A cross-generational soccer showdown is on the horizon as 64-year-old South Korean manager Choi Kang-hee faces the challenge of 45-year-old English legend Cowell. Yokohama Mariners and Shandong Taishan will battle it out in the AFC Champions League quarterfinals.
Cowell, a one-time Australian soccer legend who has played for top teams such as Liverpool and Leeds United, has a roll of honor engraved with the 2004-05 title, the 2005-06 UEFA Super Cup, the English FA Cup, the 2006-07 title, as well as runner-up in the 2011 Asian Cup, the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
After his retirement, Cowell didn't stop there. He took charge of England's lower league side Watford U23, became an assistant coach at Celtic in June 2022, and officially took over the reins at Yokohama Mariners on December 31, 2023, where he drew 2-2 with Bangkok United in the first leg of the 1/8th round of the AFC Champions League.
Choi Kang-hee, a leading figure in Asian soccer, not only helped the team win the 2006 AFC Champions League title during his tenure at Jeonbuk Hyundai, but was also honored as the AFC Coach of the Year that same year. He then went on to lead the team to win the 2009 and 2011 K-League titles and was elected AFC Coach of the Year in 2016. In addition to Jeonbuk, Choi Kang-hee has also coached Suwon Samsung, the Korean national team, Tianjin, Dalian and Shenhua.
Choi Kang-hee took over Shandong Taishan on May 16 last year, when the team was ranked ninth in the Chinese Super League, with only one win and four draws, two losses and seven points in the first seven rounds.
After Choi Kang-hee took over, Taishan achieved an outstanding record of 14 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses in the Chinese Super League, accumulating 48 points and ending up in second place, only 5 points behind Shanghai Harbor. In the AFC Cup, Taishan eliminated Meizhou Hakka, Beijing Guoan, and Dalian Ren, and beat Shanghai Shenhua 0-1 in the final. In the AFC Champions League, Taishan won 4 and lost 2 in the group stage, and beat Kawasaki Frontale 6-5 in two rounds in the 1/8 final to reach the quarter-finals.
The first round of the AFC Champions League quarterfinals will begin on March 6th, while the second round is scheduled for March 13th.
