scoring Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea has promised to attack Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad in the first leg of their Asian Champions League semifinal Wednesday. Jeonbuk has been in enviable form all season, sitting six points clear at the top of the K-League with just two matches of the regular season remaining, as well being the top scorer in the Champions League with an impressive 27 goals from the nine games so far, compared to Al-Ittihad's 16. Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee is looking for more in Saudi Arabia. “We will never play defensively even though this is an away match. That is not out our style,” Choi said. “This away match is critical and the most important match for us, but our players have a strong mind set.” It is an eagerly-awaited showdown. Since 2003 when the tournament was born in its current format, both Al-Ittihad and Jeonbuk have reached the last eight of the competition five times, more than any other team. Al-Ittihad is the more successful of the two and has the best record in the tournament's history. Based in Jeddah, the Tigers won the 2004 and 2005 titles, and reached the final of the 2009 version only to lose to Pohang Steelers of South Korea. Jeonbuk captured the 2006 championship. Not only are the pair the most experienced, they have history, meeting at the same stage of the 2004 competition. Then, Ittihad scored in the last minute in Korea to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate. “We know that Al-Ittihad is a good team,” Choi said. “The team has won twice and reached the final recently, and have lots of experience in the competition. The semifinal game in 2004 is a long time ago, we are thinking only about this match.” Nine of Jeonbuk's goals came in the quarterfinal win over Cerezo Osaka. The Korean team lost 4-3 in the first leg but thrashed the Japanese team 6-1 at home thanks to four goals from Lee Dong-gook. The former Middlesbrough striker is the top scorer in this year's competition so far with eight goals to his name, form that has earned him a recall to the national team. “We are playing well together as a team with a number of different players making and scoring goals,' Lee said. “We have to ensure that we stay focused against Al-Ittihad as we know that it is a strong team with a real Asian pedigree.” Unlike Jeonbuk, who is approaching the end of the domestic season, Al Ittihad is just starting its campaign in the Saudi Arabian league and has collected seven points from four games. The team's Belgian coach Dmitri Davidovic led his team to a quarterfinal win over FC Seoul of South Korea. There is more at stake for Jeonbuk and Al-Ittihad than a place in the final as the winner will have home advantage. The Asian Football Confederation has played around with the format for the final in recent years. First there was a home-and-away, two-legged affair, followed by a one-off match in Tokyo. This year, the final is once again a single match, but will be played at the home of one of the finalists, with the draw already confirming a showdown in either Jeonju or Jeddah. That means that the winner of the other semifinal between Suwon Bluewings, also of South Korea, and Qatar's Al-Sadd will face a journey in order to lift the trophy. Just how far they have to travel remains to be seen, but wherever they go they face a tough test.
