When European football entered the sprint stage of the season, the AFC Champions League on the Asian football side gradually came to an end, and in the first leg of the semi-finals, the first giants from Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Crescent, won 2:1, but still went out 4:5 on aggregate. They were beaten by Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates, and their coach is familiar to fans, the former Argentine No.9: Crespo.
After retiring as a player, Crespo took up the reins and has been in charge for 10 years, starting with Parma's Under-19s. After taking charge of Sao Paulo and Duhail, Crespo took charge of Al Ain in November last year, and although Al Ain finished third in the league this season, he was a heavy punch in the AFC Champions League.
Ain has suffered tough battles in two consecutive rounds of AFC Champions League knockout rounds, and in the quarter-finals, they were first stubbornly equalized by Riyadh Victory with a three-goal lead on aggregate, and finally won a thrilling penalty shootout, and ended Cristiano Ronaldo's goal of winning the AFC Champions League this season. In the semi-finals, Riyadh Crescent, who had been unbeaten this season, ended Riyadh Crescent's 34-match winning streak with a 4-2 home win streak in the first leg.
Although the second leg was a 1:2 loss, they still held on to the one-goal advantage, thus successfully eliminating Riyadh Crescent, which made them eliminate two teams supported by the Saudi royal family on the way to the AFC Champions League, which can be described as full of gold. It was also the fourth time in Al Ain's history that they reached the AFC Champions League final, having previously reached the top in 2003 and runners-up in 2005 and 2016, and will face off in the final this afternoon between Ulsan HD and Yokohama Marinos. It is unknown whether Crespo will be able to lead Ain to the pinnacle of AFC Champions League football again.
Once he wins the AFC Champions League, Al Ain will also be able to compete in the new Club World Cup next year, and the new Club World Cup quota has been gradually revealed, and Asian football has been divided into four places, except for the past two years' AFC Champions League champions Riyadh Crescent and Urawa Red Diamonds, and Ulsan HD with four years of accumulated points to get places, the only remaining place is reserved for this year's AFC Champions League champion. If he can go to the Club World Cup and play against the top teams in Europe, he will surely bring more experience to Crespo.