Only FC Seoul looking good in Asia

FC Seoul captain Osmar Barba, right, vies for the ball against Wu Xinghan of China’s Shandong Luneng FC during their Group F football match in the AFC Champions League at Seoul World Cup Stadium, April 5. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

It was not the best of weeks for South Korean teams in the Asian Champions League, with not one of the country’s quartet achieving a win. There were two draws and two defeats. As it stands, with two games of the group stage remaining, only FC Seoul can be confident of progressing to the knockout stage.

The country has by far the best record in Asian club competitions and has 10 continental championships, double its closest challenger. In recent years, it has become common to see three and even four Korean teams survive the first round of 32 to progress to the last 16. This time, however, fans would be very happy if two can make it.

The capital club has picked up 10 points from the four games, with last week’s goalless tie at home to Shandong Luneng the only setback. The Chinese team defended stoutly in Seoul but the Koreans can qualify for the last 16 with a win at home in the next game to Buriram United. Given that Seoul won the away game in Thailand 6-0, the odds will be on Choi Yong-soo’s men getting the result they need.

“We still have work to do,” said Choi, but he knows that it would be a major shock. Seoul should qualify in first place, meaning it can play the one-leg second-round match on home soil.

But the situation is a little less clear with the other three. Jeonbuk Motors should have been on top but lost to Binh Duong 3-2 on Wednesday. The Vietnamese team is improving but this was a self-inflicted defeat.

Terrible defending, two red cards, strange substitutions and tactics from coach Choi Kang-hee and perhaps a little complacency from the K-League champions all contributed to the loss.

The Greens are still in second but this is a tight group with just three points separating the top from the bottom. Jeonbuk travels to group leader FC Tokyo next time around. A win would put the Koreans in sight of the last 16, with the visit of Chinese big-spenders Jiangsu Suning still to come. Anything else will make it very tense indeed.

Pohang Steelers started its group well with four points from the first two games, including a 0-0 draw away at champion Guangzhou Evergrande. But then came two 1-0 defeats against FC Sydney. The first was disappointing at home when Pohang just did not get going and the second was expected as coach Choi Jin-cheul rested most of his regular players for the long trip to Australia. It would be a surprise if the three-time champion makes it to the last 16.

Suwon Bluewings has yet to win, evoking nightmares of the 2013 campaign. This time, however, the team has been a little unlucky, with three draws and one defeat. Two of those ties were at home in games when Suwon dominated but just could not make its superiority count.

The first was against Gamba Osaka and the second was last Wednesday at home to Melbourne Victory. The “most painful moment of a frustrating game,” said coach Seo Jung-won, came on the hour. Just seconds after Kwon Chang-hoon had finally scored for Suwon, the Koreans fell asleep and allowed the Australians to equalize.

Now, like Pohang, Suwon must win its last two games and hope that other results go the right way. It is not an encouraging position to be in but too many chances have been missed. Only FC Seoul has looked confident and strong enough so far this tournament.