The back-to-back Thai league champions were named the Coca-Cola AFC Team of the Month and Attapol Puspakom the AFC Coach of the Month award following their courageous 3-2 aggregate triumph over reigning Uzbek double winners Pakhtakor.

Having reached the last four by topping Group A in Bangkok ahead of Kashima Antlers of Japan, Taejon Citizen of Korea Republic and Shanghai Shenhua of China, BEC continued their impressive home form in the semi-final first leg with a 3-1 win over Pakhtakor.

Goals from BEC captain Worawut Srimaka and Khwanchai Phuangprakob, who substituted Worawut, had put the hosts two up before Anvarjon Soliev reduced the deficit in the 80th minute. Thai midfielder Therdsak Chaiman came to BEC’s rescue just four minutes later with a tremendous free-kick that gave BEC a two-goal advantage for their trip to Tashkent.

Pakhtakor’s home form had seen the side from the capital win all six of their AFC Champions League matches in the Pakhtakor Stadium, including three in Group D against Pirouzi of Iran, Al Talaba of Iraq and Nisa of Turkmenistan.

In front of over 50,000 partisan fans, the Uzbek side put BEC under immense pressure from the kick-off, but Attapol’s side stuck to their task dutifully, holding their own in the physical battle against larger opponents and showing a defensive discipline that balanced the attacking flair they had shown at home.

Pakhtakor, who had a close-range effort from a corner-kick disallowed in the 60th minute after BEC goalkeeper Phansa Meesattham was adjudged to have been fouled, finally managed to break the deadlock through a deflected Server Djeparov strike in the 86th minute.

However, BEC weathered the storm and held on for an historic result that keeps alive their dream of becoming only the second Thai side to win an AFC title, following Thai Farmers Bank’s back-to-back wins in the old Asian Club Championship in the mid-1990s.

Meanwhile, Korea Republic international striker Choi Yong-soo has been named AFC Player of the Month following two successive hat-tricks for Japanese club JEF United Ichihara against quality opposition.

Now in his third season with Ichihara, the 29-year-old netted his first hat-trick in the J.League in a 3-1 home win over Yokohama F Marinos, runners-up to Jubilo Iwata in last year’s J.League.

He then scored three times in the following week’s 5-1 win over Kyoto Purple Sanga, whose victory in last year’s Emperor’s Cup meant they will join Jubilo as Japan’s representatives in the next edition of the AFC Champions League.

The successive hat-tricks took Choi’s goals tally in the J.League to 45 in 55 games and put Ichihara among the early front-runners for the First Stage title.

AFC MONTHLY AWARDS – APRIL 2003

Coca-Cola AFC Team of the Month: BEC Tero Sasana (Thailand)

AFC Player of the Month: Choi Yong-soo (Korea Republic & JEF United Ichihara, Japan)