00:00We are nearing the final stages of the AFC Champions League Elite competition.
00:05The last eight matches will all be played just over the course of a week in Saudi Arabia.
00:11Can one of the remaining Saudi clubs lift the trophy on home soil?
00:15Or will another team steal the glory and become continental champions?
00:24Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:27Here from the Al-Bait Stadium in Qatar.
00:31This week we'll see the business end of the AFC Champions League Elite begin to reach its climax.
00:37There are eight teams left in the competition which will be decided by a thrilling eight days of football in Saudi Arabia over the next week.
00:47King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadiums in Jeddah will host crucial knockout matches across seven days.
00:55With the eighth day reserved for the final match of the tournaments.
00:59With eight teams remaining, the single leg quarterfinal ties come first from Friday the 25th to Sunday the 27th of April.
01:07I think we've had a lot of tournament changes over this calendar year.
01:12You look at the Champions League formats across the globe and I think this is a really good change.
01:18It's one that's going to take some getting used to for sure.
01:20But I think it's going to be a good change for the quality of competition that we see in the Champions League and I guess from the quarterfinals moving on.
01:25And I'm really excited to see how this plays out because it's now condensed where we don't have to wait so much between these matches.
01:30We get to get them one after the other for about like a little over a week I guess.
01:34When you have so many matches back to back, you know, it becomes very unpredictable.
01:38And it's a significantly different situation than what we had in the group stage where it's extended over months and months.
01:44To have it in one place, right, in one country in Saudi Arabia and to have it condensed this much, it's completely different.
01:51I'm really intrigued to see if we get any shockers in terms of teams causing upsets and wrecking havoc in the latter stages of this tournament.
01:59Saudi Arabia has the most representatives left in the competition.
02:03Riyadh-based Al-Halal and Al-Nasser will face Korean team Gwangju FC and Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos respectively.
02:10While Jeddah's Al-Ali will play against Thailand's Bariram United.
02:16Elsewhere, Qatar's Al-Sad club play against the other remaining Japanese team, Kawasaki Frontale.
02:22The QSL champions haven't won this competition since 2011.
02:27So could they make it happen this week in Jeddah?
02:30So far this season, Asian Champions League elite is where they have come alive.
02:33They've only lost one game so far.
02:35And against Saudi teams that were probably stronger than them and Papers, their record hasn't been that bad.
02:41And we know the nature of tournament football.
02:43This is where uncertain things happen.
02:45This is where margin of error is so fine.
02:47And Al-Sad, having recruited so many quality players, be it Yusuf Atal or the likes of Claudinho,
02:53I think certainly on their day, they are a very formidable side.
02:57And while it will be very difficult to go all the way through, never say never in tournament football.
03:02Just two days later, the semi-finals get underway.
03:06One on Tuesday, one on Wednesday.
03:09These games will decide the teams that will face off in the final on Saturday, May 3rd.
03:14Well, after a strong league phase, all three Saudi Pro League teams still remain in the competition,
03:22meaning one of them could go on and lift the trophy on home soil.
03:26The question is, which one of Al-Halal, Al-Ali and Al-Nasser are in the best position to do just that?
03:33I think that's what's really interesting is that if we'd had this conversation a few months ago,
03:37I think everyone would have expected an Al-Halal walkover.
03:39But they're now second in the Roshan Saudi League.
03:43They've had some stumbles of late as well.
03:46So despite the absolutely incredible quality throughout their squad, the star names,
03:50we know all of them, Ruben Neves, Serges, Nikolich, Savic and the Rats.
03:53It's not a given that they're going to roll everyone over.
03:56Al-Ali, of course, will have hometown advantage, the Jeddah outfit.
04:00And then Riyad Mahrez, in my opinion, Riyad Mahrez has been the best player in AFC Champions League Elite so far this season.
04:06And we've got so many other wonderful quality players, even as Demaral, etc.
04:11And then, of course, Al-Nasser, Cristiano Ronaldo, Johan Duran, Sadio Mane.
04:15They've actually started to pick up a bit of momentum again in recent weeks.
04:18So I would say, actually, this is an opportunity to show off what Saudi football is about.
04:22Well, as I mentioned earlier, there are two Japanese sides also left in the tournament.
04:28Kawasaki Frontali and Yokohoma F Marinos.
04:32Yokohoma made the final of this competition last season, narrowly losing out to UAE side Al Ain.
04:40However, this season has been a totally different story as they find themselves in the bottom three of the J League.
04:47And just last week, sat their coach Steve Holland after a dreadful run of results.
04:53So, under new manager Patrick Kisnorbo, can they salvage their season in this year's AFC Champions League?
05:00Look, it's been nothing short of a disaster so far.
05:04It was, I guess, in the past tense with Steve Holland.
05:0611 matches played in league play, 1 win, 8 points.
05:09They're sitting 19th in the table.
05:10It's been a disaster.
05:11They were winless and fixed.
05:12I think there's genuine concern that this is just going to be a one-and-done for them.
05:15I don't know what there is to be optimistic around.
05:18They just haven't been playing well at all.
05:20So, hopefully, AFC Champions League and playing in ACL Elite will create different form for them as they've been very good in ACL Elite this campaign.
05:28But based off of how they're playing right now, it's hard to see them doing much in this competition, honestly.
05:33What a week of Asian football we have in store then as the AFC Champions League Elite begins to reach its climax.
05:41Who do you think will be picking up the trophy in Jeddah?
05:44Let us know using the hashtag FootballNowAFCChampionsLeague.
05:49That's all we've got time for, though, here this week.
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