With West Asian teams struggling to make the cut in the past five installments of the competition, what are their chances like this time around?
The first quarter final matchup sees Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabab battle against South Korea’s Jeonbok Motors. The current South Korean champions have been on the rise recently, winning their first ACL trophy in 2006.
And their performance in this season's Asian Champions League has been impressive so far, eliminating Adelaid United in the knock-out stages.
Contrastingly, Al-Shabab’s record in Asia has been rather disappointing, with their failure to get past the Round of 16 during the last five years. They could only manage a narrow defeat of Esteghlal this year to reach the quarter final - no wonder several managerial changes have taken place at the Saudi club.
Asian glory isn't expected from Al-Shabab’s new Uruguayan coach, Jorge Fossati, who has been in charge for two months; it's unlikely they'll be able to topple the South Korean giants.
Much to the delight of the other Korean quarter finalists, one of Al-Gharafa of Qatar or Saudi’s Al Hilal will be eliminated before the semi finals.
Khalatbari | Will need to fire for Zobahan
Blessed with Brazilian free-kick master Juninho, goal machine Clemerson and versatile Iraqi forward and captain Younis Mahmoud, Al-Gharafa are not shy of scoring goals when it matters.
In a similar situation are reigning Saudi champions Al Hilal, eager to back-up their domestic success on the continental stage. The Jeddah giants have only had a brief flings in the knockout stages of the Champions League in recent years.
After failing to even make it past the group stage on their first three appearances in 2003, 2004 and 2006, Al Hilal finally progressed to the quarter-finals in 2007 only to bow out to Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates on away goals. Last year they looked set to end their lean spell after sweeping past the group stage with an unbeaten record but went out in the Round of 16 after losing to eventual runner-up, Qatar’s Umm Salal.
But with an impressive display in the ACL thus far, dominating their group and thrashing Felipe Scolari’s Bunyodkor team in the Round of 16, Eric Gerets’ side are aiming to put an end to their quarter final jinx against Al-Gharafa.
From the looks of it, the Al-Gharafa and Al Hilal clash could be a close call. There is a tough task ahead as well when the winner then takes on either reigning Asian champions Pohang Steelers or Iranian outfit Zobahan in the semi final.
Juninho | Could make the difference for Al-Gharafa
Arguably, the toughest matchup for the West Asian teams this year is Zobahan’s clash with South Korea’s most reputable Asian representative, Pohang Steelers.
Carrying the mantle of 'the most successful team in Asia' the Steelers added to their trophy list last year when they defeated Um-Salal of Qatar and claimed their third Asian Club Champions league title.
However the defending champions are struggling for form following the departure of their top strikers Denilson and Stevica Ristić and successful Brazilian manager Sergio Farias. Having scraped through their group they now face Iran’s emerging powerhouse Zobahan.
The green-shirted team from Esfahan have been impressive in recent seasons. Against the odds, they finished three points ahead ahead of Scolari’s star-studded Bunyodkor in their group and eliminated Iranian counterpart Mes Kerman in the knockout stages.
Runners-up for the last two seasons in Iran, they are admired for their organized defense and Mansour Ebrahimzade’s squad features notable players from Iran's U-21 World Cup team, complimented by skillful strikers Khalatbari and Igor Castro.
Asian pundits will likely bet on Pohang Steelers to book their semifinal spot but given their recent shaky form and Zobahan’s rise in recent years, the Esfahan-based team might just cause another Asian Champions League shock.
Overall, the odds are in favour of the South Korean representatives outclassing the Persian Gulf teams. Besides one guaranteed semifinal spot for either of Al-Gharafa or Al Hilal, the likely scenario is that South Korean teams will dominate this year's Asian Champions League.
By: Niloufar Momeni