Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League records and statistics
Clubs -- By semifinal appearances
Table:
Team

No.

Years

Al-Ittihad
5
2004, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012

Al-Hilal
5
2010, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019

Al-Ain
4
2003, 2005, 2014, 2016

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
4
2004, 2006, 2011, 2016

Urawa Red Diamonds
4
2007, 2008, 2017, 2019

Seongnam FC
3
2004, 2007, 2010

FC Seoul
3
2013, 2014, 2016

Al-Sadd
3
2011, 2018, 2019

Guangzhou Evergrande
3
2013, 2015, 2019

Pakhtakor
2
2003, 2004

Ulsan Hyundai
2
2006, 2012

Gamba Osaka
2
2008, 2015

Bunyodkor
2
2008, 2012

Suwon Samsung Bluewings
2
2011, 2018

Persepolis
2
2017, 2018

Police Tero
1
2003

Shenzhen FC
1
2005

Busan IPark
1
2005

Al-Qadisiya
1
2006

Al-Karamah
1
2006

Considering the tabular data together with the textual context below.

Respond to the question below: What national league does the club that made it to the AFC Champions League semifinals in both 2007 and 2008 participate in ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

Al-Ittihad Club Saudi Arabia ( Arabic : نادي الاتحاد العربي السعودي ) , also known as Al-Ittihad Jeddah or simply Al-Ittihad , meaning The Union , is a Saudi Premier League football club based in Jeddah . Al-Ittihad has won 8 League titles , 9 King 's cup titles , 8 Crown Prince cup titles , 3 Saudi Federation Cup titles 1 Arab Champions League title , 1 Gulf Champions League title , 2 Saudi Egyptian Super Cup titles , 3 Asian championships and 13 other titles . Overall , it has won 48 official trophies in its history . The club was founded on December 26 , 1927 before the third Saudi state was declared , making it the oldest and first sports club in Saudi Arabia . The most successful period in Al-Ittihad 's history was the 1990s and mid 2000s , when the club won numerous honours both domestically and continental . The team won Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and two Champions League titles in 2004 and 2005 and as far as going on to compete in the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup . The club has the distinction of being the only Asian club to have won the AFC Champions League twice in a row . Al-Ittihad has a record of home average attendance for Asia clubs in domestic league matches with the average of 42,371 on 2014/2015 season and that is for the club 's big popularity which is the first in Saudi Arabia and Asia . The club 's most famous Saudi players are Saeed Ghorab , Hamzah Idris , Ahmad Jamil , Al Hasan Al-Yami , and Mohammed Noor . The most famous foreign players are Brazilian international Bebeto , who played for Al-Ittihad from 2001 to 2002 ; the Brazilian attacking midfielder Tcheco who played for the club from 2003 to 2005 , who came back in 2008 for one season ; and the Portuguese Paulo Jorge Alves , also known as Jójó , who was at Al-Ittihad from 2010 to 2012 .
The 2004 AFC Champions League was the 23rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 2nd edition under the current AFC Champions League title . The title was won by Al-Ittihad over Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma .
The 2005 AFC Champions League was the 24th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 3rd edition under the current AFC Champions League title . The championship was retained by the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad with a 5-3 aggregate victory over UAE side Al Ain . Following a 1-1 draw at the Tahnon Bin Mohammed Stadium in Al Ain in the first leg , Al-Ittihad recorded a 4-2 victory at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah to lift the trophy for the second consecutive season . They also qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup .
The 2009 AFC Champions League was the 28th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 7th under the current AFC Champions League title . The final was held at the National Stadium of Tokyo on 7 November 2009 . The winners , South Korean club Pohang Steelers , qualified for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates . The champions league was expanded to 35 clubs this year , with 5 teams starting from a knockout qualifying stage . An extra stage in the knockout phase was added so that the runners up as well as the winners from the group stage would progress . The previous season winner no longer got a bye through to the knockout round . Each team was allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players this season , one of whom had to be from an AFC Member Association country .
The 2011 AFC Champions League was the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title . The winners , Al-Sadd qualified for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan .
The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title . Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea won their first title , defeating Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia with a 3-0 win in the final , and qualified for the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup .
Al Hilal Saudi Football Club ( Arabic : نادي الهلال السعودي لكرة القدم ) is a Saudi Arabian professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh . The football team plays in the Saudi Professional League . Founded on 16 October 1957 , it is one of four teams to have participated in all seasons of the Saudi Professional League since its establishment in 1976 . Overall , they have won 15 official titles on the national and international stage , and 99 counting friendly trophies . In domestic competitions , they have won a record 15 Professional League titles , a record 13 Crown Prince Cup titles , a record 7 Saudi Federation Cup titles , 8 King Cup titles , a record 2 Super Cup title , and also the Saudi Founder 's Cup an official Centennial football tournament , held every hundred years . Internationally , Al Hilal has a record 7 Asian Football Confederation trophies - the AFC Champions League in 1991 , 2000 and 2019 , the Asian Cup Winners Cup in 1997 and 2002 , and the Asian Super Cup in 1997 , 2000 . In September 2009 , Al Hilal was awarded Best Asian Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS .
The 2010 AFC Champions League was the 29th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 8th under the current AFC Champions League title . The final was held at the National Stadium of Tokyo on 13 November 2010 . The winner , Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma , qualified for the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup in UAE .
The 2014 AFC Champions League was 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 . Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions , but were eliminated by Western Sydney Wanderers in the quarter-finals . In the final , Western Sydney Wanderers of Australia defeated Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 1-0 on aggregate , to become the first Australian team to win the title , and in doing so qualified for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup . The Australian club were making their debut in the competition , having won entry to the competition by winning the 2012-13 A-League Premiership in their first year of existence .
The 2015 AFC Champions League was the 34th edition of Asia 's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 13th under the current AFC Champions League title . Guangzhou Evergrande won the tournament after defeating Al-Ahli in the final . Guangzhou also qualified for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup . Western Sydney Wanderers were the defending champions , but they were eliminated in the group stage .
The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia 's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title . Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title , and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates . Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were the defending champions , but they were excluded from the 2017 season due to a bribery scandal in the domestic K League Classic . Jeonbuk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport , but their request for provisional measures was rejected on 3 February .
The 2019 AFC Champions League was the 38th edition of Asia 's premier club football tournament , organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title . Kashima Antlers were the defending champions , but were eliminated by Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter-finals . The winners of the competition , Al-Hilal qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar after beating Urawa Red Diamonds in the final .
Al-Ain Football Club ( Arabic : نادي العين لكرة القدم ; transliterated : Nady al-'Ayn ) or Al-Ain FC or simply Al-Ain is a professional football club , based in the city of Al Ain , Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates . It is one of many sport sections of the multi-sports club Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club ( Arabic : نادي العين الرياضي الثقافي ) Al Ain SCC for short . The club was founded in 1968 by players from Al Ain , members of a Bahraini group of exchange students and the Sudanese community working in the United Arab Emirates . The team quickly gained popularity and recognition throughout the country , being the team with the most trophies ( 34 in total ) . Al Ain is by far the most successful club in the UAE . Al Ain has won a record 13 UAE Pro-League , 6 President 's Cups , 3 Federation Cups , 1 Arabian Gulf Cup , a record 5 Super Cups , two Abu Dhabi Championship Cups , one Joint League Cup , Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup , Gulf Club Champions Cup and AFC Champions League . The club is the first and only UAE side so far to win the AFC Champions League .
The 2002-03 AFC Champions League was the twenty-second edition of Asia 's premier football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation , and the first edition under the AFC Champions League title . Sixteen teams competed in this edition as they went through qualifying before going into four groups of four with only the winner of the group qualifying to the knockout-stage which went to two-legs instead of the single leg that the previous year competition had . In the final it was Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates beating BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand 2-1 on aggregate .
The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia 's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title . Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title , and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan , their second appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup . Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions , but were eliminated in the group stage .
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ( Korean : 전북 현대 모터스 ) is a professional football club based in North Jeolla Province , South Korea . Jeonbuk play at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju , the capital city of the province . Jeonbuk has won the K League seven times , first in 2009 . They have also won the Korean FA Cup three times , in 2000 , 2003 and 2005 . The club has won the AFC Champions League twice , first in 2006 , becoming the first club from East Asia to win the tournament since the AFC Champions League was launched in its current format in 2003 , and for a time being the only team in the world to have become continental champions without ever having won a domestic league title . This title guaranteed Jeonbuk 's participation in the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2006 . They won the second title in 2016 . The club 's color is green which is also the color of North Jeolla Province . It 's South Korea 's most successful football club up to date .
The 2006 AFC Champions League was the 25th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 4th edition under the current AFC Champions League title . Al-Ittihad qualified automatically to the quarter-finals as Cup holders . On 8 November 2006 , Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the AFC Champions League title after beating Al-Karamah 3-2 on aggregate . It was their first ever title . Jeonbuk also became the first team in history of Asia to have won the Champions League before the national league title ( winning their first K-League championship three years later , in 2009 ) .
Urawa Red Diamonds ( 浦和レッドダイヤモンズ , Urawa Reddo Daiyamonzu ) , colloquially Urawa Reds ( 浦和レッズ ) , are a professional association football club playing in Japan 's football league , J1 League . The name Red Diamonds alludes to the club 's pre-professional era parent company Mitsubishi . The corporation 's logo consists of three red diamonds , one of which remains within the current club badge . Its hometown is the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture , but its name comes from the former city of Urawa , which is now a part of Saitama City .
The 2007 AFC Champions League was the 26th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament and the 5th edition under the current AFC Champions League title . Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds became champions for the first time , beating Sepahan of Iran and becoming the fourth Japanese club to win the Asian championship , and qualified for the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup .
The 2008 AFC Champions League was the 27th AFC Champions League , the top-level Asian club football tournament , and the 6th under the current AFC Champions League title . It was the last AFC Champions League before the competition expanded to 32 teams .
Seongnam FC ( Hangul : 성남 FC ) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seongnam , South Korea . Seongnam plays in the K League 1 , the top division in South Korea . Founded as Ilhwa Chunma Football Club in 1989 , the club have won a joint-record seven national league titles , three FA Cups , three League Cups , and two AFC Champions League titles . Seongnam also placed fifth in the IFFHS Asian Clubs of the 20th century . In 2014 , the club was bought by the Seongnam City Government and was officially renamed Seongnam FC .
FC Seoul ( Korean : FC 서울 ) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul , the capital of South Korea , that plays in the K League 1 . The club is owned by GS Sports , a subsidiary of GS Group . The club was officially founded as Lucky-Goldstar Football Club in 1983 , by the Lucky-Goldstar Group . FC Seoul have won six League titles , two FA Cups , two League Cups and one Super Cup . FC Seoul is one of the most successful and popular clubs in the K League 1 , with financial backing from the GS Group . In 2012 , FC Seoul was evaluated as the most valuable football brand in the K League .
The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title . The defending champions , Ulsan Hyundai , failed to qualify for the tournament . In the final , Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande defeated South Korean team FC Seoul on away goals to win their first title , becoming the first Chinese team to win the AFC Champions League ( and the second Chinese team to be crowned Asian club champions after Liaoning FC ) , and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup .
Al-Sadd Sports Club ( Arabic : نادي السد الرياضي ) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha . It is best known for its association football team , which competes in the top level of Qatari football , the Qatar Stars League . Locally , it is known primarily by the nickname Al Zaeem , which translates to The Boss . It is known as the best team in Qatar and is the only Qatari team that has won the AFC Champions League in Asia . In addition to football , the club has teams for handball , basketball , volleyball , table tennis and athletics . It is the most successful sports club in the country , and holds a national record of 57 official football championships . The origin of Al Sadd 's conception began with four Qatari students who excelled in football , but did not wish to join any of the existing football clubs . After consulting with the minister of Youth and Sports , the group , led by Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Mubarak Al Ali and Ali bin Mohammad bin Ali bin Sultan Al Ali , founded the club on 21 October 1969 in Qatar 's capital city . In the 1989 season , they became the first Arab club side to triumph in the Asian Club Championship by defeating Al Rasheed of Iraq on an aggregate of away goals . Twenty-two years later , they won the 2011 Asian Champions League and earned a spot in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup , in which Al Sadd finished third .
The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia 's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) , and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title . Kashima Antlers won the title for the first time , defeating Persepolis in the final , and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates . Urawa Red Diamonds were the title holders , but they were unable to defend their title as they finished seventh in the 2017 J1 League and were eliminated in the fourth round of the 2017 Emperor 's Cup , thus did not qualify for the tournament . It made the second season in a row without title holders after Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were disqualified in 2017 as a result of their involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2016 .
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association . The team is based in Guangzhou , Guangdong , and their home stadium is the Tianhe Stadium which has a seating capacity of 58,500 . Their majority shareholders are the Evergrande Real Estate Group ( 56.71% ) and the e-commerce company Alibaba Group ( 37.81% ) , while the rest of the shares are traded in the Chinese OTC system . They were founded in 1954 , and won several second tier titles before they became professional in 1993 . Their results improved , leading to a runners-up spot in China 's top tier . Unable to improve upon these results , the club went through a period of stagnation and decline before they experienced a brief revival , when they won the 2007 second division . In 2009 , the club was embroiled in a match-fixing scandal and they were punished with relegation . The Evergrande Real Estate Group decided to purchase the club and pumped significant funds into the team . They immediately won promotion and gained their first top tier title in the 2011 season . The club is the only Chinese football club to win the AFC Champions League twice , in 2013 and 2015 . The club is also the first Chinese club to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup , making its first appearance in 2013 . According to Forbes , Guangzhou Evergrande is the most valuable football team in China , with a team value of US $ 282 million and an estimated revenue of US $ 57 million in 2015 .
FC Pakhtakor Tashkent ( Uzbek : Paxtakor Toshkent futbol klubi ) is an Uzbek professional football club , based in the capital Tashkent . Pakhtakor literally means cotton-grower in English . Pakhtakor was the only Uzbek club to play in the top-level Soviet football league and was the only Central Asian club to appear in a Soviet Cup final . Playing in the Uzbek League since 1992 , the club has been the undisputed powerhouse in Uzbekistan since the fall of the Soviet Union , winning ten Uzbek League titles , including six in a row from 2002 to 2007 . Pakhtakor also won seven consecutive domestic cups between 2001 and 2007 , winning eleven cups in total . Players for the club have won Uzbek footballer of the Year honours eight times , and Pakhtakor teammates swept the top three spots in 2002 . Club managers have been named Uzbek coach of the year twice . The team is also a perennial competitor in the AFC Champions League , having reached the semi-finals of the competition twice in 2003 and 2004 . Pakhtakor currently holds the record in number of consecutive participations in the AFC Champions League , participating in 11 tournaments from 2002 to 2013 .
The Ulsan Hyundai Football Club is a South Korean professional football club , owned by the South Korean corporation Hyundai Heavy Industries . Established on 6 December 1983 , they joined the K League in 1984 as Hyundai Horang-i . The home ground of the team is Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium .
Gamba Osaka ( ガンバ大阪 , Gamba Ōsaka ) is a Japanese professional association football club currently playing in the J1 League , the top division of Japanese football . The team 's name Gamba comes from the Italian word gamba meaning leg and the Japanese ganbaru ( 頑張る ) , meaning to do your best or to stand firm . Located in Suita , Osaka , the team 's home stadium is Suita City Football Stadium . Gamba Osaka is currently the second-most accomplished J.League club , having won 8 top-tier domestic titles as well as the 2008 AFC Champions League .
Football Club Bunyodkor ( Uzbek : Bunyodkor futbol klubi ) is a professional football club based in Tashkent , Uzbekistan . Bunyodkor , a relatively obscure club at the time , made international headlines when it claimed to be close to signing world-famous Barcelona striker Samuel Eto ' o , although he did not sign with them . On 25 August 2008 , AEK Athens Brazilian superstar Rivaldo announced to the Greek press that he was joining Bunyodkor on a reported $ 14 million two-year contract . The club finished second in the 2007 Uzbek League season and made the semi-finals of the 2008 AFC Champions League . In the beginning of August 2008 , the club changed its name to Bunyodkor from PFC Kuruvchi to reflect the club 's success on the pitch and its increasing professionalism off the pitch . Bunyodkor is the second best team of AFC Champions League 's history after Pakhtakor by participating in 10 consecutive tournaments of Champions League from 2008 to 2017 .
Suwon Samsung Bluewings ( Korean : 수원 삼성 블루윙즈 ) is a South Korean football club based in Suwon , South Korea , that plays in the K League 1 . Founded in December 1995 , they have won the national championship on four occasions ( 1998 , 1999 , 2004 , and 2008 ) , and the Asian Club Championship twice ( 2000-01 and 2001-02 ) . Asia 's Player of the Century Cha Bum-kun was the manager of the club from 2004 to 2010 , when he replaced former South Korea national team manager Kim Ho who had been the club 's first manager .
Persepolis Football Club ( Persian : باشگاه فوتبال پرسپولیس ) , is a Persian Gulf Pro League professional football club based in Tehran , Iran . Persepolis F.C . was founded in 1963 by Ali Abdo and has been in the first division of Iranian football since 1968 . Persepolis also had three teams in bowling , basketball and volleyball in its first years of establishment . Persepolis F.C . is the football club of the multisport Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club . The club is owned by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports . There have been many attempts to privatize the club with no success due to the large debt the club has accumulated . The club has played at its home ground , Azadi Stadium , since 1973 . They contest the Tehran derby , which is regarded as one of the biggest in Asia , with archrivals Esteghlal , a match that is always closely followed by Iranian football fans . According to the Asian Football Confederation , Persepolis is the most popular football club in Asia . At AFC Champions League , Persepolis has the records of the most attendances ( 11 matches among 20 matches with the most attendances ) and five matches with the most attendances .
Police Tero Football Club ( Thai : สโมสรฟุตบอลโปลิศ เทโร ) , formerly known as BEC Tero Sasana , is a Thai professional football club based in Bangkok . The club finished runners-up in the inaugural AFC Champions League competition in 2003 . BEC Tero Sasana merged with Police United in the 2017 season and changed its official name to Police Tero Football Club in the 2018 season .
Shenzhen Football Club ( simplified Chinese : 深圳市足球俱乐部 ; traditional Chinese : 深圳市足球俱樂部 ; pinyin : Shēnzhènshì Zúqiú Jùlèbù ) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese League One under licence from the Chinese Football Association ( CFA ) . The team is based in Shenzhen , Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of 60,334 . Their majority shareholder is Property Development company the Kaisa Group who took over the club on April 12 , 2016 . The club was founded on January 26 , 1994 and was known as Shenzhen FC while they started at the bottom of the Chinese football pyramid in the third tier . After successive league title wins in the third and second tier of the professional football leagues , they were promoted to the top tier in the 1996 Chinese Jia-A League season . After only one season they were relegated , however they quickly regained promotion and started to establish themselves within the league before they won the rebranded 2004 Chinese Super League title , making them the first club to win all three divisions within the Chinese league pyramid . Since this achievement the club have struggled to match the same success and after 14 years experienced relegation to the second tier at the end of 2011 Chinese Super League season .
Busan IPark ( Korean : 부산 아이파크 ) is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan , South Korea that will compete in K League 1 after being promoted from 2019 K League 2 . Its current home ground is Busan Gudeok Stadium . The club was one of the original five members of the K League and continuously competed in the first division from 1983 to 2015 , when they were relegated . Initially , the club was simply called Daewoo in reference to the company that originally owned and financed it . Today they receive financial backing from the HDC Group .
Qadsia Sporting Club ( Arabic : نادي القادسية الرياضي ) is primarily an association football club . Based in Kuwait City , Qadsia Club is one of the most popular clubs in Kuwait . Al Qadsia was founded in 1953 and it was called Al Jazira before being renamed to Qadsia SC on 20 October 1960 . Qadsia currently plays in the Kuwait Premier League and has won this league 17 times , as the most winning club in the league . Qadsia plays in the Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium , which is in Hawalli , and is the third largest stadium in Kuwait . Qadsia has the biggest fans base in Kuwait more than any other club .
Al-Karamah Sports Club ( Arabic : نادي الكرامة الرياضي ) is a Syrian football club based in the city of Homs . Founded in 1928 , it is considered to be one of Asia 's oldest sporting clubs . The club has won eight Syrian League titles and eight Syrian Cup titles . It also was the first Syrian club to win both the league and cup titles in the same year . The club is based at the Khaled Ibn Al Walid Stadium . In 2008 the club formed Board of Honor from a prominent business men of the city of Homs to support the club activities and Dr Mohammed Rahif Hakmi was elected as the Board Chairman .