FC Seoul head coach Choi Yong-soo said Tuesday that he is confident of reaching the quarterfinals at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League despite dropping the opening leg in the round of 16.
Seoul, which reached the AFC Champions League knockout stage as Group F winners, last week suffered a 1-0 loss against the Urawa Red Diamonds in Saitama, Japan. To join the last eight, the South Korean side needs a victory by two goals or more in the second leg on Wednesday at home.
“Our players are in good condition and we have prepared for the match well,” Choi said at a press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium. “We can‘t just go down like this.”
Choi, who led FC Seoul to the ACL runner-up finish in 2013, said his players didn’t have their best game in the first leg because they were tired, but now it is a different story. Seoul are looking for their first quarterfinals appearance since 2014.
“We had enough time to recover and prepare for this match,” he said. “Our players are determined to win this match.”
Choi emphasized that Seoul should not concede a goal against Urawa Wednesday because it will make the players nervous throughout the match. The coach added his team will aim to score first to take control of the match. In the group stage, Seoul scored 17 goals, the most among 32 clubs in the premier Asian club competition, with Brazilian striker Carlos Adriano leading the way with 10.
“We will first tighten our defense before making an attack,” he said. “We are ready to show our style of play, which we couldn‘t display last time.”
Choi said another crucial element for the victory is his players’ mindset. The 42-year-old coach asked the players to show their “fighting spirit” till the end.
“In a match like this, the players need to display their grit and backbone,” he said. “We are not going to finish the match in vain. We are confident of winning.” (Yonhap)
