Captain Sasa Ognenovski crowned a memorable couple of weeks by lifting the trophy and scoring the opener in the 29th minute, while fellow center back Cho Byung-kuk headed Seongnam’s second from a corner in the 53rd minute.

Iran striker Mohammad Khalatbari headed Zobahan back into contention in the 67th minute, before Kim Cheol-ho – the only starter remaining from Seongnam’s devastating loss in the 2004 final – wrapped up the victory in the 83rd minute.

Seongnam legend Shin Tae-yong, 40, received much of the attention after he made history by winning the AFC Champions League as a coach to add to his victory as a player in the 1995 Asian Club Championship.

“I’m very happy. I feel so happy, I’m almost speechless,” said Shin, whose side lost in the finals of the FA Cup and K-League playoffs in his first season as head coach last year.

“I’m even happier tonight than I was when I won the Asian title as a player. Then, I was young, I believed we would win and I thought these kind of opportunities would come all the time.

“But since I became head coach, I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to win the AFC Champions League so soon, so this has made me twice as happy.”  Shin was a substitute in the 2004 final, when Seongnam lost 5-0 to Al Ittihad in the second leg after a 3-1 win in Riyadh.

Ognenovski also had the chance to exorcise some demons after losing to Gamba Osaka in the 2008 final while with Adelaide United before his high-profile move to Seongnam.

The 1.95-meter center back was a huge presence at the back and at set pieces, setting up the victory with the crucial opener from close range.

”To score a goal in the final and to win the game is unbelievable,” said Ognenovski, recently named one of 15 candidates for the AFC Player of the Year before earning an Australia call-up days before the final.

“The players have been outstanding throughout the tournament. We’ve lost a few players and the youngsters have stepped in and done a marvelous job.”  Zobahan had the first chance in the fifth minute when Khalatbari headed wide from Mohammad Ghazi’s left-wing cross before center back Farshid Talebi powered his header wide from Khalatbari’s left-wing corner three minutes later.

Seongnam speedster Song Ho-young, playing on the right of a front three, had Ilhwa’s first chance in the 11th minute, but headed over under pressure from Mauricio Molina’s cross from the byline.

Zobahan captain Ghasem Hadadifar went close from long range in the 14th minute before the action moved down the other end where Molina, a former Colombia international, shot wide from a tight angle after a clever one-two with Song.

Molina was then presented with a free kick from 25 yards in the 17th minute, but the left-footer curled his effort a yard wide of Shahab Gordan’s left post.

Seongnam had a scare in the 24th minute when Brazilian forward Igor Castro headed a loose ball toward an empty net, but Ognenovski quickly backtracked and headed the effort over the bar.

Khalatbari then threatened a minute later when he hit a powerful angled volley over the bar from just inside the area.

Ognenovski put Seongnam ahead in the 29th minute when Cho Byung-kuk’s header from Kim Sung-hwan’s long throw was blocked and the ball was bundled around the six-yard box until the big Australian took charge and steered the ball home.

Seongnam came close to doubling their lead soon after, when Molina’s inswinging free kick from the right was nervously parried by Gordan, the ball trickling teasingly past the far post.

The skilful Molina was in electrifying form, the Colombian’s inswinging corner skimming the top of the bar in the 34th minute, although Zobahan almost equalized in the last minute of the first half.

Hadadifar’s left-wing cross was brilliantly controlled by right-back Mohammad Hosseini – the club’s top scorer in the ongoing Iran Pro League – who turned and hit a close-range shot that was superbly saved by Korea Republic goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong.

Molina had two chances early on in the second half. In the 50th minute, Jung’s long ball reached him outside the box and he took one touch before a covering Talebi deflected his shot from inside the area wide.

A minute later, the Colombian junked through the Zobahan defense before sidefooting a low right-foot shot that was well saved by Gordan.

Molina then played his part in Seongnam’s second goal when his low corner from the right was flicked on by striker Cho Dong-geon for Cho Byung-kuk to head home from close range.

Khalatbari then had two good chances to score. In the 54th minute, the 27-year-old’s free header from Castro’s left-wing cross was saved by Jung, while three minutes later the forward pounced on an Ognenovski air-kick but Jung did well to save his effort.

Cho Dong-geon had two chances in the 64th minute, first spurning a one-on-one opportunity when put through at the top of the area by Song’s clever through ball from the left.

Molina then put through the 24-year-old, capped by Korea Republic last year, in the area, but Gordan did well to smother the striker’s effort.

Khalatbari atoned for his earlier misses by reducing the deficit in the 67th minute. Castro ran onto Mohammad Ghazi’s clever through ball and his sliding effort was deflected up into the air by Jung’s legs, Khalatbari pouncing to head into an empty net.

Zobahan pressed for an equalizer and in the 80th minute Castro’s left wing the onrushing Hadadifar, whose right-foot volley was blocked by Jung at the near post, met cross to the far post.

However, Kim Cheol-ho wrapped up the game for Seongnam in the 83rd minute when Molina’s shot rebounded kindly into his path and he coolly poked the ball inside Gordan’s right-hand post.

The hard-working Cho Dong-geon had another chance to score with three minutes left when set through by Molina and Gordan denied him again from close range.

“Cho Dong-geon didn’t score tonight, but he did exactly what I asked him to do,” Shin said. “It has been the first time as head coach that I’ve concentrated so hard on one team, Zobahan, in terms of research, and my players did exactly what I asked of them. We were aggressive in seeking goals and that led to our victory.”  

Zobahan coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh praised his players after an end-to-end encounter, the last stop in a memorable campaign by a team who had knocked several of Asia’s biggest clubs.

“We played very well, but we just made some mistakes in defense and at set-pieces. We weren’t able to capitalize on our own opportunities. We were behind on both counts,” said Ebrahimzadeh, who was assistant coach of fellow Esfahan club Sepahan as they reached the 2007 final.

“However, Seongnam are a very smart team and they make small opportunities into big ones. We’ll continue our efforts next year and we’ll try not to make the same mistakes again.”  

Seongnam, Korea Republic’s most successful club with seven K-League titles, will compete in the K-League playoffs next week before heading to Abu Dhabi next month for the FIFA Club World Cup.

Seongnam will face the winners of the tie between hosts Al Wahda and OFC champions Hekari United for the chance to play Inter Milan in the semi-finals.