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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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The gap between East and West Asia is significant in the Champions League, the best stage of the Asian club.
On the 27th, the Japanese club Yokohama F.Marinos suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) in the 2024-2025 season against Alnasr (Saudi) at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Yokohama, which finished 0-3 in the first half by conceding consecutive goals to `Aston Villa native" John Duran,"Liverpool native" Sadio Mane,"Manchester United native" Cristiano Ronaldo, collapsed in the fourth minute of the second half by dedicating the fourth goal to Duran.
Watanabe Gota scored a chasing goal in the 8th minute of the second half, but Watanabe was sent off in the 28th minute of the second half, dampening the remaining willingness to chase. In the end, the competition ended with a score of 1-4.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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On the same day, Thai powerhouse Buriram also failed to cross the Western Asian wall. In the ACLE quarterfinal match against Al-Ahli (Saudi) at King Abdullah Sports City, he dedicated three goals in the first half alone, just like Yokohama. Riyad Mahrez from Man City, Galeno from Porto, and Roberto Firmino from Liverpool scored a relay goal. The match ended in Al Ahli's 3-0 victory.
On the 26th, a day earlier, the match between Al-Hilal (Saudi) and Gwangju (Korea) was tied, and all Western teams won in the three ACLE quarterfinals. This season's ACLE will be divided into East and West regions from the group stage to the round of 16, and the quarterfinals to the finals will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Gwangju, Yokohama, and Buriram are all leading teams in the East, but they knelt down one after another due to unfamiliar environments that are virtually home to teams in the East and the presence of star players for teams in the East with Oil Money.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Gwangju, the best gust team of the tournament, lost 0-7 against Al Hilal, giving up three goals in the first half and four goals in the second half. Sergei Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, Aleksandar Mitrovic from Fulham, Malkong from Barcelona, and Saudi national team ace Salem al-Dosari scored consecutive goals. It was a complete defeat', with nothing better than the opponent in terms of tactics and individual skills. Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo said, `When you play soccer, there are more times when things don't go as planned.' `I felt that I still lack a lot in every aspect, including physical and technical aspects. The same goes for me."
So far, the score of the showdown between the Eastern and Western teams has been 1-14, and the total number of shots has been 17-52. The Eastern Trio gave up three goals in the first half as if it had promised. It was predicted to some extent from the news that it will be held in the Middle East from the ACLE quarterfinals, but it was too big even if the difference in skills was large.
Based on the calculation of the transfer fee site 'Transfermarkt', the market value of the team that advanced to the ACLE quarterfinals is in the order of Al Hilal (291.8 billion won), Al Ahli (275.3 billion won), Al-Sad (133.7 billion won), Yokohama (27.8 billion won), Kawasaki (24.7 billion won), Buriram (22.4 billion won) and Gwangju (13.9 billion won). The market value between teams in the eastern and western districts is up to 20 times and at least 5 times different.
The remaining hope for the East is the Kawasaki Frontale in Japan. It will face off against Qatar`s strongman Al-Sad at Prince Abdullah`s Al-Faisal on Sunday. Alsad is the only team in the West to reach the quarterfinals of the ACLE. Unlike the three Saudi teams, it is considered a good team to try in that it does not have superstars from the European big leagues, but it boasts a solid power to draw with Alhilal and beat Alnasr in the group stage.
Some argue that ACLE should be held separately from beginning to end due to the physical distance between East and West Asia and the difference in capital power. At the end of this season, such voices may be more energized.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
