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Guangzhou Evergrande v Al Ahli AFC Champions League

Asian Champions League Final 2015 Second Leg

Should Guangzhou Evergrande win the AFC Champions League final this weekend - their second in three years - they will become the undisputed Kings of Asia. The two-legged final stands all square 0-0 after thefirst legagainst Al Ahli at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai.

While others, the likes of Al Ittihad and Al Hilal for example, lay claim to that mantle, a second title for Guangzhouwould end all doubt, and the statistics are there to back it up.

Since their maiden campaign in 2012, where they were knocked out in the Quarter Final by Al Ittihad, the Cantonese club has played more Champions League games than any other club (46), won more Champions League games than any other club (25), scored more goals in the Champions League than any other club (88) and a win this weekend will edge their overall winning percentage to 55.32 percent, past that of Al Ittihad (55.26 percent), the only other club to have won the AFC Champions League twice.

All that while winning five straight domestic league titles, ironically spearheading the revival of Chinese football, lifting the dark clouds that lingered after the match fixing scandal that swept across the country.

Ironic because Guangzhou, then known as Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, were one of the clubs at the centre of the scandal, penalised by being relegated to the second division (China League One), where they were promptly purchased by the Evergrande Real Estate Group who set about turning the club into a local and continental behemoth.

The results since have been phenomenal, with the club winning the league in every year since, starting with China League One in 2010, which earned promotion back into the Super League.

But while domestic success was satisfying, it was continental success, and the prestige that came with it, especially participation at theFIFA Club World Cup, that Evergrandes top officials coveted most.

They made a statement in their very first Champions League fixture in 2012 when they thumped Jeonbuk Hyundai, the runner-up from the previous year, 5-1 inJeonju. A statement had been made; Guangzhou Evergrande meant business.

But while they would make the Quarter Final, where they were beaten by eventual runner-up Al Ittihad, the first match demolition of Jeonbuk was as good as it got for Guangzhous 2012 campaign. But with the arrival of Marcello Lippi midway through 2012 the expectation was clear - ultimate success in 2013 was non-negotiable.

While they were made to earn it in the final against a determined FC Seoul outfit, only winning on away goals after the teams were locked at 3-3, the way they steamrolled through the tournament, particularly the knockout rounds when the challenge is supposedly tougher, was frightening.

Central Coast Mariners (Round of 16) were swatted aside 5-1, Lekhwiya (Quarter Finer) were humbled 6-1, while Kashiwa Reysol (Semi Final) suffered humiliation in their 8-1 defeat. It was ruthless. Nothing was left to chance.

And now two years later, after again falling short last year, knocked out in the Quarter Final in a spiteful clash by ACL debutants and eventual championsWestern Sydney Wanderers, they are back, looking to become just the second side to win the AFC Champions League twice.

While this campaign hasnt been as impressive as 2013, dogged and determined more than dominant, they stand just one game short of the ultimate success again, a testament to the quality they possess across the park.

Compared to the 2013 AFC Champions League, the 2015 edition is more difficult, striker Gao Lin, who scored in the first leg of the final in 2013, said this week. We suffered injuries early in the year and we had to get to this stage again step-by-step.

In the early or middle part of this year, no one would have expected that we could be on the verge of another domestic and continental double to match 2013. But here we are: champions of China and in the AFC Champions League final. This is really an exciting achievement.

While making the final is an achievement, merely making it is not enough, Guangzhou will only settle for one thing. And playing in front of almost 60,000 rabid fans at the Tianhe Stadium, where theyve lost just once in their last 21 matches, they look odds on to achieve just that.

The question then will be, who can catch them? As the motto on their club badge says - Be the best forever.

Thats a scary prospect for the other clubs in Asia.

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