Speedster Song set to shine in AFC Champions League final
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Song Ho-young |
Seongnam Ilhwa youngster Song Ho-young has been cited as one to watch in the AFC Champions League final in Tokyo, where the K-League giants battle Iranian league leaders Zobahan on Saturday evening.
Mauricio Molina, a former Colombia international, is Seongnam’s top scorer in this year’s competition with seven goals, but head coach Shin Tae-yong is just as excited by the form of Song.
The 22-year-old, described as “blindingly fast” by captain Sasa Ognenovski, was a match winner against Gamba Osaka after coming on as a substitute in the round-of-16 clash and started both quarter-final legs against Suwon Bluewings.
Song was back on the bench in both semi-final legs last month, but could start in the final after shining in last Sunday’s 2-2 draw at former club Gyeongnam in the K-League, as Seongnam played with 10 men after the 21st minute.
“He’s very fast and playing really well at the moment,” said Shin, who watched the speedster score two goals in Gyeongnam’s 4-1 win over Ilhwa last October.
“Song was our best player in our last match. He’s in prime condition and probably in the best physical shape of all our players.”
With target man Dzenan Radoncic and experienced holding midfielder Cheon Kwang-jin suspended, Shin has had to rearrange his starting line-up as he seeks to find a way through a Zobahan defence that have kept seven clean sheets in 11 AFC Champions League games.
After playing 4-4-2 for most of the year, Shin has suggested he may use the 4-3-3 formation he employed in the second leg of the semi-final against Al Shabab, when Kim Sung-hwan was moved to a defensive midfield position and Ko Jae-sung took his place at right-back.
Molina and Song are likely to start left and right of striker Cho Dong-geon, with Kim Cheol-ho – who played in the 2004 final – and Jo Jae-cheol playing just in front of Kim Sung-hwan in midfield. Kim Tae-yoon is set to play left-back in place of Hong Chul, who’s competing in the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Shin has highlighted Iran striker Mohammad Khalatbari and Brazilian Igor Castro as Zobahan’s key players and the livewire pair could make it a long night for Seongnam’s centre-backs, captain Sasa Ognenovski and Cho Byung-kuk.
With set pieces likely to prove crucial, the 1.95-metre Ognenovski is set to go head to head with Zobahan’s 1.90-metre centre-back Farshid Talebi, a fellow AFC Player of the Year candidate.
Shin is confident his captain, who was called up by Australia this week, will rise to the occasion as he seeks to make amends for his loss in the 2008 final while with Adelaide United.
“Sasa’s a really good player. He’s big and a strong guy, but he’s also mentally very strong. I love this type of player,” Shin said.
“He’s a great talker and motivator, one of those players who’s fully focused for every minute of every game. We’ll need his experience in the final, especially without Cheon Kwang-jin and Radoncic.”
Zobahan currently lead the Iran Pro League and Mansour Ebrahimzadeh’s men are bidding to better fellow Esfahan club Sepahan, who lost to Urawa Reds in the 2007 final when Ebrahimzadeh was assistant coach.
“We’re confident we can win,” Ebrahimzadeh said. “Seongnam are a clever team and tough, and Molina and Cho Dong-geon are important players for them. However, we have strategies to win.”
Zobahan have never won their domestic league, but looked set to win the 2008-09 campaign in Ebrahimzadeh’s first season in charge before losing their final match and conceding the title on goal difference. They finished runners-up again earlier this year.
Khalatbari and Castro each have four goals in this year’s competition, while former Iran forward Mahdi Rajabzadeh has five, including four for Mes Kerman in the group stage before his summer transfer.
The AFC Champions League winners will compete in next month’s FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, where they’ll face the winners of the tie between hosts Al Wahda and OFC champions Hekari United for the chance to play Inter Milan in the semi-finals.
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