Al-Ain’s clash with Yokohama is next step for promising coaches and finale for tournament before Saudi revamp
t’s hard to look past the 2005 Champions League reunion of Harry Kewell and Hernán Crespo as they meet in the second leg of the final of the Asian version on Saturday. The Argentinian scored twice in Istanbul and yet left empty-handed while Kewell famously limped off when it was all going wrong for Liverpool but still has that winner’s medal. There’s more to the game however, on and off the pitch.
Crespo and Al-Ain welcome Yokohama F Marinos and their Australian manager to the United Arab Emirates. The Japanese team have a 2-1 lead from the first leg that took place two weeks ago at the Nissan Stadium. Crespo never won a Champions League as a player but overcoming that one goal deficit would surely set him on a course back to Europe.
It would be the end of a meandering route. After brief coaching spells in Italy, Crespo really got started in South America, winning trophies in Argentina and then Brazil. He did the same after moving to Qatar, clinching the league title with Al-Duhail.
A win is not just a gamechanger for the career trajectories of the two coaches but for the clubs too. The Asian title grants entry to the expanded 2025 Fifa Club World Cup in the United States and a reported potential windfall of up to $50m. Such an amount would be gratefully accepted by the big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs. Al-Hilal, with a record number of four Asian championships, were favoured to make it five, butof 36 was ended by Al-Ain in the semi-finals.
It also means the end of two-legged finals. For the sake of atmosphere it is to be hoped that a Saudi Arabian team does go all the way, otherwise there is a real possibility of the continent’s biggest club trophy being presented in front of a half-empty, at best, stadium. Asia has never done neutral venue club finals well. That means this Saturday, a capacity crowd at Al-Ain is to be savoured.
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