A3 Champions Cup

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The A3 Champions Cup , after his main sponsor as A3 Nissan Champions Cup was known, an unofficial (ie not from FIFA or any of its sub-organizations veranstalteter) Association - soccer competition , annually attracting the best club teams from Japan , China and South Korea took part. The tournament was suspended in 2008 due to financial difficulties.

background

In Asia , like in Europe (and also based on the European model), there is a Champions League in which the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) determines the continental champion. However, this is by no means as popular as its European counterpart, which is probably mainly due to the inhomogeneity of the Asian football landscape:

  • Asian football is traditionally divided into two different centers: on the one hand the west Asian center ( Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates , Kuwait , Iraq , Iran , Qatar ) in the west and on the other hand the east Asian football nations China, South Korea and Japan. Since football hardly plays a role in India and Pakistan (the national sport there is cricket ), this results in huge distances that do not create a really competitive atmosphere, as trips to away games remain unaffordable for most fans.
  • Furthermore, the Arab-Muslim and the East Asian world have always remained culturally alien. There is no real rivalry between Korean and Arab clubs. That is why the Arab teams have been playing for the Arab Champions League or the Arab Club Champions Cup together with those from North Africa (especially Egypt , Morocco and Tunisia ) since the 1980s (Iran does not take part in this tournament because it is not an Arab country ist), which is attracting significantly more audience interest there.
  • This has induced the three big football nations of the East (hence the name A3 ) to organize their own international club competition as a counterweight to the Arab Champions League.

mode

Every year in February, the three champions of the Japanese J1 League , the Korean K League 1 and the Chinese first division met together with another starter from the host country for a one-week tournament in a single stadium . The game was played in three game days according to the mode everyone against everyone , with two games always taking place on the same day in a row. The player with the best points after three games (there are three points for a win and one point for a draw) is declared the winner; if there is a tie between points and goals , a penalty shoot-out takes place on the last day of the match .

The tournaments at a glance

year Venue Final stands
winner 2nd place 3rd place 4th Place
2003 Tokyo JapanJapan Kashima Antlers 1 China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Dalian Shide Korea SouthSouth Korea Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma JapanJapan Júbilo Iwata
2004 Shanghai Korea SouthSouth Korea Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma JapanJapan Yokohama F. Marinos China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Shanghai Shenhua China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Shanghai International 1
2005 Jeju Korea SouthSouth Korea Suwon Bluewings Korea SouthSouth Korea Pohang Steelers 1 JapanJapan Yokohama F. Marinos China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Shenzhen Jianlibao
2006 Tokyo Korea SouthSouth Korea Ulsan Hyundai JapanJapan Gamba Osaka JapanJapan JEF United 1 China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Dalian Shide
2007 Jinan China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Shanghai Shenhua 1 China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China Shandong Luneng Taishan JapanJapan Urawa Red Diamonds Korea SouthSouth Korea Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
1 Qualified as the second representative of the host country.

2003

First A3 Mazda Champions Cup , held in Tokyo in February 2003

Participants: Júbilo Iwata (Japanese master), Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Korean master), Dalian Shide (Chinese master), Kashima Antlers (winner of the Japanese league cup )

Results:

Result
Kashima 3: 1 Dalian
Seongnam 2-0 Iwata
Kashima 2-0 Iwata
Dalian 3: 2 Seongnam
Kashima 0-0 Seongnam
Dalian 1-0 Iwata

Final table:

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Kashima  3  2  1  0 005: 100  +4 07th
 2. Dalian  3  2  0  1 005: 500  ± 0 06th
 3. Seongnam  3  1  1  1 004: 300  +1 04th
 4th Iwata  3  0  0  3 000: 500  −5 00

The first winners of the Champions Cup were the Kashima Antlers

2004

Second A3 Nissan Champions Cup , held in Shanghai in February 2004

Participants: Yokohama F. Marinos (Japanese Master), Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Korean Master), Shanghai Shenhua (Chinese Master), Shanghai International (Chinese Vice Master )

Results:

Result
Yokohama 0: 3 Seongnam
Shenhua 1: 1 Chanba
Shenhua 0: 2 Yokohama
Seongnam 1-0 Chanba
Yokohama 2: 1 Chanba
Seongnam 1: 1 Shenhua

Final table:

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Seongnam  3  2  1  0 005: 100  +4 07th
 2. Yokohama  3  2  0  1 004: 400  ± 0 06th
 3. Shenhua  3  0  2  1 002: 400  −2 02
 4th Cosco  3  0  1  2 002: 400  −2 01

The second winner of the Champions Cup was Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

2005

Third A3 Mazda Champions Cup , held in February 2005 in Seogwipo ( Jeju-do Island , South Korea )

Participants: Yokohama F. Marinos (Japanese master), Pohang Steelers (Korean master), Shenzhen Jianlibao (Chinese master), Suwon Samsung Bluewings (Korean runner-up)

Results:

Result
Yokohama 1: 1 Pohang
Shenzhen 1: 3 Suwon
Yokohama 2-0 Shenzhen
Pohang 2: 2 Suwon
Yokohama 1: 3 Suwon
Pohang 2-0 Shenzhen

Final table:

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Suwon  3  2  1  0 008: 400  +4 07th
 2. Pohang  3  1  2  0 004: 400  ± 0 05
 3. Yokohama  3  1  1  1 004: 400  ± 0 04th
 4th Shenzhen  3  0  0  3 001: 700  −6 00

The third winner of the Champions Cup was the Samsung Bluewings

2006

Fourth A3 Mazda Champions Cup , held in Tokyo , Japan in August 2006

Participants: Gamba Osaka (Japanese Master), Ulsan Hyundai (Korean Master), Dalian Shide (Chinese Master), JEF United Ichihara Chiba (Japanese League Cup Winner)

Results:

Result
Osaka 3: 2 Dalian
Ulsan 2: 3 Chiba
Ulsan 6-0 Osaka
Chiba 2: 2 Dalian
Dalian 0: 4 Ulsan
Osaka 2-0 Chiba

Final table:

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Ulsan  2  2  0  0 012: 300  +9 06th
 2. Osaka  3  1  2  0 005: 800  −3 05
 3. Chiba  3  1  1  1 005: 600  −1 04th
 4th Dalian  3  0  1  2 004: 900  −5 01

2007

Fifth A3 Mazda Champions Cup , held in June 2007 in Jinan , China

Participants: Shandong Luneng Taishan (Chinese master), Shanghai Shenhua (Chinese runner-up), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japanese master), Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Korean master)

Results:

Result
Shanghai 3-0 Seongnam
Shandong 4: 3 Urawa
Urawa 1-0 Seongnam
Shandong 2: 1 Shanghai
Urawa 1: 3 Shanghai
Shandong 1: 2 Seongnam

Final table:

Pl. society Sp. S. U N Gates Diff. Points
 1. Shanghai  3  2  0  1 007: 300  +4 06th
 2. Shandong  3  2  0  1 007: 600  +1 06th
 3. Urawa  3  1  0  2 005: 700  −2 03
 4th Seongnam  3  1  0  2 002: 500  −3 03