Cerezo Osaka 2-1 Arema Indonesia
Cerezo Osaka celebrated their AFC Champions League debut by beating Arema Indonesia 2-1 in their Group G opener at Nagai Stadium in Osaka on Wednesday.
Rodrigo Pimpao, who is on loan from Rio giants Vasco de Gama, scored both goals, with the Brazilian striker grabbing the opener early in the first half before netting the winner in the 76th minute after Singapore international Noh Alam Shah had equalised from the penalty spot.
Cerezo, who qualified for their first-ever ACL by coming …

Al Wahda 1-1 Bunyodkor
Two late goals lit up the Group C match between UAE Pro League champions Al Wahda and Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor as their AFC Champions League encounter ended in a 1-1 draw.
With the game seemingly heading to a goalless conclusion, Bunyodkor substitute Murzoev Kamoliddin – on the pitch for just two minutes – set up Azizbek Haydarov to give the visitors an 84th minute lead that looked to have snatched the points.
However Hugo (Hugo Henrique Assis do Nascimento), a 63rd minute substitute …

Al Rayyan 1-1 Al Shabab
Al Shabab came from a goal down to hold Al Rayyan at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium as Nasser Al Shamrani’s second-half header clinched a 1-1 draw.
Last year’s AFC Champions League semi-finalists fell behind in the 33rd minute when Brazilian striker Itamar converted from the spot,
But Al Shamrani pounced just before the hour mark to ensure a share of the spoils for the Saudis.
In a Group D clash played in chilly conditions, both teams wasted little time in seeking the early momentum.
In the fifth …

Sydney FC (0 – 0) Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Ten-man Sydney FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings played out a hard-fought scoreless draw in their opening AFC Champions League Group H match at the Sydney Football Stadium on Wednesday.
The home side were forced to play a man short for nearly an hour in a sometimes tempestuous contest after skipper Terry McFlynn was dismissed for stamping on Lee Sang-ho.
Suwon fielded their quartet of new signings in defender Hwang Jae-won, midfielder Lee Yong-rae, striker Yeom Ki-hoon as well as …

Sepahan 2 – 1 Al Hilal
Sepahan stunned Saudi giants Al Hilal on Tuesday as the Iranians claimed a 2-1 victory in their opening AFC Champions League encounter at King Fahd International Stadium.
After a goalless first half it was the visitors who went ahead when Ibrahima Toure headed home in 51st minute before Sepahan added a second just nine minutes later when Al Hilal keeper Abdullah Alsdairy managed to turn Fabio Januario’s corner into his own net.
It seemed Sepahan were coasting to victory but Christian …

Al Nassr (2-2) Pakhtakor
Al Nassr twice came from behind to earn their first point of the AFC Champions League with a 2-2 draw with Pakhtakor.
Sherzod Karimov opened the scoring for the hosts seconds before the break but Bader Al Motawaa equalised five minutes into the second half.
Dilshod Sharofetdinov put Pakhtakor ahead once again on the hour but Bojan Miladinovic ensured Al Nassr would leave Uzbekistan with their first point in Group B when he put the ball into his own net when attempting to cut out Mohammad Al Sahlawi’s cross.
Al …

Hangzhou Greentown (2-0) Nagoya Grampus
Substitute Ba Li gave Hangzhou Greentown a dream start to their AFC Champions League debut as he scored one and set up another to help the Chinese side stun Japanese champions Nagoya Grampus 2-0 in their Group F opener.
Ba provided the assist for Luis Ramirez just after being brought onto the pitch just after the hour mark before scoring his side’s second five minutes before time when Hangzhou looked desperate to protect their slender lead.
The ACL debutants’ outplayed and outsmarted the visitors, particularly in the …

Tianjin Teda 1-0 Jeju United
A second half strike by Yu Dabao’s was the clincher in a very tight contest between Tianjin Teda and Jeju United.
Jeju United from Korea Republic made their debut appearance and looked to dominate the game but were caught out by a classic counter-attack on the 55 minute mark by Tianjin Teda.
Jeju came close to the opener in the 16th minute when a chipped ball over the defence found Kim Eun-jung unmarked in the penalty box. Eun-jung volleyed the ball over with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Teda’s …

FT – AL ITTIHAD (KSA) v PIROOZI ATHLETIC (IRN) (3 – 1)
FT – SYDNEY FC (AUS) v SUWON SAMSUNG BLUEWINGS (KOR) (0 – 0)
FT – CEREZO OSAKA (JPN) v AREMA INDONESIA (IDN) (2- 1)
FT – JEONBUK HYUNDAI MOTORS (KOR) v SHANDONG LUNENG FC (CHN) (1 -0)
FT – SHANGHAI SHENHUA (CHN) v KASHIMA ANTLERS (JPN) (0 – 0)
FT – AL WAHDA (UAE) v BUNYODKOR (UZB) (1 – 1)
FT – AL RAYYAN (QAT) v AL SHABAB (KSA) (1 – 1)
FT – ZOBAHAN (IRN) v EMIRATES (UAE) (2 – 1)
FT – AL AIN …

Winners of the 2010 J League, this is likely Japan’s best hope for 2011 ACL Champions League. Coming off the winter off season all of the J League teams will be slightly rusty but the professionalism of the J League will ensure that each team will be ready for a new domestic and ACL season. Given a J league team hasn’t won the tournament for a few years, pressure will be on to at least have a J League team into the final for 2011.

A favourite as always to progress into the knockout stages of the tournament. Gamba are a regular in the ACL Champions League. 2011 Division 1 season is yet to start (due 5/3) and so teams will have been in preseason and playing practice games coming into the group stages of the ACL Champions League. Match fitness might be an issue for some of the players. Gamba had a very successful 2010, achieving 2nd position. In 2010 ACL they were knockout by eventual winners Seongnam in the first knockout round. This is however a very tough group but you would expect Gamba to be a serious contender for 1st place n Group E.

Sitting 3rd at the moment in the Zain Saudi Professional League with 9 wins, 4 draws and 3 loses, Al Shabab are having a good 2010/11 season. Last year Al Shabab topped Group C in the AFC Champions League with 3 wins and where knocked out in the Quarter Finals 1 – 0 by Jeonbuk. Al Shabab will be a favourite with Group D this year and their strong domestic season will give them the confidence to make it through the groups stage.

Currently sitting in 2nd position domestically (mid way through the 2010/11 season), Al Ittihad is having a strong season with 8 wins, no loses and 9 draws. In their 2010 AFC Champions League appearance, Al Ittihad had a mixed experience, winning 2 matches, drawing 2 and losing 2. They missed out on a round of 16 game and will be hoping to do better, although their Group C opponents are just as tough this year, so it will not be easy.

Currently sitting in 4th position domestically (mid way through the 2010/11 season), Al Nassr will make it’s first appearance at the AFC Champions League. Certainly not a favourite to make it’s way through Group B when you consider that they are competing with the likes of Esteghlal and Pakhtakor, two established teams in the competition.

Over the coming weeks and as we approach kick off on March 1, we will be previewing each of the groups to see who are the favourites and how they are likely to fair in this year’s 2011 AFC Asian Champions League competition.

Japan sealed their place in the final of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Korea Republic following a 2-2 draw after extra time at Al Gharafa Stadium on Tuesday.
A Ki Sung-yong penalty had put the Koreans ahead in the 23rd minute but Ryoichi Maeda equalised nine minutes before the break.
Neither side could add a second in the second half meaning extra time was needed where Japan took the lead for the first time in the 97th minute through Hajime Hosogai.
Hwang Jae-won scored a …

Australia reached their first AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ final in emphatic fashion as a 6-0 win over Uzbekistan at Khalifa Stadium set up a meeting with Japan.

Harry Kewell and AFC Player of the Year Sasa Ognenovski had given Holger Osieck’s side a useful half-time lead and David Carney effectively sealed the last-four contest in the 65th minute before Ulugbaek Bakaev was sent-off two minutes later after collecting his second yellow card.

Iraq advanced to the quarter-finals of this year’s AFC Asian Cup finals after Kerrar Jasim’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 win over DPR Korea in their final group D game at Al Rayyan Stadium on Wednesday.
The midfielder scored the only goal on the night after 22 minutes to steer his side to their second win in the competition and secure their place in the knockout stage.
After a slow start from both teams, Iraq began to threaten Ri Myong-guk’s goal and they almost took the lead in the 17th minute when …

Iran maintained their 100% record at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ whilst ending the UAE’s quarter-final hopes with a 3-0 victory at Qatar Sports Club Stadium on Wednesday.
The three-time champions had already wrapped up first place in Group D while the UAE had gone into the game needing three points to have a chance of joining Afshin Ghotbi’s side in the last eight.
Iran’s Arash Afshin opened the scoring in 70th before seeing his joy cut short when he was sent off two minutes later.
The UAE were then also reduced …

Mile Jedinak blasted Australia to the top of Group C and into the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals with his second goal in as many games in a 1-0 win over Bahrain. Whilst in the other game in Group C Korea Republic beat India 4-1 at Al Gharafa Stadium to progress in second place.