K League champions Jeonbuk looking to complete 'treble' at Asian club tournament

▲ In this file photo provided by the Korea Professional Football League on Oct. 17, 2020, Cho Young-wook of FC Seoul (R) celebrates his goal against Seongnam FC in a K League 1 match at Tancheon Sports Complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 4, 2020, Suwon Samsung Bluewings' players celebrate their 1-0 victory over Incheon United in a K League 1 match at Incheon Football Stadium in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Nov. 8, 2020, Kim Bo-kyung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C) and Lee Chung-yong of Ulsan Hyundai FC battle for the ball during the second leg of the FA Cup final at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Nov. 8, 2020, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players and coaches celebrate their FA Cup title at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

football-competition

K League champions Jeonbuk looking to complete 'treble' at Asian club tournament

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean league champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will try to complete a historic feat when the continent's top club competition resumes over the weekend following a coronavirus-forced hiatus.

The group stage at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League for clubs in the East Zone will pick up Saturday in a bubble set up in Doha, Qatar.

The East Zone features clubs from South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan, and they're paired into Groups E, F, G and H.

Four clubs from South Korea's K League 1 are competing: FC Seoul in Group E, Ulsan Hyundai FC in Group F, Suwon Samsung Bluewings in Group G and Jeonbuk in Group H.

Jeonbuk will be going for their third major trophy of the year, which would give them a rare "treble." They have so far won the K League 1 championship and the South Korean FA Cup. No Korean club has completed a continental treble. Jeonbuk are also the last South Korean team to take the AFC crown, having done so in 2016.

Jeonbuk's head coach Jose Morais served on Jose Mourinho's staff when Inter Milan completed the European Treble in 2010. Morais is said to be on his way out after two seasons with Jeonbuk, and the AFC Champions League title would be a perfect sendoff present for the Portuguese.

Jeonbuk had a draw and a loss after their first two matches. They will face Shanghai SIPG on Sunday, followed by Sydney FC three days later. Jeonbuk have four group matches remaining, the last one being a second match against Shanghai SIPG on Dec. 4.

Ulsan, who finished runners-up to Jeonbuk in both K League 1 and FA Cup, also played just once in Group F before play halted. Their action will resume on Saturday against Shanghai Shenhua, a team coached by former Jeonbuk boss Choi Kang-hee.

Ulsan will be without their top goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo for early matches. Jo tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend while in Austria with the men's national team for friendly matches against Mexico and Qatar. Jo missed both matches and is currently being quarantined in his Vienna hotel room.

In Group G, Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim were forced to withdraw because their government didn't authorize their travel to Qatar. That leaves Suwon and only two other clubs, Vissel Kobe and Guangzhou Evergrande. Suwon lost to Vissel Kobe in their only group match so far in February and will return to action against Guangzhou on Sunday.

FC Seoul will face Beijing Guoan on Saturday for their first match since a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory on Feb. 18 -- and do so with their third caretaker boss of the year.

After Choi Yong-soo stepped down as head coach in July, his assistant Kim Ho-young took over as caretaker boss. But he, too, quit at the end of September after just nine matches, and another assistant, Park Hyuk-soon, coached the rest of the season.

And ahead of the AFC Champions League, FC Seoul had to bring in another coach, Lee Won-jun, on a caretaker basis.

Head coaches for clubs competing at the AFC Champions League must have the Pro-Diploma, the highest level of coaching accreditation issued by the AFC. Park didn't have it, and FC Seoul weren't able to hire a new full-time coach in time for the tournament. Lee had been the club's pro scout and had earned his Pro-Diploma while studying in Germany after retiring as a player.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, which begins on Dec. 6, also in Doha.

On the other side of the bracket covering the West Zone, Iranian club Persepolis have already reached the final.

This year's championship match will be one-and-done, instead of the usual home-and-away.

To ensure safety, players and officials are required to undergo COVID-19 testing before departing their countries and again after arriving in Qatar. They will continue to be tested every three to six days, according to the AFC.

Inside the bio-secure bubble, they will be restricted to their hotel, training sites and match venues.

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