Great Grounds of Asia: West | Football News |
Kuala Lumpur: West Asia has some of the finest stadiums in the Continent, with these venues regularly playing host to AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches.
Kuala Lumpur: Few football experiences live in the memory like a Cup Final.
Their infrequency, unique sense of occasion and the sheer proximity to silverware make these special days out defining experiences for players and fans alike, and over the years Asian football has been blessed with finales fit for any competition.
With historical significance, drama and sheer entertainment in mind, we’ve picked out eight memorable deciders from around the continent
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1940 Durand Cup Final
Mohammedan Sporting 2-1 Royal Warwickshire Regimen
Asia’s oldest football competition, and one which had begun as a contest for British Armed Forces in 1888; India’s Durand Cup had never been won by a civilian side until Mohammedan Sporting Club earned a landmark victory in 1940.
History was made with a 2-1 win in front of 50,000 fans at Delhi’s Irwin Amphitheatre, but – with World War 2 already underway – the breakthrough occurred on the cusp of a long period of interruption.
It took 10 more years for another Durand Cup Final to be held, and another 73 before Mohammedan won their second title in 2013, but the Kolkata club’s victory earned them an indelible place in the history of Indian football.
1995 Asian Super Cup
Yokohama Flugels 4-3 (agg.) Thai Farmers Bank
The inaugural Asian Super Cup ended up being one of the best contests of all in the now defunct competition, with Asian Club Champions Thai Farmers Bank and Cup Winners’ Cup holders Yokahama Flugels sharing seven goals over two legs.
Netipong Srithong-in – Thai Farmers Bank’s hero in their Club Championship Final win over Al Shabab – kept his side in the contest with a late equaliser in the first leg, then threatened to steal the show once again when he made it 2-1 with 20 minutes to go in the return clash in Japan.
But just as the visitors looked set to claim their third piece of continental silverware in 18 months, late goals from Motohiro Yamaguchi (pictured above) and Takayuki Yoshida made it 3-2 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate as the Japanese club claimed a historic title.
2002 Uzbek Cup Final
Pakhtakor 6-3 (a.e.t.) Neftchi Fergana
Clearly Uzbekistan’s two best teams in 2002, Pakhtakor and Neftchi put on a nine-goal Cup Final thriller, which both began and ended in despair for the Fergana side.
Down 2-0 after four minutes after an early strike from Turkmenistan international Gochguly Gochgulyyev and an own goal from Vitaliy Lebedev, Yuriy Sarkisyan’s side hauled themselves back into the contest, scoring twice in the last six minutes to force a 3-3 draw after 90 minutes.
Despite their heroic recovery, it all fell apart in extra-time for Neftchi, with another Lebedev own goal, a second from Gochgulyyev and a late sealer from substitute Zainiddin Tajiev securing the second of seven consecutive Cup titles for the Tashkent giants.
Pakhtakor now have 12 Uzbek Cup titles to their name, most recently in 2019, where they beat Olmaliq 3-0, courtesy of Serbian star Dragan Ćeran's hat-trick.
