Emirati club, coached by former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, sees off Harry Kewell’s Yokohama F. Marinos in AFC Champions League final
Review
Hernan Crespo had a smile as wide as a Buenos Aires boulevard on May 25 as he lifted the AFC Champions League trophy. His Al Ain team from the United Arab Emirates had just defeated Yokohama F. Marinos 5-1 in the second leg of the final to take the trophy 6-3 on aggregate.
“I am not a genius,” said the 48-year-old. “What is most important is the players. They played with great heart. Doing it in a final is not easy but the players did it. I am so proud to have won the AFC Champions League.”
It was the second time the Asian crown had come to the UAE club and the second continental title Crespo has won after leading Defensa y Justicia from his home country to the 2020 Copa Sudamericana.
Al Ain won in 2003 and had lost in two finals since. Going down 2-1 away from home in the first leg was not a bad result but a little disappointing considering they had taken an early lead in Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium through Mohammed Al Baloushi and then had a second strike ruled out by VAR for offside. Roared on by 53,000 fans, the Japanese team – coached by Harry Kewell – continued to attack and scored twice late on through Asahi Uenaka and Kota Watanabe.
It left the tie wide open as the action switched to Al Ain, a pleasant oasis city near the border with Oman, two weeks later. Soufiane Rahimi, already the tournament’s leading goalscorer with 12, grabbed his 13th early on to make it all square. Soon after, the Moroccan was brought down in the area for Kaku to score from the spot.
Just before the break Yan Matheus scored for Yokohama and it was 3-3 on aggregate, but then came the real turning point as Marinos keeper William Popp brought down Rahimi outside the box and was sent off. It meant that in the second half, Al Ain were able to score three more: another from Rahimi and a late brace from Kodjo Laba. It was a painful end for the visitors.
“My players were fantastic,” said Kewell. “It’s just a shame that we got robbed tonight by a bad referee. I thought the refereeing decisions were shocking, they were terrible. They were playing the game and he fell for it.”
Both teams had come through tough semi-final tests. Indeed, neither was the favourite to make it all the way. Even though Al Ain saw off Al Nassr at the last-eight stage thanks to a penalty shootout – with only Cristiano Ronaldo scoring for the Riyadh club – Al Hilal were expected to be too strong. After all, the four-time Asian champions had set a world-record winning streak of 34
