The AFC Champions League begins again, but this time it's not just four teams taking part, with only Taishan, Sanzhen and Zhejiang left in the Super League due to Harbor's unexpected elimination. Because of Oscar and Wu Lei, Seaport had high expectations. However, this team was eliminated by a mid-tier team from Thailand, a seemingly unexpected result that made people realize again how competitive the AFC Champions League is. As you can imagine, the qualifying rounds are very competitive, and the group stage even more so. In order to minimize the difficulty, outsiders are hoping for a bit more luck in the group draw, which means hoping to meet relatively weak opponents.
However, sadly, the signatures between Taishan and the three towns were not good. Both groups featured Japanese and South Korean teams. In addition, with the adjustment of the Asian Champions League regulations, only the first place in the group can advance, and the three advancement places for the second place are more competitive. Therefore, outsiders should also be mentally prepared to quit. Compared with the first two teams, Zhejiang was very lucky and signed the agreement. The three opponents are Japan's Kofu Fung Lam, Buriram United and Melbourne City. Even the first-ranked Buriram United is the champion of the Thai league, not the strongest teams from Japan and South Korea.
Kofu Kazebayashi is a mid-to-low-tier team in the J2 League, but underperformed last season. He beat Hiroshima's Three Arrows in the cup. He won the title by luck and he was inconsistent. Look at Melbourne City. You are the champions of the Australian Super League and are very strong. However, Super League teams don't commit crimes against Australian Super League teams, especially in home games. Of course, that's the impression before the 2020 season. Now the overall level of foreigners will drop, and so will the competitiveness. Therefore, meeting again depends on the actual performance.
Despite the signings, the difficulties are evident, especially in away games. Thailand and Australia are both long trips. The coaching staff also needs to pay attention to how to overcome fatigue. playing in the AFC Champions League again after 12 years and having little experience in the competition makes it a new start for Zhejiang.
In addition, to participate in the AFC Champions League also need to invest money and make good preparation for the venue, which also directly affects the actual input of the Zhejiang team. Once into the knockout rounds, the cost of investment will also be higher, so the Zhejiang team need to seriously weigh the consideration. After all, there are also performance requirements in the league, need to fully consider the gains and losses.
