Ulsan wary of overconfidence, penalties ahead of Asian Champions League semis

The Ulsan Hyundai Tigers, the South Korean football squad competing in Asia's top club tournament, have identified their biggest opponent ahead of a key contest this week: themselves.

The K-League side will host Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan in the second leg of the semifinals at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. And Ulsan has put itself in a prime position to reach its first AFC final.

It beat the Uzbekistan club 3-1 in the first leg in Tashkent last Wednesday. Since the aggregate score after two games will determine the winner, Ulsan can still advance to the final even with a draw. Ulsan can also reach the final with a 2-0 loss. That result will knot the aggregate score at 3-3, but more weight will be given to goals scored on the road, with the "away goals rule" in effect as a tiebreaker.

Ulsan head coach Kim Ho-gon has admitted playing at home following a road victory will be "an easier task" but that doesn't mean his players can afford to let their guards down.

Kim said he held a meeting with the players Monday and reminded them of a monumental collapse in the AFC play by another K-League club as a cautionary tale.

In 2004, when the AFC final was a two-leg affair, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma beat Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia 3-1 on the road. Just like Ulsan this year, Seongnam only needed a draw or a defeat of two goals or fewer. Instead, the K-League team was humiliated 5-0 before the stunned home crowd.

"I watched that 2004 game in person," Kim said. "Even though we have won 3-1, we will make sure we are prepared to play well again in the second match. I told our players that we are not yet in the final."

Ulsan would also do well to avoid getting called for fouls this week. In Tashkent, six starting players received yellow cards, including striker Rafinha, who has netted four goals in his last three Champions League matches, and central back Kwak Tae-hwi, the team's defensive leader.

If these players get another yellow Wednesday, they will be automatically suspended for the final, should Ulsan get there.

"In the second leg, we expect Bunyodkor to play aggressive football and it will be a physical match," coach Kim said. "Our six guys will have to be careful. I can't stress that enough."

Kim has made no secret of his intention to prioritize the club's chase for the AFC crown over its play in the domestic K-League.

Ulsan is ranked fifth among 16 teams in the K-League. Under the new "split" format this year, there will be no playoffs for the top six clubs as has been the case in recent years. Ulsan sits 21 points behind the first-place FC Seoul with seven matches to go.

He has rested some of his star players in recent K-League matches so that they could be ready for AFC contests. Four Ulsan players were on the South Korean national team that traveled to Iran for a World Cup qualification match on Oct. 16, and they joined Ulsan in Tashkent against Bunyodkor instead of coming back home for a K-League contest and then flying out to Uzbekistan again.

The national team members included forwards Kim Shin-wook and Lee Keun-ho. Refreshed from the extra break, they scored a goal apiece against Bunyodkor last week.

The K-League has produced nine Asian club champions -- more than any other on the continent -- dating back to the days of the Asian Champion Club Tournament in 1967, including two of the last three.

This is Ulsan's third appearance in the Champions League. It reached the semifinals in 2006 but was knocked out of the group phase in 2009.

Bunyodkor has been in every Champions League since 2008. It has beaten two K-League clubs en route to the semis, defeating the Pohang Steelers twice in the group phase and then knocking out Seongnam in the round of 16.

The other semifinals feature two Saudi Arabian clubs, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad. (Yonhap)