09/24/2008
the-afc.com

TASHKENT – Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva struck a hat-trick as Kuruvchi (Bunyodkor) demolished Iran's Saipa 5-1 at MHSK Stadium on Wednesday to secure a AFC Champions League semi-final berth.

Following a 2-2 draw with the 2007 Iran Pro League champions in Tehran last Wednesday, Villanueva opened the scoring for Kuruvchi after nine minutes and added a penalty seven minutes later before Brazilian midfielder Rivaldo also converted from the spot in the last minute of the first half.

Saipa pulled a goal back three minutes after the break through Saber Mirghorbani but Villanueva completed his hat-trick eight minutes before the hour mark before Brazilian defender Luizao sealed the win 15 minutes later.

Kuruvchi will face Adelaide for a place in the final after the Australian side edged out Japanese champions Kashima Antlers 2-1 on aggregate.

In the Uzbek capital, the game started at a high tempo as Kuruvchi's Shavkat Raimkulov fired a free-kick wide after four minutes before Saipa skipper Ebrahim Sadeghi fired over following a strong run two minutes later.

Kuruvchi opened the scoring as Server Djeparov’s left wing cross was played into Villanueva’s path by Timur Kapadze and the Chilean made no mistake as he headed home past Saipa goalkeeper Vahid Sheikhveysi.

Kuruvchi doubled the lead with just 16 minutes on the watch as Villanueva made no mistake from the spot after Hossein Kaebi was adjudged to have handled after Raimkulov’s cross was volleyed towards the Saipa defender by Jasur Hasanov.

Saipa’s German coach Pierre Littbarski responded to the early blow by introducing Malian midfielder Issa Traore for defender Saeed Beigi.

But the home side continued to dominate and added a third just before the break as Kazem Borjlou handled inside the area, allowing Rivaldo to step up and beat Sheikhveysi from the penalty spot.

Saipa finally produced a response to the onslaught as half-time substitute Mirghorbani played a neat one-two with Traore before beating Pavel Bugalo in the Kuruvchi goal.

However, Villanueva restored the three-goal cushion and completed his hat-trick as the striker headed home Hasanov’s cross.

And Kuruvchi wrapped up the scoring as Djeparov’s free-kick was headed home by Luizao.

The disappointing evening was completed for Saipa in the fourth minute of stoppage time as Kaebi picked up a second yellow card.

Kasimov bows out in style

TASHKENT – Mirdjalal Kasimov was given the perfect send-off as spell as head coach of Kuruvchi (Bunyodkor) came to an end with a 5-1 demolition of Saipa that sent the Uzbeks through to the ACL semi-finals.

The Uzbek side were held to a 2-2 draw by 2007 Iran Pro League champions in Tehran last week but turned on the style on Wednesday at MHSK Stadium with Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva netting a hat-trick.

Former World Player of the Year Rivaldo converted from the penalty spot and his Brazilian compatriot Luizao was also on target for Kuruvchi while Saber Mirghorbani scored Saipa’s lone goal as the hosts cruised to an emphatic 7-3 aggregate victory.

Kasimov was delighted with the performance of the team, who have reached the last four of Asia’s biggest club competition in only their fourth year of existence.

“I’m happy because my team reached the semi-finals and because we played very good football today,” said the Uzbek football legend, who felt that Villanueva’s first two goals, scored in the opening 16 minutes were key to their huge win.

“I need to say that Saipa are a very strong team. They have good players as well as a good coach in Pierre Littbarski.

“But we were lucky to score in the early minutes of the game and that helped to make our task much easier.”

Kasimov was only appointed as Kuruvchi coach in late 2007 but leaves after less than a year to take over from Rauf Inileev as national coach of Uzbekistan in an attempt to revive their flagging World Cup qualifying campaign.

While former Japan coach Zico has already been lined up as Kasimov’s replacement at Kuruvchi, Kasimov insisted that his focus was completely on the club on Wednesday.

“I was not thinking about the national team yet as I was concentrating on the match against Saipa,” he said.

“But from now on, I’m free from my Kuruvchi duties and I’ll start to think about the national team job.”

Littbarski laments early goals

TASHKENT – Saipa coach Pierre Littbarski lamented the concession of two early goals to Kuruvchi (Bunyodkor) on Wednesday which effectively put paid to his side’s hopes of reaching the ACL semi-finals.

The two teams played out a 2-2 draw in Tehran last week but Kuruvchi took control of the tie at MHSK Stadium with Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva scoring twice in the first 16 minutes.

Villanueva would go on to complete his hat-trick with Rivaldo and Luizao netting Kuruvchi’s other goals while Saber Mirghorbani managed Saipa’s lone response in a 5-1 rout that sent the Uzbeks through 7-3 on aggregate.

Littbarski was confident about his team’s chances in the build-up to the game but accepted that they had been well beaten by a better side on the day.

“Kuruvchi played very good football today and they fully deserved their win,” said the former West Germany international midfielder.

“They managed to score a couple of early goals which really buried our hopes of winning the tie.

“Yesterday I was confident that our physical condition was better than our opponents but they proved to be stronger than us today.”

With Saipa making a poor start to their domestic league season, the future of the former Yokohama FC and Sydney FC coach is unclear and Littbarski was reluctant to speculate on his position before his team’s return to Iran.

“I don’t know anything about my future,” he said. “We need to go back to Tehran where the club officials will decide my future.

“I’m sure that there were no tactical mistakes made by our side today. Kuruvchi were just better than us and that was the reason for our defeat.

“They are a strong team but we now need to see how they strong they will be in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League.”