Four South Korean football teams start Asia's premier club competition this week with big-spending Chinese clubs presenting obstacles on their road to the title.
With 3.5 slots at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League allocated to the top-tier K League Classic, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the top two clubs in the league, have directly advanced to the group stage. FC Seoul joined them as the winner of the domestic Football Association (FA) Cup.
The Pohang Steelers, third in the K League Classic last season, joined them after edging out Vietnamese side Hanoi T&T 3-0 in their playoff match on Feb. 9.
In the AFC Champions League (ACL), 32 teams are divided into eight groups. The teams from West Asia make up Groups A to D, while East Asian clubs are in Groups E to H. The top two clubs from each group advance to the knockout stage that starts in May. The two-leg final is set for November.
K League clubs have won 10 ACL titles, more than any other league. However, they have not won the ACL trophy since 2012, while Chinese clubs have emerged as a force by signing star footballers with wads of cash. The Chinese Super League's high-profile signings in this offseason include Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira, Ramires, Gervinho, Fredy Guarin and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Among the four South Korean clubs, Jeonbuk appear to have the best shot at ending the K League drought. The two-time K League Classic defending champions join Jiangsu Suning of China, FC Tokyo of Japan and Becamex Binh Duong of Vietnam in Group D.
Jeonbuk were eliminated in the quarterfinals last year, after losing to Japanese club Gamba Osaka. Hoping to win their first ACL crown since 2006, Jeonbuk acquired some big names this offseason.
Their new faces include striker Kim Shin-wook -- the league's reigning scoring champion with Ulsan Hyundai FC -- South Korean international midfielder Kim Bo-kyung and right back Kim Chang-soo.
Jeonbuk have also brought in forward Lee Jong-ho and center back Lim Jong-eun from region rival Jeonnam Dragons, as well as Australian defensive midfielder Erik Paartalu. They will join existing stars like striker Lee Dong-gook, the all-time leading scorer in the K League Classic, and midfielder Lee Jae-sung, who was named best young player in the league last year.
Jeonbuk lost defender Kim Kee-hee to Shanghai Shenhua on Friday after receiving a league record US$6 million transfer fee from the Chinese club, but Jeonbuk head coach Choi Kang-hee said that his team will not be slowed down in the chase for trophies.
"We will seek a good combination of players in the lineup and go for the AFC Champions League and K League Classic titles," Choi said last Friday.
Jeonbuk open their ACL campaign at 7 p.m. Tuesday, hosting FC Tokyo at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.
The Japanese club, which finished fourth in the country's top division J1 League last year, will be playing at the ACL for the second time after slashing Thailand's Chonburi 9-0 in their playoff match.
In the group qualification round, Jeonbuk, the runner-up in the 2011 ACL, will face a tough challenge from Jiangsu Suning. The Chinese outfit, led by Romanian head coach Dan Petrescu, finished ninth in their domestic league last season, but joined the Asian club competition as the Chinese FA Cup winner.
Jiangsu shelled out an Asian record transfer fee of 50 million euros (US$55 million) to acquire attacker Alex Teixeira from Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, and another 32 million euros for former Chelsea midfielder Ramires. These two and one-time Manchester City striker Jo form a formidable Brazilian trio for the Chinese club.
Jeonbuk will first meet Jiangsu on March 1 in Nanjing, China.
The four-time K League Classic title holders will then visit Vietnamese champion Binh Duong on April 6.
FC Seoul are in Group F with the Japan league champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Thailand league winner Buriram United and Shandong Lunengm which finished third in the Chinese league last season.
Seoul, eliminated in the round of 16 at last year's ACL, start their tourney on Tuesday in Thailand facing Buriram.
For this season, Seoul, five-time K League Classic champions, brought back their former striker Dejan Damjanovic, who'd spent last two seasons in China. The Montenegrin international was the K League Classic top scorer for three straight seasons from 2011-13 when he was playing for Seoul.
Damjanovic joins Brazilian striker Adriano and former Arsenal forward Park Chu-young on Seoul's frontline, though Park is doubtful to play for the first match due to his left knee injury.
Seoul also signed South Korean international midfielder Joo Se-jong and defender Jung In-hwan this offseason to upgrade their backline.
The team led by head coach Choi Yong-soo will likely fight Sanfrecce Hiroshima for the group's top spot. Hiroshima have the reigning league MVP Toshihiro Aoyama in midfield and Rookie of the Year Takuma Asano, who scored two goals against South Korea at the AFC U-23 Championship final last month.
Shandong Luneng are powered by Brazilian striker Diego Tardelli, and they recently signed center back Gil from Brazilian champions Corinthians for $11 million to upgrade their defense.
Suwon, the runner-up in the K League Classic last season, are in Group G with Australia champion Melbourne Victory, J1 League runner-up Gamba Osaka and China's Shanghai SIPG.
The two-time ACL champion, Suwon kick off their campaign on Wednesday at home against Gamba Osaka.
Suwon suffered a round of 16 exit at last season's ACL, and didn't have big reinforcements in their squad this offseason. The four-time domestic league champion last week announced their contract negotiation with former Jeonbuk forward Edu had fallen through. The 34-year-old Brazilian previously played for Suwon for three seasons before moving to German club Schalke 04 in 2010.
This means Suwon will still have to rely on midfielders Yeom Ki-hun, who led the K League Classic in assists last season, and Kwon Chang-hoon, who has been a pivotal player for both the under-23 and senior national teams.
While travelling to Australia to face Melbourne Victory can be stressful. Suwon's toughest opponent in the group will be Shanghai SIPG, led by former Lazio and England national team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. This winter, the club signed Brazilian striker Elkeson from local rival Guangzhou Evergrande for 18.5 million euros. The two-time scoring champion in the Chinese first division joins his former Guangzhou teammate Dario Konka and Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan.
Pohang, which lead all clubs with three ACL titles, are expected to have a difficult start as they face 2013 and 2015 champion Guangzhou Evergrande for the tournament opener at Guangzhou Tianhe Sport Center on Wednesday.
Their first match will be held behind closed doors following the AFC's sanctions on Guangzhou for violating the tournament regulations at the second leg of the 2015 ACL final against Al Ahli on Nov. 21 last year.
Pohang are also paired with Australian A-League runner-up Sydney FC and Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in Group H.
After head coach Hwang Sun-hong resigned at the end of last season, Pohang hired former South Korea under-17 team coach Choi Jin-cheul as their new skipper. Choi led South Korea to the round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile last year.
Pohang lost a slew of regulars this winter, including forward Kim Seung-dae, who left for Chinese club Yanbian Fude FC. Though the 2013 ACL champions signed Ulsan Hyundai striker Yang Dong-hyun to fill the offensive void, they're also hoping young attackers Moon Chang-jin and Shim Dong-woon to step forward this season.
Moon, 22, was a core part of South Korea's runner-up finish at the AFC U-23 Championship, where he scored four goals. Shim, 25, had a hat trick in the playoff match against Hanoi T&T to send his team to the ACL group stage.
Guangzhou, led by the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, has added another top class player to their squad this season. The five-time Chinese Super League defending champion signed Colombian striker Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid for 42 million euros. (Yonhap)
