Melbourne Victory’s AFC Champions League 2010 opponents have been revealed, with the draw for Asia’s premier club competition pitting the club against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Korea Republic), Beijing Guoan (China) and Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) in Group E.
Melbourne Victory’s AFC Champions League 2010 opponents have been revealed, with the draw for Asia’s premier club competition pitting the club against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Korea Republic), Beijing Guoan (China) and Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) in Group E.
Kawasaki qualified for the tournament after finishing second in the 2009 J. League season, while Seongnam is Korea Republic’s most successful club with a record seven league trophies to its name and was runner-up in the ACL 2004.
Beijing recently claimed its first Chinese Super League crown, but Football Operations Manager Gary Cole is confident Melbourne Victory will be competitive in its second ACL appearance.
“Having competed in the ACL once, we are all eagerly anticipating another opportunity and Seongnam, Beijing and Kawasaki will provide a great challenge come February next year,” Cole said.
“The ACL is growing in prominence throughout Asia and Australia and it has become a very strong competition, but we believe we have a team that can really make an impact.
“The Hyundai A-League remains our key focus for the time being, but the ACL is certainly something that will provide a fantastic opportunity for our members and supporters to see Asia’s best clubs in action.”
Melbourne Victory was the first team to qualify for next year’s tournament when it won the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 Premiership in January.
Adelaide United is Australia’s other representative, with teams from Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Japan, Korea Republic, China and Indonesia, plus qualifiers from East and West Asia, making up the rest of the 32 clubs competing.
Melbourne Victory last competed in the ACL in 2008, finishing second in Group G behind Japan’s Gamba Osaka, which went on to win the tournament by defeating Adelaide 5-0 on aggregate in the Final.
The competition’s format has since changed, with the top two teams from each of the eight groups of four now progressing to the Round of 16.
A complete schedule including match dates and venues for the ACL 2010 will be announced shortly.
