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The Asian Champions League for 2016 is under way. This is the top level club competition in Asia, bringing together the best teams from across the region.
This year involves 45 teams from the top 17 leagues in Asia.
Adelaide United are the first of our A-League teams to be involved, with their play-off stage match in Adelaide on Tuesday 9 February. Adelaide will the winner of the preliminary stage match between Shandong Luneng FC and Mohun Bagan to be held in Jinan on 2 February.
Shandong Luneng qualified as the third placed team in the China Super League. Mohun Bagan are the I-league champions (India) and progressed through the first preliminary stage by defeating Tampines Rovers from the S.League (Singapore).
If Adelaide win their playoff, they will face J-league champions, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, in Hiroshima on 23 February for the first match in Group F.
Melbourne Victory play their first match in Group G on 24 February in Melbourne. They face the winner of the playoff between Shanghai SIPG (China Super League) and the winner of Muangthong United (Thailand) and Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia).
Sydney FC also play their first match in Group H on 24 February in Saitama against Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan). Group H This group includes 2015 Asian Champions, Guangzhou Evergrande.
As usual, the Asian Champions League promises to be a tough competition.
A further challenge for our Australian teams is that the group stage of the Asian Champions League is staged during the last half of the A-League and the A-League finals series.
With the standard of Australian football increasing, can any Aussie side reproduce the efforts of the Western Sydney Wanderers who triumphed in 2014?
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