2014 Asian Champions League

[Stuckey]

So we have had the group draw. I think CCM have realised why its called the 'Champions' league! Tough draw for them!

Group A
Iran TAJ
Qatar Al-Rayyan
United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira
Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
Al-Rayyan will be swapped with Winner Play-off W3.1 if both Nasaf Qarshi and Locomotiv Tashkent qualify for the group stage.[16][17]

Group B
Saudi Arabia Al-Fateh
Iran Foolad
Winner Play-off W3.1
Uzbekistan Bunyodkor
Nasaf Qarshi will be swapped with Winner Play-off W3.2 (or Al-Rayyan if Winner Play-off W3.2 is Locomotiv Tashkent) if they qualify for the group stage.[16][17]

Group C
United Arab Emirates Al-Ain
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Iran Tractor Sazi
Winner Play-off W3.2
Winner Play-off W3.2 will be swapped with Nasaf Qarshi if Nasaf Qarshi qualify for the group stage and Lokomotiv Tashkent do not qualify for the group stage.[16][17]

Group D
Qatar Al-Sadd
United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Iran Sepahan

Group E
South Korea Pohang Steelers
Thailand Buriram United
China Shandong Luneng Taishan
Japan Japan 4
Japan 4 will be Cerezo Osaka (if Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Yokohama F. Marinos or Kawasaki Frontale win the 2013 Emperor's Cup) or Kawasaki Frontale (otherwise).[18]

Group F
Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Australia Central Coast Mariners
South Korea FC Seoul
Winner Play-off E3.1

Group G
China Guangzhou Evergrande
Japan Japan 2
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Winner Play-off E3.2 (This will be Victory's spot if they make it)
Japan 2 will be Yokohama F. Marinos (if Sanfrecce Hiroshima or Yokohama F. Marinos win the 2013 Emperor's Cup), Kawasaki Frontale (if Kawasaki Frontale win the 2013 Emperor's Cup) or the 2013 Emperor's Cup winners (otherwise).[18]

Group H
Australia Western Sydney Wanderers
China Guizhou Renhe
Japan Japan 3
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Japan 3 will be Kawasaki Frontale (if Sanfrecce Hiroshima or Yokohama F. Marinos win the 2013 Emperor's Cup) or Yokohama F. Marinos (otherwise)

[Stuckey]

IMO the pressure is really on CCM they have had enough chances to get used to the travel and playing style of ACL. For WSW this is a bonus and I hope the crowds enjoy the extra games.
MV have a tough draw as well but it will be nice that Evergrande are coming to Australia again, hopefully this time Lippi and co get the attention they deserve.

[shinAUFC]

IMO call it for what it is.... East Asian Champions League, with a play off at the pointy end against the west

[Stuckey]

IMO call it for what it is.... East Asian Champions League, with a play off at the pointy end against the west

I agree. But personally I'd love to see it happen at every level of the game.

I wonder if this would be a viable option for HAL clubs?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN_Club_Championship

[Stuckey]

Vietnam’s Ha Noi T&T booked their place in the second round of qualifying for the 2014 AFC Champions League yesterday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Pune FC.

Ha Noi T&T now play Muangthong United FC in the next round and the winner of this match takes on Tards in Geelong in a fortnight.

[Stuckey]

Muangthong beat Ha Noi 2-0 so they now take on MV this weekend in Geelong.

[Stuckey]

Fun fact Jay Bothroyd plays for Muangthong and scored against Ha Noi.

[blahblah]

I caught the Chonburi-South China game on the box yesterday. The Thais took the boys from Hong Kong apart 3-0 though playing Beijing Goan away in the next round will prove a sterner challenge.

[EdDog]

Anyone know what time & channel the Aussie teams are playing in the ACL?

[Stuckey]

MV are playing this Saturday night. I presume it will be on Fox. Not sure about the group stage yet.

[EdDog]

Thanks Stuckey - always enjoy the ACL.

Hoping the A-League clubs an represent this time. Always a challenge though when AU aren't in it

[Stuckey]

Yeah I'm torn. I always want HAL clubs to do well in the ACL IMO its important they do especially if it is a Melbourne or Sydney club, because the ACL has such huge potential for so many things for this country. But on the other hand I f&*king hate MV and love seeing them humiliated!

[EdDog]

Same it's definitely a bittersweet feeling.

But I think for the good of the game, Australian clubs doing well benefits us more by having the potential to increase our qualification spots.

But yeah, would be great to see MV & even moreso WSW have their asses handed to them

[Stuckey]

I'm going to presume this will happen to WSW as it happens to every club the first time that make the ACL.

[shinAUFC]

The thing is with wsw they have signed players just for the acl campaign so I don't think they will quite suffer the squad overload that others have., kinda annoying FFA buys them a marquee and extra players meanwhile in previous campaigns we cannot even keep our prize money.

Plus they are happy to sit back and play on the counter so I think they probably the most likely to get results.