The Asian Champions League kicks off this Monday, showcasing the best clubs in the AFC region. 60 players who have previously taken part in the Maurice Revello Tournament will be competing in this prestigious competition. Here's the recap.
Asian clubs made the headlines in the summer transfer market by bringing in a number of big names from European clubs. All eyes will be on AFC clubs once again from Monday when the Champions League kicks off.
A number of players, sixty to be precise, who have already taken part in the Maurice Revello Tournament will be taking part in this competition. Experienced Japanese goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa (37) and his club, Urawa Red Diamonds, will be doing their utmost to retain their crown, but the competition will be very intense.
Runners-up last year and regular winners in recent years (in 2019 and 2021), Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal are understandably among the favourites. In addition to signing Brazilian star Neymar, the Riyadh-based club have strengthened their backline with the recruitment of two players who graduated from the Maurice Revello Tournament: Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou from Sevilla FC and Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, a new signing from Chelsea.
While Al-Hilal have their sights set on the final title, another team based in Riyadh will be going into the Champions League with the same ambition: Al-Nassr. Having already players such as Anderson Talisca, who are no strangers to Asian clashes, the Saudi Arabian outfit will be eagerly awaited with the presence of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. Winner of the Maurice Revello Tournament in 2003, the legendary Portugal striker (200 caps, 123 goals) will be making his AFC Champions League debut at the age of 38. If the Portuguese striker succeeds in guiding Al-Nassr to the title, he will become the first player in history to win both the European and Asian Champions Leagues.
To do so, they will have to avoid a number of obstacles along the way. While the aforementioned clubs will all be contenders for the final crown, we must not forget the South Korean and Japanese clubs, the most successful sides in the history of the AFC Champions League: South Korean clubs have won the competition 12 times, while Japanese clubs have won it 8 times.
As a result, teams such as Won-Sang Um's Ulsan Hyundai, winners of the competition in 2020, and Riku Yamane's Yokohama Marinos, reigning Japanese champions, will certainly have a say.
The 60 Maurice Revello Tournament graduates to compete in the 2023/2024 AFC Champions League
Al Duhail : Shehab Ellethy, Ruben Semedo, Sultan Al Brake, Assim Madibo, Khaled Mohamed, Lotfi Madjer
Al-Feiha : Youssef Haqawi
Al-Hilal : Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Musab Al-Juwayr, Mohammed Al-Qahtani
Al-Ittihad : Osama Al-Mermesh, Ahmed Hegazy, Zakaria Hawsawi, Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Jota, Abderazak Hamed-Allah
Al Nassr Riyad : Abulaziz Al-Faraj, Anderson Talisca, Abdulaziz Al-Alelewai, Meshari Al-Nemer, Ayman Yahya, Mohammed Maran, Cristiano Ronaldo
Al Sadd : Meshaal Barsham, Salem Al Hajri, Ahmed Suhail, Abdullah Al Yazidi, Hassan Al Haydos, Akram Afif, Yusuf Abdurisag
Hanoi FC : Damien Le Tallec
Incheon : Paul-José Mpoku
Kawasaki Frontale : Takuma Ominami, Kota Takai, Joao Schmidt, Ryota Oshima
Melbourne City : Nuno Reis, Callum Talbot
Shandong Taishan : Wang Dalei, Han Rongze, Liu Binbin, Tong Wang, Yuanyi Li
Ulsan Hyundai : Won-Sang Um
Urawa Red Diamonds : Shusaku Nishikawa, Takuya Iwanami, Jumpei Hayakawa, Hiroki Abe
Yokohama Marinos : Obi Powell Obinna, Yuma Hatano, Shunta Ikeda, Kaina Yoshio, Riku Yamane
Ventforet Kofu : Shion Inoue
Wuhan Three Towns : Wallace Fortuna, Yiming Liu, Xiaobin Zhang, Yan Dinghao, Pengfei Xie, Shihao Wei