▲ Shin Jin-ho fights for the ball with Maregawa
The professional football Pohang Steelers failed to retake the Asian top for the first time in 12 years.
Pohang lost 2-0 to Al Hilal in the final of the 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) held at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pohang, who won this competition in 2009, reached the final in 12 years after a difficult season, with several key players injured and many foreign players not playing their part. was not finally achieved.
Pohang manager Kim Ki-dong, who lifted the trophy as a player 12 years ago, has postponed his first win as a manager to the next opportunity.
Pohang missed the FIFA Club World Cup qualification and the prize money of 4 million dollars (about 4.76 billion won).
However, the runner-up alone secured a cash prize of $2.5 million (2.97 billion won).
After the 1991 season, 1999-2000 season, and the 2019 season, Al-Hilal climbed to the top for the fourth time in their career, becoming the team with the most championships.
Hyunsoo Jang, who has been playing for Al-Hilal since 2019 as a center back from Korea, experienced the ACL championship for the second time in his career following the tournament that year.
Pohang conceded a goal in the first minute of the first half even before they even matched their lines.
Within 20 seconds of kick-off, Saudi national player Nasser al-Dausari fired a surprise mid-range shot from about 30m and put it in the upper left corner of Pohang.
Al-Hilal, who raised momentum, drove the Pohang camp with luxurious attacking teams such as Bape Timbi Gomis, who was from France and experienced the English Premier League (EPL), and Matteus Ferreira, who scored 11 EPL goals in West Bromwich Albion last season. .
Pohang had two chances in the first half.
In the 12th minute of the first half, Shin Jin-ho's volley shot from the front of the penalty area hit the crossbar.
Im Sang-hyeop's left-footed shot from the left side of the post was blocked by goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Muiouf's leg.
In the 46th minute of the first half, Kwon Wan-gyu finished a free kick cross from the right by Shin Jin-ho with a header in front of the goalkeeper.
At the beginning of the second half, coach Kim replaced Kvesic and Lee Soo-bin and replaced Jeon Min-kwang and Ko Young-jun.
However, the situation has not changed significantly.
In the tenth minute of the second half, Al-Hilal created more close-to-goal situations, including a direct shot from a direct free kick from the right side of the penalty spot by Feheira just slightly misses the post.
In the end, Pohang allowed an additional goal in the 18th minute of the second half.
Musa Marega, who played for Portugal's prestigious Porto, received an infiltration pass from Gomis, overcame Jeon Min-kwang, and opened the goal with a shot from the right side of the goal area.
It was a pity that Pohang had no choice but to go on an away road with goalkeeper Kang Hyun-moo and midfielder Seung-mo Lee, who are key players in Korea.
Kang Hyun-moo was injured, and Lee Seung-mo was excluded from the expedition team because he could not leave the country due to insufficient service hours related to military service.
(Photo = Reuters, Yonhap News)