2003

Al Ain 2 BEC Tero Sasana 0

BEC Tero Sasana 1 Al Ain 0

Al Ain win 2-1 on aggregate

After a marathon campaign that stretched 14 months due to the SARS crisis, United Arab Emirates league champions Al Ain claimed the inaugural AFC Champions League title with victory against Thailand's BEC Tero Sasana.

The UAE side grabbed the upper hand with a 2-0 win at Tahnon bin Mohammed Stadium in the first leg courtesy of a Salem Jawhar opener late in the first half and Mohammed Omar's strike 15 minutes from time.

But they had to withstand a barrage in the return match in Bangkok as BEC Tero pulled a goal back with a Therdsak Chaiman penalty on the hour before Pherartat Phoruandee had his header inexplicably ruled out by the referee.

The Thais threw everything into attack in the closing minutes but Al Ain held on to claim an historic victory.

2004

Al Ittihad 1 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 0 Al Ittihad 5

Al Ittihad win 6-3 on aggregate

Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad appeared down and out after goals in the final 10 minutes by Kim Do-hoon and Jang Hak-yoong gave Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma a 3-1 victory in the first leg in Jeddah.

Coach Tomislav Ivic was sacked after the loss and his inexperienced assistant Dragan Talajic took charge for what appeared a formality for the Korean side a week later.

But after weathering an early storm from the hosts, Redha Tukar headed the Saudis back into the tie in the 27th minute before Hamzah Idris scored from close range on the stroke of half-time to level the aggregate score.

Belief coursed through the Al Ittihad players in the second half and skipper Mohammed Noor struck twice on the counter-attack before Manaf Abushgeer capped a memorable comeback with a fifth for the visitors in stoppage time.

2005

Al Ain 1 Al Ittihad 1

Al Ittihad 4 Al Ain 2

Al Ittihad win 5-3 on aggregate

Having demolished China's Shandong Luneng 8-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and Korea's Busan I'Park 7-0 in the semi-finals, Al Ittihad successfully defended their title by sweeping aside inaugural champions Al Ain.

Sierra Leone striker Mohammed Kallon converted a penalty five minutes from time in the first leg to earn his side a 1-1 draw in Al Ain and fired home a free-kick in the second minute of the return game to put the Saudis in the box seat.

Mohammed Noor headed in Al Ittihad's second in the 33rd minute and although Shebab Ahmed pulled a goal back from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half, ex-Middlesbrough striker Joseph Desire Job quickly restored the two-goal cushion.

Ahmed Dokhi made the game safe for Al Ittihad with 21 minutes left before Luis Tejada notched a late consolation for the UAE side.

2006

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 Al Karama 0

Al Karama 2 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1

Jeonbuk win 3-2 on aggregate

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors became the first East Asian side to capture the AFC Champions League after a dramatic late strike by Ze Carlo secured victory for the Korean side in Syria.

Second-half goals by Yeom Ki-hun and Botti in Jeonju gave the Korean FA Cup holders a handy advantage to take to the Middle East for the return match.

But after a scoreless first half in Homs, Al Karama levelled the score with two goals in six minutes by Iyad Mando and Mohanad Ibrahim.

The Syrian side continued to dominate but could not find a way past goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae as the match appeared headed for extra-time.

But with only two minutes remaining, a cross from the right by Chung Jung-kwan picked out a completely unmarked Ze Carlo, who headed into the unguarded net.

2007

Sepahan 1 Urawa Reds 1

Urawa Reds 2 Sepahan 0

Urawa win 3-1 on aggregate

No Japanese team had even made it past the group stage in the first four seasons of the AFC Champions League but Urawa Reds righted that dreadful record by storming to victory on their continental debut.

Urawa were unbeaten on their run to the final although they had to survive a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the semis after drawing 4-4 on aggregate with the Korean side.

A first-half strike by Robson Ponte put Reds ahead in the first leg of the final against Sepahan in Esfahan but Mahmoud Karimi struck early in the second half to give the Iranian side hope for the return match.

But in front of 59,034 fans at a packed Saitama Stadium, Urawa asserted their authority with Yuichiro Nagai firing them ahead midway through the first half before Yuki Abe made the game safe with a header 19 minutes from time.