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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Steelers seal place at Club World Cup
Source: Agencies |
November 8, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOUTH Korea's Pohang Steelers beat Saudi side al-Ittihad 2-1 in the Asian Champions League final yesterday to book their spot in FIFA's Club World Cup.
Pohang twice caught Ittihad cold from free kicks, forward No Byung-jun smashing a shot through the wall to put it ahead in the 57th minute in Tokyo.
A flying header from defender Kim Hyung-il from a Kim Jae-sung delivery made it 2-0 nine minutes later in the competition's first one-off final.
Captain Mohammed Noor gave Ittihad a lifeline by blasting home a close-range volley in the 74th but Pohang held on to become South Korea's first Asian champion since 2006.
The Steelers, four-time K-League champions and twice winners of the old Asian club championship in the late 1990s, qualified for next month's lucrative Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirtaes.
"On balance 2-1 was the right result," Pohang's Brazilian coach Sergio Farias told reporters.
"To get to the Club World Cup is the biggest thing to happen to this club. It's a dream come true for the players."
European champion Barcelona and Libertadores Cup holder Estudiantes of Argentina head the seven-team tournament starting on December 9.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen scored three times inside the first 11 minutes and went on to rout Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to remain the Bundesliga leader on Friday.
Leverkusen, which had drawn its last three games, will remain atop the Bundesliga when the 12th round is completed over the weekend, since it has a four-point lead over Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV.
Bremen hosts Borussia Dortmund today when third-placed Hamburg SV, also on 22 points, visits Hanover 96.
Pohang twice caught Ittihad cold from free kicks, forward No Byung-jun smashing a shot through the wall to put it ahead in the 57th minute in Tokyo.
A flying header from defender Kim Hyung-il from a Kim Jae-sung delivery made it 2-0 nine minutes later in the competition's first one-off final.
Captain Mohammed Noor gave Ittihad a lifeline by blasting home a close-range volley in the 74th but Pohang held on to become South Korea's first Asian champion since 2006.
The Steelers, four-time K-League champions and twice winners of the old Asian club championship in the late 1990s, qualified for next month's lucrative Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirtaes.
"On balance 2-1 was the right result," Pohang's Brazilian coach Sergio Farias told reporters.
"To get to the Club World Cup is the biggest thing to happen to this club. It's a dream come true for the players."
European champion Barcelona and Libertadores Cup holder Estudiantes of Argentina head the seven-team tournament starting on December 9.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen scored three times inside the first 11 minutes and went on to rout Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to remain the Bundesliga leader on Friday.
Leverkusen, which had drawn its last three games, will remain atop the Bundesliga when the 12th round is completed over the weekend, since it has a four-point lead over Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV.
Bremen hosts Borussia Dortmund today when third-placed Hamburg SV, also on 22 points, visits Hanover 96.
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