(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Al Sadd's Asian player of the Year Akram Afif and Algerian star Baghdad Bounedjah have made it to the shortlist for the strikers' for the 2019 AFC Champions League Best XI, the AFC announced yesterday. The 2019 tournament was replete with star strikers as frontmen from all over the globe displayed their attacking prowess and brought joy to spectators across the Continent.
Over the past three weeks, fans selected the top goalkeeper, the best defence and the playmakers in midfield, and the time has come to select the all-important forward positions to complete the Best XI. Using match data from the tournament, the AFC has selected eight standout performers from the 2019 edition to present a star-studded cast, which pits the two Al Sadd stars along with six other top players from Asia.
Apart from Afif and Bounedjah, Bafetimbi Gomis and Sebastian Giovinco from Al Hilal, Shinzo Koroki (Urawa Red Diamonds), Omar Al Soma (Al Ahli), Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng) and Hulk (Shanghai SIPG) are also competing for a place in the final XI. Fans can vote for their favourite stars on AFC's official website ,
Akram Afif (Al Sadd)
Afif began the year as an AFC Asian Cup 2019 winner and ended it as the AFC Player of the Year, producing some fine form in between for Al Sadd as the Qatari side again came within a game of reaching the final. The Doha native outscored his usually prolific teammate Baghdad Bounedjah while also creating more chances for his teammates than any other forward in the competition.
Afif's most notable contributions came in the knockout rounds, with goals home and away against domestic rivals Al Duhail seeing Al Sadd into the quarter-finals, where he added another as Al Nassr were next to fall. The winger was on the scoresheet again in the semifinal against Al Hilal, but his second-leg penalty ultimately proved inconsequential as the Qataris' comeback was thwarted by the eventual winners.
Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd)
Prolific in 2018 with a record-equalling 13 goals to his name, Bounedjah may not have been quite as clinical in the 2019 campaign but it wasn't for want of trying, the Algerian's 36 shots on goal more than any of his fellow strikers.
Perhaps the sweetest moment was a last-gasp group stage winner against Persepolis which saw Al Sadd get a touch of revenge for the semi-final defeat just a few months earlier. He also netted the decisive goal in the quarter-final victory over Al Nassr but as Al Sadd almost staged an unlikely semi-final second-leg comeback against Al Hilal, their main man in front of goal was forced to sit out through suspension.
Bafetimbi Gomis (Al Hilal)
Gomis took the 2019 AFC Champions League by storm, finishing as the tournament's 11-goal top scorer, the MVP and with a winners' medal around his neck.
The Frenchman, who is now renowned for his ‘Lion' celebration, did it all with a smile on his face as he became an Al Hilal legend and wrote his name into the competition's history books.
Shinzo Koroki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Urawa Red Diamonds' striker Koroki produced his best-ever AFC Champions League performance as he fired the Saitama side into a third final before falling just short.
In stature the frontman may not be the most physically imposing, but characteristically excellent movement also saw him score four of his eight goals from headers.
Omar Al Soma (Al Ahli)
Excellent in the air, technically gifted, a deadball specialist and good at bringing others into the game, there's not much Al Soma does not have in his repertoire. The Al Ahli man was in fine form once more in the 2019 edition, netting seven goals in eight games at a strike rate of a goal every 76 minutes before the Jeddah giants fell in the last eight.
Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng)
Another star name who made his AFC Champions League debut in 2019 was Pelle, whose goals helped fire Shandong Luneng into the knockout rounds for just the third time. Fine form from the off saw the Italian net six times in his first four games as the Jinan side stormed to the top of their group and their striker joined the early contenders for the top scorer accolade.
Hulk (Shanghai Sipg)
For the third successive year Hulk produced some eyecatching performances in the AFC Champions League as Shanghai SIPG made the knockout rounds for the fourth season in a row. As has happened so often, in the Chinese side's time of need, it was their big Brazilian who stepped forward and delivered when it mattered most. Sebastian Giovinco (Al Hilal) Al Hilal had more attempts on goal than any other team, with the Saudi side trying their luck 26 times. Giovinco netted their crucial third to round off the 3-1 win.
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