Two of the four South Korean football teams at Asia's premier club competition have advanced to the knockout phase, hoping to maintain the country's recent run of dominance at the annual tournament.
FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of the K League Classic are through to the round of 16 at the AFC Champions League. The group stage concluded earlier this week, and with FC Seoul having qualified for the next round a week earlier, Jeonbuk also made it to the knockout stage with a 0-0 draw against Guangzhou Evergrande on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, Pohang Steelers had a chance to reach the round of 16 with a victory over Bunyodkor but could only manage a 1-1 draw against the Uzbekistan club.
Suwon Bluewings had already been eliminated from the competition last week, and they closed out their winless campaign with a 2-2 draw against Guizhou Renhe on Tuesday.
The top South Korean league produced AFC champions in 2009, 2010 and 2012. In 2011, Jeonbuk finished runner-up to the Qatari club Al-Sadd.
Jeonbuk, which won the AFC title in 2006, will have a chance to add another one this year. With the top two clubs from each group advancing, Jeonbuk secured the No. 2 seed in Group F thanks to the scoreless draw against Guangzhou.
Gungzhou won the group with 11 points, while Jeonbuk, undefeated with two wins and four draws, had 10 points. Jeonbuk and Urawa Red Diamonds both finished with 10 points, but Jeonbuk moved on thanks to the tiebreak edge in their head-to-head record.
In the round of 16, Jeonbuk will face Kashiwa Reysol of Japan, the winner of Group H thanks to four wins and two draws.
All knockout matches will be played over two legs on a home-and-away basis. Jeonbuk will host the first leg on May 15 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, and Kashiwa will host the second leg on May 22.
Kashiwa, the reigning Emperor's Cup holder in Japan, led the group stage with a goal difference of plus-10, having scored 14 goals and surrendered just four.
In Group E, FC Seoul was held to a 2-2 draw by Buriram United of Thailand and ended the group stage with three wins, one loss and two draws. The draw Wednesday had no bearing on FC Seoul's position, but combined with Jiangsu Sainty's 2-1 win over Vegalta Sendai in the other Group E match of the day, it made Buriram the first Thai team in a decade to reach the knockout stage in the AFC.
FC Seoul rested its usual starters but still led 2-1 thanks to goals by reserves Jung Seung-yong and Kim Hyun-sung with 15 minutes left, before Theerathon Bunmathan tied the score with a free kick that sent Buriram to the round of 16.
As the Group E winner, FC Seoul will face the Group G runner-up, Beijing Guoan. Beijing will host the opening leg on May 14, and FC Seoul will host the second leg on May 21.
Seoul ended the group stage with three wins, one loss and two draws. Choi Yong-soo, the team's head coach, said the final match served as a good opportunity for him to test little-used players.
"I've had my eyes on Jung Seung-yong and Kim Hyun-sung since their junior days," Choi said of the team's two goal scorers. Jung had not played a game in the K League Classic this year until Wednesday, while Kim had made one league appearance as a substitute.
"They played so well that I probably won't have any other choice but to give them more minutes in the future," Choi added. "I am sure these goals gave them plenty of confidence and that will have a positive impact on the rest of the team."
Beijing finished two points ahead of the K League Classic's Pohang in Group G with nine points, thanks to two wins, one loss and three draws. Beijing managed just four goals in six games and all of its three draws were scoreless games.
Choi, however, said Chinese football is rapidly improving and his players must be ready.
"Starting in the round of 16 and beyond, we need to be stronger both on offense and defense," Choi said. "Football is a fickle sport, but we're on a roll and the team morale is great." (Yonhap News)
