The 2014 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2014 AFC Champions League, the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Quick Facts Event, Western Sydney Wanderers ...

2014 AFC Champions League Final

Event	2014 AFC Champions League
Western Sydney Wanderers Al-Hilal 1 0
on aggregate
First leg
Western Sydney Wanderers Al-Hilal 1 0
Date	25 October 2014
Venue	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
AFC Man of the Match	Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)[1]
Fans' Man of the Match	Tomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers)[2]
Referee	Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Attendance	20,053
Weather	Partly cloudy 22 °C (72 °F) 42% humidity[1]
Second leg
Al-Hilal Western Sydney Wanderers 0 0
Date	1 November 2014
Venue	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
AFC Man of the Match	Ante Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers)[3]
Fans' Man of the Match	Nawaf Al Abed (Al-Hilal)
Referee	Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)
Attendance	63,763
Weather	Clear 27 °C (81 °F) 51% humidity[3]
← 2013 2015 →

Close

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Australian team Western Sydney Wanderers and Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal. The first leg was hosted by Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney on 25 October 2014, while the second leg was hosted by Al-Hilal at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on 1 November 2014. This was the first AFC Champions League final involving an Australian club since Adelaide United in 2008, as well as the first to not involve a South Korean representative since the said final.

Western Sydney Wanderers won the match 1–0 on aggregate to become the first Australian team to win the trophy. As champions, Wanderers also earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, entering at the quarter-finals.^[4]

The 2014 AFC Champions League Final is contested in two-legged home-and-away format, held at the home of both finalists. It is the second consecutive year that the AFC adopted such an arrangement, following the success of the 2013 AFC Champions League Final.

Western Sydney Wanderers' home venue, Parramatta Stadium, is a 21,500 seated stadium located in the city of Sydney. The stadium was chosen in preference to the 45,500 seated Sydney Football Stadium and 84,000 seated Stadium Australia.^[5] Although the experience during the final was widely praised, the stadium was built in 1985, and the lack of modern facilities saw the Wanderers lobby the NSW Government to replace the stadium with a new one, as an example, because VIP patrons were kept waiting for elevators to their corporate boxes. The stadium was demolished in February 2017 and replaced on the same site by the Western Sydney Stadium.

Only one previous final has been held in Australia. In the second leg of the 2008 final, Adelaide United was defeated by Gamba Osaka 0–2 in Hindmarsh Stadium in the city of Adelaide. Gamba Osaka eventually claimed the title 5–0 on aggregate.

Al-Hilal's home venue, King Fahd International Stadium, is a 61,781 seated stadium located in the capital city of Riyadh. It is also the home ground of several other Saudi Premier League clubs.

In the history of the competition, seven finals have been held in Saudi Arabia and this final was the fifth that Riyadh hosted. The first final hosted by a Saudi Arabian city was the first ever Asian final, the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, which was won by South Korean side Daewoo Royals 3–1 against Al-Ahli in the city of Jeddah. The next two consecutive finals, the 1986 and second leg of the 1987, were hosted in the Riyadh. The 1986 final was won by Japanese side Furukawa Electric, with Al-Hilal finishing runners-up. The 1987 final was awarded to Yomiuri FC after a walkover by Al-Hilal. Eight years later, Al-Nassr hosted the 1995 final, when Ilhwa Chunma won the match 1–0 in the King Fahd International Stadium. Al-Hilal brought the final back to Riyadh for the 1999–2000 final, in which the club won 3–2 against Japanese side Júbilo Iwata. The first leg of the 2004 final saw Al-Ittihad lose to South Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 1–3 in the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium (6–3 on aggregate). The second leg of the 2005 final returned to Al-Ittihad's home, when the club was crowned Asian Champions after a 4–2 thrashing of United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain (5–3 on aggregate).

Al-Hilal have made 21 appearances in continental football and been crowned champions of Asia on two occasions, in the 1991 and the 1999–2000 edition of the tournament. The 2014 Champions League was Western Sydney Wanderers first appearance in continental football, with the club only established in 2012.

Both clubs qualified directly to the Champions League group stage through their respective leagues; Al-Hilal finished second in the 2012–13 Saudi Professional League and Western Sydney Wanderers ended their first ever season of competition (the 2012–13 A-League) as league winners.

In the lead-up to the 2014 Champions League both finalists had strong seasons, with both clubs finishing second in their respective leagues (Al-Hilal in the 2013–14 Saudi Professional League and Western Sydney Wanderers in the 2013–14 A-League). Al-Hilal also managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 King Cup of Champions where they were eliminated, and Western Sydney Wanderers reached the 2014 A-League Grand Final which they eventually lost in extra time.

The clubs began competing in the Champions League group stage in February 2014 during mid-season in their domestic competitions, and they continued in the tournament after the end of the 2013–14 football seasons in Australia and Saudi Arabia due to the calendar format of the Asian tournament. For Al-Hilal, the 2014–15 Saudi Professional League started in early August before the resumption of the Champions League quarter-finals, while for the Western Sydney Wanderers, the 2014–15 A-League started in early October, after the Champions League semi-finals and before the final.

Prior to the final, Al-Hilal coach Laurențiu Reghecampf dismissed the Wanderers as "a small team", and frequently promised that Al-Hilal would win the title.^[6]

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

More information Western Sydney Wanderers, Round ...

Western Sydney Wanderers				Round	Al-Hilal
Opponent	Result			Group stage	Opponent	Result
Ulsan Hyundai	1–3 (H)			Matchday 1	Al-Ahli	2–2 (H)
Guizhou Renhe	1–0 (A)			Matchday 2	Sepahan	2–3 (A)
Kawasaki Frontale	1–0 (H)			Matchday 3	Al-Sadd	2–2 (A)
Kawasaki Frontale	1–2 (A)			Matchday 4	Al-Sadd	5–0 (H)
Ulsan Hyundai	2–0 (A)			Matchday 5	Al-Ahli	0–0 (A)
Guizhou Renhe	5–0 (H)			Matchday 6	Sepahan	1–0 (H)
Group H winner Pos Team v t e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 Western Sydney Wanderers 6 4 0 2 11 5 +6 12 Advance to knockout stage 2 Kawasaki Frontale 6 4 0 2 7 5 +2 12 3 Ulsan Hyundai 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7 4 Guizhou Renhe 6 1 1 4 4 10 −6 4 Source: [citation needed]				Final standings	Group D winner Pos Team v t e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification 1 Al-Hilal 6 2 3 1 12 7 +5 9 Advance to knockout stage 2 Al-Sadd 6 2 2 2 8 14 −6 8 3 Al-Ahli 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7 4 Sepahan 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7 Source: [citation needed]
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg	Knock-out stage	Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3–3 (a)	1–3 (A)	2–0 (H)	Round of 16	Bunyodkor	4–0	1–0 (A)	3–0 (H)
Guangzhou Evergrande	2–2 (a)	1–0 (H)	1–2 (A)	Quarter-finals	Al-Sadd	1–0	1–0 (H)	0–0 (A)
FC Seoul	2–0	0–0 (A)	2–0 (H)	Semi-finals	Al-Ain	4–2	3–0 (H)	1–2 (A)

Close

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by draw. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.^[4]