The Champions League is getting to its last stage in both Asia and Africa, teams are closer to their final moments of the season and the Middle East is always full of drama. Uri Levy with the best moments of this week.
The African continent is preparing for the best ever CAF Champions League knockout, and the Egyptian, Moroccan and Tunisian teams are all for the big prize. Can one of the MENA representative go all the way?
The CAF Champions League final was supposed to be the main event of African football. Instead it initiated a huge saga and Uri Levy tries to describe what happened since Friday night.
The Tunisian champions committed a ‘Remontada’ in the African Champions League final second leg, becoming the best Arab club in the world at the moment.
(All the hours are in CET local time)
Amateur (Like this miss)
What? Espérance de Tunis – Étoile du Sahel (Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1)
When? Sunday, 1630
Where? Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis
Why? With amazing runs of these two teams, only one can be the Tunisian champion. Étoile du Sahel are leading the table with 66 points and a single defeat in the whole season, while Espérance de Tunis are behind them with 64 points.
Key Players: In both of the teams’ rosters there are youngsters that had a great season with 22 appearances and 8 goals each. Espérance's Saad Bguir also scored his first international goal last November in his debut. Étoile's Alaya Brigui is a homegrown player who already won 3 cups with his club and now close to first championship.
Proud Tunisian, Proud Arab: Even though their names are in French, both of the teams has official names also in Arabic – Taraji for Espérance (Hope) and Nejmeh for Étoile (Star).
Professional (like that kick)
What?Iranian Persian Gulf League Pro final matchday, Esteghlal Khuzestan – Zob Ahan; Persepolis – Rah Ahan; Saba Qom - Esteghlal
When? Friday, 1530
Where? Ghadir Stadium, Ahvaz;Azadi Stadium, Tehran; Yadegar-e Emam Stadium, Qom
Why? We have special final matchday in Iran, with three team that each have chance to win the title. Esteghlal Khuzestan are on the way to their first title ever with 54 points. The two mega clubs of Iran didn't lose their hopes, as Persepolis is tied for the 1st place with 54 points, and Esteghlal are 3rd with 51.
Key Players: Three Iranian players are the dominant figures in those teams. Khuzestan's Hassan Beyt Saeed is 26 years old who is making a great debut season in the top tier with 9 goals. Persepolis' Mehdi Taremi is one of the lethal scorers in the league with 16 goals. Esteghlal will try to keep a clean sheet with Mehdi Rahmati, who capped 77 times as Iran national team goalkeeper.
The Independence: Esteghlal, which means independence in Persian, is a common name for Iranian clubs. Even Esteghlal Khuzestan local rivals named with the same name - Esteghlal Ahvaz.
World Class (like this goal)
What? Seongnam FC – FC Seoul (Korean K-League Classic)
When? Saturday, 0800
Where? Tancheon Stadium, Seongnam
Why? The Korean league is still warming up, but it's a chance to take a look one two of the league’s strong teams currently. Seongnam FC has 7 championships, more than any other K-League team, FC Seoul have 5 title. Currently, FC Seoul are leading the table with 19 points, Seongnam FC are 1 point behind in the 3rd place.
Key Players: It's not so common to find a young goalkeeper, but Seongnam have faith in Kim Dong Jun, a 21 years old, as the team conceded only 8 goals, less than any other team in the league. FC Seoul have Adriano, the top goal scorer in the K-League with 6 goals.
Playing with the Band: Adriano's goal celebration gained him the nickname "Adriano Michael Jackson". It's even got better when he played at Atlético Goianiense alongside with player nicknamed "John Lennon".
