wrong way as his side headed to the return with a one-goal advantage.

If these two sides were matching contenders to each other in the first leg, Al Ain proved the brighter side in the second leg. In fact, Jeonbuk were on the back foot for the majority of the game although they got the necessary 1-1 draw to win the final. Knowing that they could prevail with a 1-0 win courtesy of their precious away goal, Zlatko Dalic's home side pressed hard from the outset with both Caio and Abdulrahman coming close. Having weathered the hosts' storm, however, it was Choi Kanghee's visitors that went ahead on the half-hour mark against the run of play. Han latched onto Lee Jaesung's corner to silence the home fans as Jeonbuk extended their aggregate advantage to two goals. Al Ain would reignite hopes with Lee equalising five minutes later but Douglas missed a golden opportunity to draw the aggregate scoreline level before the break when he inexplicably shot over the crossbar from the spot

The missed penalty would prove decisive as the hosts, despite pinning the visitors into their defensive third and producing numerous chances, were found lacking the necessary accuracy and luck to punch a pack in front of goal. Indeed, the Jeonbuk captain and goalkeeper proved to be the cornerstone as he repeatedly frustrated the hosts’ attackers with his shrewd reflexes and fine saves as they kept the 1-1 scoreline intact and thus emerged 3-2 aggregate winners.

The playerThe only player of the current Jeonbuk squad who played in their previous title-winning campaign in 2006, goalkeeper Kwoun Suntae tasted his second Asian success by skippering his side to the title. The 32-year-old made nine appearances as Jeonbuk clinched their maiden Asian title a decade back. This year's competition saw the veteran custodian excel throughout between the sticks and proved to be an inspirational figure as they captured Asian supremacy.

The stat4 - With Jeonbuk claiming their second Asian title, Korea Republic became the tournament's most successful country with four K.League sides winning the championship on five occasions. The other three former winners are Pohang Steelers (2009), Seongnam FC (2010) and Ulsan Hyundai (2012).

What they said
"It’s our first title since 2006, so I'm really happy. When we lost in the 2011 final, I saw the fans were so dispirited, so winning the AFC Champions League is an unforgettable dream. There were two key points in the match, the first goal and the missed penalty from Al Ain. I just gave the players a positive mind to deal with any problems in the game. We had planned for lots of situations. We have had lots of plans since January, we were planning for 2016 to get the AFC Champions League title back and we want to share this (success) with our fans."
Jeonbuk Motors head coach Choi Kanghee, who became the first coach to guide a club to two AFC Champions League titles

Final results
First leg: 19 NovemberJeonbuk Motors 2-1 Al Ain

Second leg: 26 NovemberAl Ain 1-1 Jeonbuk Motors