On Sunday 13 December, Vissel Kobe squared off against Ulsan Hyundai (Korea Republic) at the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2020 semi-finals. The match played at Doha, Qatar went into overtime and after 120 minutes of play, Kobe lost the match 1-2.

After playing against Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korea Republic) three days ago, a match that went into overtime and PKs, Vissel Kobe once again played 120 minutes at the semi-finals. With their captain Andres INIESTA being out of the squad after picking up an injury at the round of 16 against Shanghai SIPG (China PR), Kobe started the same players from the quarterfinal match, shifting to a 4-2-3-1 formation with YASUI Takuya as their attacking midfielder.

Led by coach KIM Do-Hoon, former member of the Korea Republic National Team and former player of Vissel Kobe, Ulsan Hyundai finished in second place at the K-League this season, carrying their momentum into the Asian competition to claim their first ACL title since 2012. After topping their group at the group stage, the Korean side has advanced through by scoring multiple goals at both the round of 16 and quarterfinals. At the semi-final match against Kobe, Ulsan made four changes to their starting line-up and utilised all six substitutions (including one added sub at overtime) in this match.

The match started with Ulsan creating opportunities from the right flank to threaten the opposing goal, but Kobe’s GK MAEKAWA Daiya made superb saves to keep the clean sheet intact. Kobe responded with shots taken by DOUGLAS but fell short from capturing the net.

After seeing the match enter halftime scoreless, the deadlock was broken by Kobe in the 52nd minute. The opening goal came from a right CK, where Yasui delivered a low driven ball towards the near post, allowing YAMAGUCHI Hotaru to strike a shot that found the back of the net.

With momentum on their side, Kobe created another big chance in the 75th minute. The play started with Yasui forcing a turnover in the midfield, setting up a sequence of passes that went through FURUHASHI Kyogo and Douglas, before finding its way back to Yasui, who struck a shot. Ulsan’s GK was able to block this shot, but SASAKi Daiki responded to this deflection and converted the loose ball into the net. However, after the play was reviewed by VAR, it was ruled that a foul was committed when Yasui won the ball in the midfield, and as a result, the goal was disallowed.

Ulsan’s equaliser came five minutes following this play. The goal came when KIM In-Sung carried the ball up the left side, squaring up a pass to YOON Bit-Garam, who struck a shot just outside the penalty area. The shot deflected off Bjorn JOHNSEN and found its way into the Kobe goal. Although the play was originally called offside by the assistant referee, VAR overturned this call to allow the goal, levelling the match at 1-1. While both sides created chances in the remaining time, the score remained tied after 90 minutes of play, sending the match into overtime.

After playing over 210 minutes within a three day span, it was evident that the Kobe side was running on fumes. Kim In-Sung, NEGRAO, and Johnsen took advantage of the situation to create more chances for Ulsan, but Maekawa repeatedly made superb saves to keep Kobe in the game.

Furuhashi and Douglas led ways for Kobe, as they combined with each other in the 99th minute to create a shooting opportunity, followed by another critical chance in the 107th minute, but their efforts fell short from scoring the goal.

With time running out, the deciding moment of the match arrived in the 117th minute. Kobe’s GK Maekawa, who has been spectacular up to this point, misread a cross and fumbled the ball inside the penalty area. The GK collided with Negrao, who was also chasing for the ball and took down the Ulsan striker. The play was called as a foul, giving Ulsan a PK, which was converted by Negrao to give the Korean side the lead.

Despite the final efforts made by Kobe, the match ended with a final score of 1-2, ending Kobe’s run at the ACL title in their first tournament appearance.

Kobe’s coach “We are on the right path”

After playing through 120 minutes, Yamaguchi commented, “Ulsan was simply the better team. We gave everything we had to reach this point, so we should be proud of our accomplishment. We will go back home with our heads held high.” SAKAI Gotoku, who mentioned “We are very disappointed that we could not win this match,” also commented on the decisions made by VAR, “They are looking at the actual footages, so there is nothing we can do about it.” When asked about how much chances they have created, the former Japanese international shared his thoughts, “Including all of the chances we have missed, that is the result of this match. No one is going to forget this bitterness. We must continue to work hard and strive to make our return to this stage.”

Kobe’s coach MIURA Atsuhiro reflected on the tournament, “Although we were not able to win the title, the entire process of making the challenge was a wonderful experience. It is hard to unite a group of players, but at this tournament, we were united as a team.” After seeing his side playing without Iniesta, the coach praised his players, “We were all striving to win the match. That mentality is something we should be proud of.”

Miura, former player of Kobe, who was appointed as the club’s Sports Director in 2018, succeeded the coach’s position this September. With the club reaching the ACL semi-finals in their first tournament appearance, the coach shared his aspiration for the club’s future, “It proved that we were on the right path. We will make the most of this experience and continue to work hard, so that we can make Vissel Kobe a stronger club next season.”

Ulsan Hyundai will now face Persepolis (Iran), who has won through the western division bracket, at the final on Saturday 19 December. The winner of this match will earn their ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup, which will also take place at Qatar next February.

Tournament Information