Reporter Liu Xiangyu, Cai Zonglin, Chen Wei reported May 21, the AFC announced the AFC Champions League East Asian region of the group stage journey, the moment from June 24 to July 9, and the Chinese Super League round 6 to round 9 completely collision (June 21 to July 8), which means that the Chinese Super League BIG3 have to make trade-offs, and now, the national security has been basically confirmed by the U20 to participate in the competition, and the probability of Guangzhou and seaport is also the reserves to fight, and the Chinese Super League BIG3 have to make trade-offs. Can say, this is the Chinese super to play the Asian Championship to the weakest lineup, after 2009 again group stage group, a few no suspense.
Guoan was the latest of the BIG3 to confirm the venue, not settling on Tashkent in Uzbekistan until early May.
Last year's AFC Champions League, Guoan achieved a historic breakthrough, reaching the quarterfinals of the East Asian region, is the best results of last season's AFC Champions League Chinese Super League team. The group stage opponents of Guoan this year include the winner of the Philippine Union City, J League Kawasaki Frontier and K League Daegu FC/Thailand Chiang Rai United, the strength of the opponents are not weak, but now about the battle of the AFC Champions League, it is more ambiguous. Guoan sent the youth army to play, meaning that the strategy has now abandoned the AFC Champions League, but the club said that the mood to treat the competition, can not slacken. The intercontinental tournament, on the young players, is also a valuable experience, the growth will be of great assistance.
Last year, because the main force to play the AFC Championship, the AFC Cup, Guoan has sent U21 to play, at that time, in the second round, they beat Chengdu Rongcheng 1-0, the opponent nearly all the main force to play, and regardless of the competition experience or physical conditions, are better than the Guoan youth army, and Guoan won the game, bursting out of the round of the biggest cold. Guoan's performance also proved that they did not abandon the competition, and every game will fight for the win. However, when they faced Wuhan in the third round, Guoan lost 0-3. However, this trip to the AFC Cup has now allowed the outside world to recognize these youngsters and they have made great gains.
In fact, the most important mission of this year's Guoan team is the National Games. In the now-completed National Games qualifying round, Beijing U20, which is composed of players of the team's age, advanced to the final round with the first group, which is the first time in 12 years, and gained a break.
Guoan deputy director of youth training Yang Pu said in an interview, this group of players ability is good, and in the time of training and competition together for nearly 10 years, has now come to the "quality change" time, "the next few months, this unit will shoulder this season's AFC Champions League group matches and the National Games competition mission! The next few months, this team will be tasked with the group stage of the Asian Championship and the main competition of the Games this season, which will be very challenging for them. That is to say, they will first go to Uzbekistan at the end of June to participate in the Asian Championship, if all goes well, after finishing the mission of the Asian Championship, and then come back to participate in the Games. Now, our policy is to juggle these two events." Yang Pu said, "The Asian Championship is to represent our country and the National Games is to compete on behalf of Beijing, so we can't slack off."
This youth army, there are many good seedlings, in addition to the now well-known Leng Jixuan, Liang Shaowen, and Hu Jiaqi and Shi Yu Cheng, etc., they have the opportunity to enter the first team of Guoan in the future.
In recent years, Guoan has made great efforts in youth training, and the Dutch youth training system has been integrated into every age group team. This time out in the AFC Champions League is a brand new challenge for the lads, and it will be interesting to see if this youth army can have a bright performance in the face of real high-level opponents, in addition to the final stage of the All-China Games, where they will have to compete for a better result.
Guangzhou is in Group J. The venue is set in Buriram, Thailand, and the group stage opponents, in addition to Thai Premier League's Thai Harbour and Hong Kong Premier League's Jiezhi, are the winners of the play-off between J-League's Osaka Cherry Blossoms and Australian Premier League's Melbourne Success.
For the Guangzhou team, the venue Thailand's Buriram Lei Fort soccer stadium is actually not rusty, the 2012 season, their first time to play the AFC Champions League, and Buriram United in the same group, the final round of the group stage, in the pouring rain in Lei Fort, Kongka hit a penalty shot before the end to assist the team to get a life-saving three points, and ultimately pressed the K League dominant Jeonbuk to promote, the first time to participate in the round of 16, and the competition, also is the Lee Jang-soo's last battle, back to Yangcheng into the Silver Fox era.
Guangzhou team's 2nd visit to Leiburg soccer stadium, is 2018, has become a regular visitor to the AFC Champions League, the two teams, once again met in the group stage, however, the Guangzhou team's trip can be described as "Lost in Thailand", the team traveled on a chartered plane because of the local runway of the small airport showed an incident, resulting in the Cannavaro and his disciples stayed in Bangkok for a long time, arriving in Leiburg stomping grounds have been Nearly early in the morning, the reporter also experienced the history of the latest start of a pre-match conference, so after traveling, the two teams 1-1 draw.
It should be said that the hosting of the AFC Champions League group stage, Lei Fort venue conditions are still trustworthy, the owner of Buriram United Chen Naiwen spent huge sums of money to make this professional stadium, turf quality is very good, the stadium is also next to the exclusive supporting hotels and training venues, before the national football team was once considered, in this stadium to play in the epidemic delayed by the top 40 matches.
However, this AFC Champions League, Guangzhou team is the same facing the problem of collision, during which, the group stage round 5, but also with the Guangzhou team against Taishan's Chinese Super League round 9 competition on the same day, only 5 hours apart, coupled with the return from the foreign competition must bear the blocking of the quarantine, the Guangzhou team is bound to split the army, and, with the participation of the youth army.
For the Guangzhou team, it would be a good time to exercise if the football school product could experience the baptism of the Asian field, but with such an arrangement, it may not be possible to consider the results.
It is worth mentioning that Chang Weiwei, the former head coach of Guangzhou reserve team, returned to his hometown this year to coach Wuhan women's soccer team with Wang Frost, and if the young people play in the AFC Champions League, the coaching table will have to find a head coach that meets the requirements of the AFC.
Despite the fact that there are only three teams in the Chinese Super League (CSL), Seaport still has to play a play-off. According to the AFC's schedule, Seaport will face the winner of the match between Brisbane Lions Roar and Kaya Philippines (the qualifying match is on June 20) on June 23 at 6 p.m. in Thailand, and on the same day, Seaport has a CSL match against Wuhan, so Seaport should arrange for a substitute or a team to participate in the tournament.
Originally, Seaport did not have AFC Champions League qualification, but because Taishan was punished by the AFC, so they were granted AFC Champions League qualification by extension. If they win in the play-offs, Seaport will enter Group F, with opponents from the Thai Premier League's Baton Rouge United, K-League's Ulsan and Vietnam Telecom, and if they lose, they will go home straight away.
The previous year's AFC Championship, which was played after the Chinese Super League, because of the requirements of the China Football Association, so the BIG4 abandoned the AFC Cup and sent the main force to participate in the AFC Championship. But after the competition, because of flights and other problems, the team was once trapped in the hotel, after a few twists and turns to come back to the country. This year, if you send the main force, the impact will be more than a direct conflict in the time of four rounds of the league, taking into account the blocking and other issues, at least seven or eight rounds of the league to be absent, which is the teams can not afford.
The previous year's AFC Cup, the harbor the same sent a young force to participate, that list, in addition to the 27-year-old striker Li Hao Wen, other than the U23 players, of which as many as 11 U21 players, the youngest is the goalkeeper born in 2003 Liang Kun. However, the participating players, simply all of them are the 2018 league championship class of all age groups in Shanghai Harbor.
At that time, the seaport spent three weeks to reorganize the team, and also recalled some leased out players, including Zhang Huachen and Wei Lai from Nantong; Zhou Zheng, Zhu Jiayi, Li Shenyuan, Huang Zhenfei and Sun Guan'o from Inner Mongolia; and Li Haowen from Suzhou. It can be said that, in addition to Hu Jinghang, who was playing in Wuhan at the time, and Shi Xiaodong, the main goalkeeper of Nantong, did not come back, everyone else came back, but now at this time, all levels of the league has just begun, and certainly can not be recruited to come back, so the seaport can only send a team to participate.
If the team to play the AFC Champions League, in fact, the same as the previous year to play the AFC Cup with the team, as the then skipper Chen Xufeng said, is a stage for young players to show their own, it can be predicted that the young players will be very desire to compete, only that such a lineup to play the AFC Champions League, the results can be predicted. "In fact, the team to play the Asian Championship, about young players, do not think too much, enjoy the process of the competition on the line." A circle said.
Since the expansion of the AFC Champions League in 2009, the worst results of the group stage of the Chinese Super League is that year, four participating teams, the group stage was annihilated, among which Luneng 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 negative accumulations of 7 points, the group third out of the game; the same is the group third out of the game, there are 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 negative accumulations of 8 points of Shenhua and TEDA, Guo-an is a 1 win, 2 draws and 3 negative accumulations of 5 points, the bottom of the group out of the game.
