World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

WORLDSERVICE

MVP...Al Hilal’s SalemAlDawsari

Heroic...NasserAl
Dawsariopened
thescoringwith
a thunderbolt

Competing...

Pohang’sSinJin-Ho

jumpsfortheball

playersinAsia:Malianmarksman

MoussaMarega,whoarrived from

Porto in May, joined BafetimbiGomis

• formerlyofFrance,Lyon, SwanseaCity
  andGalatasaray– in attack.Whencoach
  LeonardoJardim,wholedMonacoto
  the 2017 Frenchtitle,beata number
  ofEuropeanclubstothe signatureof
  BrazilianplaymakerMatheusPereira in
  August,Hilalmoved to thenext level.
  Yet theheadlinesbelongedelsewhere:
  toa 22-year-oldstand-inleft-back.
  NasserAlDawsariwasin theteamto
  replaceYasserAlShahrani,whohas
  beenstrugglingforfitness.Afterjust 16
  seconds,hescoredthe fastestgoalever
  recordedin theAFCChampionsLeague
  final– andoneof thebest.Theroars
  thatgreetedkick-off were still ringing
  aroundthestadiumasthe youngster
  pickedupthe ball just insidethePohang
  half. He advancedandthenunleashed
  a thunderboltofa shotthatflewinto
  thetopcornerpast a stunnedLee
  Junin thePohanggoal.
  PohangbossKimGi-Dong,who
  hadwon the 2009 titlewiththe club
  asa player,saidafterthegamethat
  concedingso earlymeantthat 50
  percentofhisgameplanhadtobe
  scrapped:a solidstart anda clean
  sheetatthebreakwhichwould

frustrate homefansandplayers.He

alsosaidthathadSin Jin-Ho’sdipping

half-volley from theedgeofthearea

goneininsteadofhittingthe barthen

itwouldhavebeen an interestinggame.

Butbouncebackintoplayit didandit

turnedouttobethe closest thatthe

Koreansweregoingto come.

ThefinalsoonsettleddownbutAl

Hilalwerealwaysontopandextended

theirleadjustafterthehour. Gomis

slippeda perfectballthroughtoMarega

inthe area andthestrikerslottedhome.

Pohangwerenever comingbackfrom

thatanditwasalla bitofan

anti-climaxfromtheir pointofview.

Intruthhowever, withstarssuchas

SongMin-KyusoldtoJeonbukMotorsin

thesummer andLeeSeung-Mounable

toleavethe countryduetounfinished

military servicecommitments,Pohang

haddonewelljustto gettothe final,

whichisthefirsttimethatteamsfrom

theeasternandwesternzonesofthe

Decisive...MoussaMaregasealsthe

trophywitha right-footed finish

tournamentactuallymeetonthe pitch.

AlHilalhavehelped redress

thecontinentalimbalance.Since

2005,easternclubshavewon1 3

championships,withthewestcoming

backin 2011 withAlSaddofQatar

andHilaleight yearslater.

Thereis no reasonwhy Al Hilalcan’t

goonandbecomethefirstback-to-back

winnerssinceSaudirivalAlIttihadwon

the 2004 and 2005 titles.Hadtheteam

notbeenforcedtowithdrawfromthe

2020 tournamentafteran outbreakof

COVID-19thenthiswincouldhavebeen

thethirdin a row.With a host of Saudi

Arabianinternationals– winger Salem

AlDawsariwasdeservedlynamedthe

tournamentMVP, whilecaptainSalman

AlFaraj is oneofthe most culturedplayers

onthe continent– fewwouldarguethat

theclubare currentlynumberone and

deservedthatfinalwin.

Itendeda greatyearfor football in

thecountry.UndercoachHerve Renard,

Saudi Arabiaare themostimproved

nationalteaminAsiaanddespitebeing

placedina toughgroupinthe final

roundofqualification,havecollected

16 pointsfromthefirstsixgames.At

themoment,theGreenFalconssitfour

pointsclearofJapaninsecondand five

aboveAustraliainthird.Asthe toptwo

teams go through to theWorldCup

automatically, theSaudis,with four

gamesremaining, areina greatposition

tomake a sixth appearanceontheglobal

stage. Lookingforward to 2022,few

wouldbetagainstSaudiArabiamaking

itnumbersixandAlHilalliftingAsian

titlenumberfive.

The17-timeSaudichampions,whohadwonthe

ChampionsLeaguein 2019 andlostthefinalin

2014 and2017,alsoboastwhatareprobably

thebestforeignplayersinAsia