Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal tops the latest ranking of Asian soccer clubs, while China's Shanghai Harbour tops the Chinese Super League at No. 15, and we're going to dig into the details of the ranking.
At the top of the list is Riyadh Crescent from Saudi Arabia, a team with a long history that has won the Saudi top flight 17 times, the King's Cup 9 times, the Saudi Super Cup 3 times, and the top of Asia 4 times. This season, despite finishing fourth in the Saudi league with only 50 points, the team is abuzz with news that they are trying to invite Lionel Messi to join them.
They are followed by South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai, who were founded in 1983 and have won the K-League three times, the Korean FA Cup once, the Korean League Cup five times, and have dominated Asia twice. This season, Ulsan Hyundai are riding high in the K-League, leading the table with 11 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, 11 points ahead of second-place Seoul FC.
Iran's Persepolis, on the other hand, has become an iconic club of Iranian soccer with a brilliant record of eight Iranian top league titles, six Tehran provincial league titles and one AFC Champions League title. The team currently tops the domestic league with 66 points.
Founded in 1955, Japan's Kawasaki Striker won the J1 Championship in 1999 and reversed Kashima Antlers to win the J1 League title in 2017. This season, the team's performance has been slightly flat, currently ranking tenth in the league with five wins, three draws and five losses.
Jeonbuk Hyundai of South Korea is one of the most successful soccer clubs in South Korea, having won 9 Korean top flight titles, 4 Korean FA Cup titles, and 2 AFC Champions League titles. This season, they are not doing well in the K-League, currently sitting at the bottom of the league table with 4 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses.
Qatar's Al Duhail have been strong in the domestic league, leading the table with 16 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, but have faced a strong challenge from Riyadh Crescent in the AFC Champions League. Al Sadd, also from Qatar, are Qatar's top domestic giants and are seven points behind the top of the table in the league this season.
Founded in 1945, Tehran Independence of Iran has won seven Iranian Super League titles and two AFC Champions League titles. Currently, they are ranked third in the Iranian Super League.
Japan's Yokohama Mariners, on the other hand, are the best in Japanese soccer, having won the J-League title, six Emperor's Cups, three League Cups and two Asian Yosemite Cups. This season, they are second in the league, five points behind Kobe Victory.
In terms of Chinese Super League teams, Shanghai Harbor is ranked 15th, Shandong Taishan is ranked 20th, Wuhan Sanzhen is ranked 39th, Beijing Guoan is ranked 47th and Shanghai Shenhua is ranked 50th.
