Yesterday afternoon, the AFC officially announced that Chinese Super League powerhouse Shanghai Seaport had regrettably bid farewell to the 2022 season of the AFC Champions League. The club also released a statement, pointing out that under the epidemic, the team has encountered many obstacles in the assembly work, and had no choice but to make the decision to withdraw from the tournament.
In a statement, the club revealed: "Since the beginning of the year, we have been preparing for the AFC Champions League. However, we have not given up in the face of countless challenges and irresistible difficulties, and are still trying to coordinate until the eve of our departure. Unfortunately, we have to announce with regret that the team will be absent from the AFC Champions League this season."
Since entering the AFC Champions League in 2016, Seaport has successfully advanced to the group stage for the fifth consecutive year. As last season's league runners-up, Harbour had already drawn up a blueprint for a two-tier season. Originally planned to leave for Buriram, Thailand on April 10 to prepare for the match, but due to the epidemic, half of the players were quarantined, half of them stayed at home, and the return arrangements were delayed again and again, and finally had no choice but to withdraw from the AFC Champions League. This move not only makes young players miss the opportunity to exercise in high-level tournaments, but also highlights the helplessness of the special period.
According to the AFC, only three teams remain in Group J, namely Chiang Rai United (Thailand), Hong Kong Jiezhi (Hong Kong) and Kobe Successful Boat (Japan). In accordance with the rules of the tournament and the provisions of the AFC Competition Manual, the results of the matches between the second and fourth-placed teams in Groups F, G, H, I and J will not be counted as part of the final scores, and the remaining matches in Group J will be played in accordance with the original fixtures.
Despite withdrawing from the AFC Champions League, Seaport has not stopped attracting reinforcements. Yesterday afternoon, there was good news that Zhang Linpeng, the main defender of the Guangzhou team, was officially transferred to Seaport. For Zhang Linpeng, who started his career at the Shanghai Genbao Football School, joining Seaport seems to be a return to his roots. After playing for Guangzhou for 11 seasons, 33-year-old Zhang Linpeng chose to return to his hometown to continue writing his own soccer legend.
