It was manna from heaven for Asian clubs when AFC allowed them to recruit one player of Asian origin in addition to their regular quota of three foreign players.

Clubs across the continent embraced the new rule wholeheartedly, opening their doors and removing the hurdles that had hitherto blocked the free movement of Asian talent.

NUMBERS
Eighteen clubs out of 32 taking part in the revamped AFC Champions League this season took advantage of 3+1.

A total of 25 players from 13 countries linked up with a foreign club.

Australia, Iraq and Korea Republic exported the highest number of players - four each. They were followed by two each from Iran, Japan and Bahrain.

One player each from Turkmenistan, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Syria, DPR Korea and Thailand jumped on to the bandwagon, keen to exploit new vistas.

SPATE OF SIGNINGS
The spate of signings were bringing to fruition AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam’s dreams.

“I would love to see a Saudi player playing in Korea and a Korean playing in Saudi Arabia,” Bin Hammam had said last October.

“By implementing this 3+1 rule, we are giving more chances for Asian players to play for other Asian clubs.”

Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal signed Korea Republic striker Seol Ki-hyeon while Li Weifang made Korean football history by becoming the first Chinese player to join a K-League side, the Suwon Bluewings.

Seol, who played for 10 years in Europe with Royal Antwerp (2000-01), Anderlecht (2001-04), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2004-06), Reading (2006-07) and Fulham (2007), gave his thumbs-up for the new rule.

“I think it is a wonderful idea,” said Seol. “It will not only help each and every club but also the whole of Asian football.

“This is a great move by the AFC as it gives more chances to players to move to other clubs within Asia.”

GOOD IMPRESSION
The Asian signings also made their mark for their respective clubs by netting 14 goals in the group campaign.

Bahrain’s A’ala Hubail, who plays for Qatar’s Umm Salal, led the pack with three goals, scoring the match-winner in their opening 1-0 win over UAE’s Al Jazira before firing a brace in their 2-2 draw in the return fixture.

Li Weifang, Iraq’s Emad Mohammad and Australia’s Ryan Griffiths slammed two goals each for Suwon, Iran’s Sepahan and China’s Beijing Guoan respectively. Li scored one in their 4-1 victory over Japanese champions Kashima Antlers and their consolation goal in their 2-1 loss to China’s Shanghai Shenhua.

Emad, however, helped his side earn a point against Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor in their 2-2 draw and scored another in their 2-1 loss at the hands of UAE’s Al Shabab Al Arabi.

Striker Griffiths scored both the goals against his native Australia’s Newcastle Jets. He was on target in the first leg when the Chinese outfit won 2-0 and scored again in their 2-1 loss in the return fixture.

DPR Korea’s Jong Tae Se (Kawasaki Frontale), Korea Republic’s Cho Jae-jin (Gamba Osaka), Australian Mark Milligan (Shanghai Shenhua), Iran’s Milad Midavoodi (Al Ahli, UAE) and Iraq’s Nashat Akram (Al Gharafa) scored a goal apiece.

Thailand’s assistant coach Steve Darby, an old Asian hand, said: “I think this is a great rule. Many Asian clubs have showed their interest in Thai players and it will be good if they make it big at the continental stage.”

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have joined the growing ranks of AFC’s Member Associations who are planning to implement the rule, which encourages the mobility of talented Asian players and provides a fillip to the regional game.