Japanese attacking midfielder Ataru Esaka was the livewire for Urawa on their road to the final, registering a tournament-best six assists – two of them coming in the last 16 tie against Johor Darul Ta’zim and another in the quarter-final defeat of BG Pathum United.

 

After scoring the penalty that sent the Reds to the final at the expense of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the 30-year-old missed the title clash against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC following a move to Korean champions Ulsan Hyundai at the end of 2022. But Esaka’s contribution to Urawa’s title triumph remains indisputable. 

Al Hilal captain Salman Al Faraj led by example as he was their engine in the midfield, completing a tournament-leading 768 passes – that too at an impressive accuracy of 91%. The 33-year-old also created 23 chances – also the most by a midfielder in the 2022 tournament. 

 

Al Faraj, who came through the academy at the Saudi Pro League side, scored and assisted a goal apiece during the group stage and continued to be influential as Ramon Diaz’s side advanced to the main event once more, but he missed the second leg of the final against Urawa due to an injury. 

Along with Al Faraj and Yasser Al Shahrani, Salem Al Dawsari scripted history when the trio made it to their fifth AFC Champions League final with Al Hilal – having already played in the 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2021 deciders and emerged champions in the last two of them. 

 

The 2021 edition’s Most Valuable Player was involved in seven goals across the campaign, scoring four including the opener in the 1-1 draw with Urawa in the final first leg at King Fahd International Stadium. However, the 31-year-old missed the return leg after picking up a red card in the dying minutes in Riyadh. 

In 510 minutes in his debut AFC Champions League campaign, Yusuke Matsuo accounted for six goals and two assists as Urawa became the joint second-most successful club in Asia’s most prestigious club competition with their third title. 

 

Matsuo bagged two assists each in the Reds' group stage fixtures against Lion City Sailors and Shandong before scoring in the quarter-final against Jeonbuk. But the 25-year-old missed the title clash as his consistent displays for the Saitama side was rewarded with a loan move to Belgium’s Westerlo at the start of this year. 

After being a permanent fixture in the AFC Champions League in his 10 seasons with Al Hilal, 33-year-old Nawaf Al Abid had yet another productive season in the tournament on his debut campaign with Al Shabab FC. 

 

Al Abid, who won the competition with Al Hilal in 2019, started all six games in the group stage, assisting twice each in wins over Air Force Club and Mumbai City while also scoring against the former, to end with one goal and five assists in an impressive 2022 campaign. 

Attacking midfielder Worachit Kanitsribumphen was on fire to take BG Pathum United to their first-ever AFC Champions League quarter-final in only their second appearance – scoring two goals and providing two assists in his debut run in the tournament.

 

The 25-year-old also created 13 chances and had a passing accuracy of 88%. He has since impressed on loan at Port FC during the second half of the Thai League 1 season, earning him a permanent move to the side. 

Argentine star Fede Cartabia scored five goals and provided an assist in just six games in the 2022 campaign to take 2015 finalists Shabab Al Ahli Dubai to the knockout stages of the continental showpiece. 

 

Former Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna player Cartabia netted in four consecutive games in the group stage as Shabab Al Ahli were held to consecutive 1-1 draws by Foolad and Qatar’s Al Gharafa before convincing wins against Al Gharafa and Ahal helped them progress to the knockout stages where they were ousted by Al Hilal. 

Takahiro Sekine played all 11 games in Urawa’s successful campaign in the 2022 tournament,  contributing three assists in seven starts playing along the left-hand side of the Reds attack as he made up for the disappointments of previous years, most notably losing the 2019 final to Al Hilal. 

 

Five years ago, the 28-year-old scored twice to take Urawa to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, but missed the remainder of Urawa’s victorious campaign following his move to German second division side Ingolstadt. However, he more than made up for it with his performances in the 2022 edition. 

Ibrahim Bayesh has added a number of individual and team honours to his collection at just 23 years of age. He was the MVP and joint top scorer as Iraq won the Gulf Cup earlier this year and also won the 2018 AFC Cup™ with Air Force Club. 

 

The Iraq star, who has the ability to get past defenders and run with the ball at pace, completed 18 dribbles and won a record 48 duels in the competition as Air Force Club finished their group stage campaign with two wins and a draw.