More than a decade after they last reached the final, Al Ain were back at the business end of the AFC Champions League and only Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors stood between them and the 2016 title.

Inspired by one of Asia’s best players of the time, Omar Abdulrahman, Al Ain marched into the final, overcoming the likes of PFC Lokomotiv, El Jaish and Zobahan. They looked destined for glory after taking the lead an hour into the first leg in Jeonju thanks to Danilo Asprilla, but a late double from Brazilian winger Leonardo meant the Koreans had a slight advantage going into the return leg.

At a packed Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, goalkeeper Kwon Sun-tae impressed to deny his opposite captain Abdulrahman from close range, before Han Kyo-won converted following a corner at the other end shortly after.

Korean midfielder Lee Myung-joo quickly restored parity, powering in from Caio Lucas’ cross to claw back the difference against his compatriots and revive Al Ain’s hopes.

Asprilla was brought down inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot to the elation of the home fans. That joy quickly evaporated, giving way to frustration and heartbreak as Brazilian forward Douglas stepped up and skied his shot from 11 yards.

A series of fine Kwon saves and the hosts’ inability to take their chances meant it was Jeonbuk who walked away with the trophy to the dismay of the home fans. An iconic Al Ain generation led by Abdulrahman, Ismail Ahmed and others would have no continental titles to show for, and Al Ain would have to wait eight more years to make it to the final again.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings had been crowned champions of Asia in the two campaigns prior to the AFC Champions League launching in 2002-03, and in 2018 they had the chance to become kings of Asia once more after they advanced to the semi-finals following knockout round wins over domestic rivals Ulsan Hyundai and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Within their ranks was Dejan Damjanovic, one of the finest goalscorers to ever grace the competition. But he also had never lifted the trophy, having finished as a runner-up in 2013 with FC Seoul despite scoring in both legs of the final. He was again on fire in 2018, with seven goals, including two against Jeonbuk, ahead of the semi-final meeting with Kashima Antlers.

Suwon had the dream start by going two up inside six minutes of the first leg in Kashima, with Damjanovic netting the second, but they wound up losing 3-2 having conceded twice in the final 10 minutes. However, despite the disappointment, two away goals ensured they began the return meeting at Suwon World Cup Stadium with plenty of hope.

After falling a goal behind early on, Suwon netted three goals in eight second-half minutes, with Damjanovic scoring the third, to turn the tie on its head as they went 5-4 up on aggregate. But the topsy-turvy affair was not done yet as Daigo Nishi drew Kashima level soon after.

Then, with the contest into its final 10 minutes and extra time on the horizon, Serginho fired home the winner to claim a 6-5 victory and break Suwon hearts. While Damjanovic would go on to break the AFC Champions League scoring record during the latter years of his career with Kitchee SC, the Montenegrin retired having never won Asia’s most prestigious club competition.

Losing a semi-final is always hard to take. But when you add in that it was a penalty shootout loss and against your biggest rivals, then it is truly heartbreak. And that’s exactly what happened to Ulsan Hyundai in 2021.

The Horangi had lifted the AFC Champions League for the second time a year earlier, adding to their 2012 title, and their six-out-of-six group stage wins in 2021 meant they went into the knockout rounds on an incredible 15-match winning run in the continental competition.

The streak ended with a draw against Kawasaki Frontale in the last 16, but they edged the J1 League side on penalties before beating Jeonbuk in extra time to line up an East Coast Derby date with fierce rivals Pohang Steelers in the semi-finals. Ulsan may have been favourites, but Pohang had a history of denying their near neighbours domestic silverware at pivotal moments.

Following a goalless first half, Yun Il-lok put Ulsan in front early in the second half as they remained on course to defend their title. However, after Yoon Bit-garam struck the woodwork, Won Du-jae was sent off and suddenly the Horangi were hanging on. And with just a minute remaining, Alex Grant’s looping header drew Pohang level to force extra time.

The game ultimately went to penalties and, after Dave Bulthuis missed Ulsan’s opening spot-kick, Pohang netted a perfect five from five to send their East Coast rivals crashing out in dramatic fashion. Pohang would go on to finish as runners-up to Al Hilal as they failed to add to their 2009 title, while Ulsan faced more disappointment when they narrowly missed out on their first K League title since 2005.

One of Asia’s best supported clubs, Persepolis had to watch their fierce rivals Esteghlal lift the Asian Club Championship trophy twice, in 1970 and 1990-91, and reach the final two times more, while the now defunct PAS Tehran also won the title in 1992-93 and Sepahan reached the final 2007.

Persepolis’ time finally came in 2018 when the side featuring the likes of Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Jalal Hosseini and others navigated Al Jazira and Al Duhail before beating Xavi’s Al Sadd in the semi-finals to reach their first-ever AFC Champions League final.

Travelling to Japan to face a Kashima Antlers side also playing their first final in the competition, Persepolis held on for an hour but found themselves falling behind to two quick goals from Brazilian duo Leo Silva and Serginho, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the second leg.

Despite the backing of a record 100,000 fans at Azadi Stadium on a cold November night, Persepolis missed chance after chance, failing to claw back the difference as a 0-0 draw in Tehran meant the home crowd went home disappointed and the trophy was Kashima’s to carry home.

Two years later, a fresh squad including some of the 2018 stars alongside new names such as Hamed Lak and Mehdi Abdi repeated the magical journey, seeing-off Al Sadd, Pakhtakor and Al Nassr to set-up a date with Ulsan HD in a single-legged final in Qatar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dreams appeared to be getting closer to becoming a reality when Abdi drilled an effort from the edge of the area into the bottom corner to put Persepolis ahead four minutes before the break.

Minutes later, Lak saved a penalty from Junior Negrao but the Brazilian swept home the rebound to send the two sides into the dressing rooms level. Quickly after the restart, Negrao added his second from the spot again, the two mistakes in the box eventually costing Persepolis the long-awaited title as one of the Tehran side’s best generations missed out on continental glory once more.