1971 Asian Champion Club Tournament
The 1971 Asian Champion Club Tournament was the fourth edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation.[1] Eight clubs from eight countries competed in the tournament. The tournament was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 21 March to 2 April. Eight clubs were split in two groups of four and the group winners and the runners-up advanced to semifinals. Jardine Hong Kong withdrew from the tournament.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Thailand |
| Dates | 21 March – 2 April 1971 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | Bangkok |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Maccabi Tel Aviv (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | %253B_Flag_of_Syria_(1963%E2%80%931972).svg.png.webp){kind=small} Al-Shorta(withdrew) |
| Third place | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Taj Tehran |
| Fourth place | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} ROK Army |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 20 |
| Goals scored | 67 (3.35 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ghanim Abdul-Hamid Shlomo Gerbi Ali Al-Mulla(4 goals each) |
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. (ISR) recorded their second Asian title after Al-Shorta (IRQ) refused to play against them in protest at the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Al-Shorta players waved the Palestinian flag and the Iraqi flag around the field.
Al-Shorta were regarded as the winners of the tournament in the Iraqi media (the Al-Mal'ab newspaper headline the following day read: "The Champions of Asia Return to Baghdad") and were greeted with a heroes' reception upon their return to the country, holding an open top bus parade and later adding a star above their logo.[2]
Participants
| Participants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | Qualifying method | |
 FC Punjab Police |
Selected by All India Football Federation | |
| Taj Tehran |
1970 Local League champions | |
| Al-Shorta |
1969–70 Iraqi Central Premier League champions | |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv |
1969–70 Liga Leumit champions | |
| Al Arabi |
1969–70 Kuwaiti Premier League champions | |
 Perak FA |
1970 Malaysia Cup champions | |
| ROK Army |
1970 Korean National Football Championship champions | |
 Bangkok Bank FC |
Selected by Football Association of Thailand | |
Result
Preliminary Round
These were the group allocation matches. Each group consisted of two winners and two losers from this round. The draw for the preliminary round was re-made after Al-Shorta refused to play Maccabi Tel-Aviv as had been scheduled in the original draw.
| ROK Army |
2–1 | Bangkok Bank FC | ||
| Al-Shorta |
3–2 | Taj Tehran | ||
| Al Arabi |
8–1 | FC Punjab Police | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv |
1–0 | Perak FA |
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taj Tehran |
5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| ROK Army |
4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Al Arabi |
3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Perak FA |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 |
| Match 1 | Al Arabi | 3–0 | Perak | |
| Match 2 | Taj Tehran | 2–1 | ROK Army | |
| Match 3 | ROK Army | 3–0 | Perak | |
| Match 4 | Taj Tehran | 0–0 | Al Arabi | |
| Match 5 | Taj Tehran | 3–0 | Perak | |
| Match 6 | ROK Army | 1–0 | Al Arabi |
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Tel Aviv |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| Al-Shorta |
4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Bangkok Bank FC |
2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 |
| FC Punjab Police |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 |
| Match 1 | Bangkok Bank | 2–0 | Punjab | |
| Match 2 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–0 1 | Al-Shorta | |
| Match 3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4–1 | Punjab | |
| Match 4 | Al-Shorta | 2–0 | Bangkok Bank | |
| Match 5 | Al-Shorta | 6–1 | Punjab | |
| Match 6 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4–1 | Bangkok Bank |
1: Al-Shorta withdrew from this match, awarded to Maccabi.
Semi-finals
Final
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | w/o 1 | Al-Shorta |
|---|---|---|
1 The final was scratched and Maccabi Tel Aviv were awarded the championship as Al-Shorta players waved Iraqi and Palestinian flags around the pitch, refusing to play the Israeli side for political reasons.
References
- "History of the Asian Club Championship". Asian Football. 9 April 1997. Archived from the original on 9 April 1997. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- Arabic Post - The History of Stars on Football Shirts
- Asian Club Competitions 1971 at RSSSF.com