From household domestic names to international stars, the competition has been lit up by a number of players who provided memories to cherish for lovers of Asian football.

Dejan Damjanovic

Since opening his AFC Champions League account with a hat-trick against Indonesia’s Sriwijaya FC in 2009, there was no looking back for Dejan Damjanovic. He went on to become a big-game player for his club FC Seoul, scoring a combined 12 goals in his next two campaigns, helping the Koreans reach their maiden final in 2013.
After a brief spell in China PR with Beijing FC, the Montenegrin forward returned to his happy hunting ground in Korea Republic in the year 2016, winning his third K League 1 title in the Korean capital, while his five goals and four assists in continental matches took Seoul to the brink of another final.
Damjanovic’s most prolific season was in 2018 when his nine goals guided Suwon Samsung Bluewings to the semi-finals before he achieved immortality turning out for Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC and finishing his career as the AFC Champions League’s all-time top-scorer with 42 goals.

Lee Dong-gook

Damjanovic broke Lee Dong-gook’s record to become the all-time top scorer who himself was an iconic forward in his homeland and at continental level. Having scored in the Asian Club Championship era for his boyhood club Pohang Steelers, Lee’s renaissance took place in the 2011 season at his longest-serving club, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
The striker went on to score a personal best nine goals finishing as both the top-scorer and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) but the trophy eluded him as Jeonbuk heartbreakingly lost out to Qatar’s Al Sadd SC on penalties in the final.
Lee would go on to display his aerial prowess and clinical touch in front of goal in the subsequent seasons and in 2016 finally had got his hands on the missing piece of the jigsaw by lifting the coveted AFC Champions League trophy after seeing off the UAE’s Al Ain in what was arguably the highest point of a storied football career.

Salem Al Dawsari

The reigning AFC Player of the Year first scored in the AFC Champions League for Al Hilal SFC as a young prodigy in their Round of 16 triumph against UAE’s Baniyas back in 2011 and has since gone on to become aan Asian superstar.
Al Dawsari played an instrumental role in 2017, registering five assists along the way as Al Hilal finished as runners-up before he helped them turn the tables around in 2019 by defeating Urawa Red Diamonds to finally clinch their first title in the AFC Champions League era.
Two years later, Al Dawsari was once again at the heart of it all being adjudged as the MVP in Al Hilal’s triumphant 2021 campaign before the Saudi superstar would go on to score the career-defining winner against Argentina at the FIFA World Cup, with devoted fans of the AFC Champions League well aware about the enigmatic winger’s superb individual talents by then.

Omar Abdulrahman

From one enigmatic name to another, Omar Abdulrahman’s career took off after he moved to the UAE to join Al Ain’s academy in 2007. Six years later, the first glimpse of his ability was evident when he scored one and assisted another in Al Ain’s 3-1 opening-day group stage win versus Al Hilal.
Eight goal involvements in 2014 helped Al Ain reach the semi-finals and it seemed that the new Emirati starboy was finally starting to come of age. The following season would be one full of flair as Abdulrahman helped his club reach their first final in 11 years, captaining the side in the final as they were narrowly beaten by Jeonbuk.
Despite the defeat, the attacking midfielder’s performances wouldn’t go unnoticed as he created history by becoming the first and the only Emirati to win the MVP award. In a flame that perhaps flickered only too briefly, ‘Amoory’ was truly the AFC Champions League’s very own ‘the streets won’t forget’ player.

Kwoun Sun-tae

The man who denied Abdulrahman glory in 2016 was opposing captain and Jeonbuk goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae with his leadership and commanding presence between the sticks helping the Jeonju-based side achieve continental glory for the second time in their history.
A decade earlier, Kwoun had similarly started both legs of the final for Jeonbuk against Syria’s Al Karamah SC as they emerged victorious 3-2 on aggregate, establishing himself as a club legend over the years.
In a remarkable longevity playing at the highest level, Kwoun moved to Japan with Kashima Antlers following the expiration of his contract and kept clean sheets in both legs of the 2018 final with the Korean custodian becoming the first player to lift the AFC Champions League for a third time and etching his name forever into Asian football folklore.

Seyed Jalal Hosseini

A stalwart of Iranian football having earned more than 100 international caps and nine Iranian Pro League titles with three different clubs, it was not until 2018 that the centre-back finally had his chance to shine on the AFC Champions League stage.
The Persepolis captain managed to score vital second-leg goals in the Round of 16 and the quarter-finals against the UAE’s Al Jazira and Qatar’s Al Duhail respectively, in addition to being a colossus in the backline, but was unfortunately on the losing side against Kwoun’s Kashima.
Two seasons later, Hosseini again led his troops out in the final against Ulsan Hyundai with only Junior Negrao’s second-half penalty being the difference as the iconic Iranian was once more denied at the death but his displays throughout his career made him one of the finest defenders to have graced the AFC Champions League.

Ai Kesen

During Guangzhou FC’s golden era, Ai Kesen came up clutch whenever it mattered after Marcello Lippi acquired him from Botafogo in December 2012. Initially not being included in a star-studded squad for the AFC Champions League in 2013 due to a limit on foreign players, he was finally given his chance to replace the departing Lucas Barrios ahead of the quarter-finals and he took the opportunity with both hands.
Ai Kesen went on to score in all but one match with two in the final against FC Seoul including a mesmerising effort which meant Guangzhou became the first Chinese club since Liaoning FC in 1990 to be crowned Asian club champions.
Two years later in 2015, he won the title again, this time under Luiz Felipe Scolari, turning out to be the match-winner after a goalless first leg against the UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli. Once again, Ai Kesen showed expert technique to net the only goal at Tianhe Stadium in a tightly contested affair before going on to become only the fourth player to reach the 30-goal milestone.

Mohammed Noor

Born in the holy city of Mecca, Mohammed Noor was blessed with excellent ball control and dribbling skills which was evident during the early years of the AFC Champions League as Noor sparkled for Saudi giants Al Ittihad.
After netting a crucial goal against Jeonbuk in the 2004 semi-finals, the Jeddah-based club had a mountain to climb after succumbing to a 3-1 home defeat against Seongnam in the final first leg. What would follow a week later in the Korea Republic was scarcely believable with Noor scoring a double in a 5-0 away win for arguably the greatest comeback in AFC Champions League history.
The following season, Mohamed Kallon took up the goalscoring mantle but Noor put in an MVP performance including a goal and an assist in the final second-leg decider against Al Ain to help Al Ittihad become the first and the only club to clinch back-to-back AFC Champions League crowns.

Shinzo Koroki

The evergreen Shinzo Koroki won three successive J1 League titles with Kashima Antlers but it was only after his move to the Urawa Red Diamonds that he became a continental star. It was not a smooth start with Koroki failing to go past the last 16 in his first three attempts with Urawa but like all champion athletes, he never gave up.
The 2017 season finally bore fruit with seven goal contributions and a starring role which saw Koroki’s Urawa upstage Al Hilal in the final to emerge Asian champions. Despite a stellar eight-goal campaign in 2019, Urawa were comprehensively beaten by their familiar foes which meant Koroki still had some unfinished business.
Koroki went out on loan to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo ahead of the 2022 edition as Urawa made it all the way to the final again and were slated to face Al Hilal for a third time with the prodigal son returning to Saitama ahead of the showpiece clash. The veteran forward then scored the crucial equaliser against their perennial rivals in the away leg in Riyadh as Urawa ultimately had the last laugh, winning 2-1 on aggregate with Koroki lifting the trophy for the second time and cementing himself as a Reds icon for the ages.

Abderazzak Hamdallah

Moroccan forward Abderazzak Hamdallah first scored in the AFC Champions League with China PR’s Guangzhou R&F in 2015 before scoring for an array of clubs across West Asia. His next stops were El Jaish and Al Rayyan in Qatar scoring a combined seven goals for the duo.
Since then, Saudi Pro League has become Hamdallah’s home with his exploits in front of goal being the key behind Al Nassr reaching consecutive semi-finals in 2020 and 2021, winning the top scorer award in the former season.
The goals haven’t dried up since swapping Riyadh for Jeddah in December 2021, continuing to score now for Al Ittihad with Hamdallah achieving the unique feat of becoming the first player to score in the AFC Champions League with five different clubs. The hallmark of a truly great goalscorer!