FC Seoul will compete for its first-ever AFC Champions League football crown against a surging rival from China starting on Saturday.
FC Seoul, the reigning South Korean league champ, will host Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese Super League's title holder from 2011 to 2013, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the opening match of the two-leg final at Asia's premier club competition.
The second leg will be in Guangzhou on Nov. 9, and the aggregate score after the two contests will determine the continental club champion of 2013.
FC Seoul is the fifth consecutive AFC Champions League finalist from the domestic K League Classic. Three of the past four champions have come from the organization. Pohang Steelers, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Ulsan Hyundai Tigers captured the crown in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors finished second in 2011.
At a pre-match press conference held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Friday, FC Seoul's head coach Choi Yong-soo said trying to maintain the K League Classic's stranglehold on the continental title won't add any extra pressure on his club.
"We're actually relaxed for tomorrow's match, and we have players who've experienced big games like this," Choi said. "We have passion and wisdom on this team, and our players are no less skilled than Guangzhou players. They may be the favored team on paper, but that will only add fuel to our players' competitive fire."
FC Seoul is also going for a rare "double" of winning both the domestic league title and the AFC trophy.
The club is currently ranked fourth in the K League Classic at 51 points, seven points behind first-place Ulsan with seven matches remaining.
Guangzhou was the champion of both the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup last season, and has clinched its third straight league championship for 2013.
Marcello Lippi, who coached Italy to the 2006 FIFA World Cup title and Italian club Juventus to the 1996 UEFA Champions League crown, is the bench boss for Guangzhou. The team also features a South Korean national team defender Kim Young-gwon.
At his press conference, Lippi created some off-field controversy when he took verbal jabs at South Korean football officials for not providing a proper practice field a day earlier.
"We ended up training in the hall in our hotel. I don't think it's fair," Lippi said through an interpreter. "It's the first time in 30 years in my career I've had something like this happen to me."
Lippi said Guangzhou will fully accommodate FC Seoul when the South Korean club visits China for the second leg next month.
"We will follow all regulations of fair play that exist internationally," he said. "We'll make sure to collaborate as much as we can to make sure they will have a pitch to train."
Choi Yong-soo said his club did the best it could to serve the visiting team. According to an official of the K League Classic, Guangzhou arrived Thursday afternoon and made a last-minute demand to move to a field with better lighting to train in the evening.
The official said the Chinese team had been informed two weeks ago of the conditions of the practice pitch and that the league here followed all necessary AFC regulations.
Even without the off-field issue, there will be plenty of drama on the pitch between the two clubs.
FC Seoul is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak in AFC play.
The South Korean side eliminated the Iranian champion Esteghlal in the semifinals by the aggregate score of 4-2.
Guangzhou destroyed the Japanese rival Kashiwa Reysol in the semis with the 8-1 aggregate score. Guangzhou won the first game 4-1 and finished off Kashiwa 4-0 in the second leg.
After a recent run of impressive play, FC Seoul has hit a speed bump in October. The team has lost two straight games in the K League Classic by a combined score of 4-0. FC Seoul had been undefeated in its previous 13 matches.
Defender Cha Du-ri has been ruled ineligible for the first leg, after picking up yellow cards in both semifinal matches against Esteghlal.
Another defender, Adilson dos Santos from Brazil, had been considered questionable following a knee injury he suffered last month, but he was cleared on Thursday to suit up for Saturday's match.
Kim Chi-woo, a veteran fullback with international experience, will be another defender counted on to fill the void on FC Seoul's backline. He noted that his club is undefeated at home at this year's AFC Champions League and said the streak will face a stern test against Guangzhou.
"We have played well at our home stadium, and this is why the first match of the final is so important," he said. "The most important thing is to win without conceding a goal."
Kim also said he hopes FC Seoul can add to the recent string of success at the AFC competition.
"The success of Korean teams in the AFC Champions League does not add any more pressure; rather, it motivates me," he said. "I hope that we can be the fourth champion and prove that the K League Classic is the best league in Asia."
Kim and his defensive mates will have to contain Muriqui, the top scoring threat for Guangzhou from Brazil. He leads the AFC campaign with 13 goals in 12 games.
Backed by compatriot Elkeson and Argentine playmaker Dario Conca on offense, Muriqui is trying to bring the first Asian club title to China in 23 years.
"It has been one of our goals to reach the AFC Champions League final, and it is the No. 1 thing that I have achieved in my professional career," said the Brazilian, who's been with Guangzhou since 2010. "I have been able to score a lot of goals in the AFC Champions League this season due to the strong support from the rest of the team. Conca and Elkeson give me a lot of support, and together with all the local players, goals will come naturally."
Conca has netted eight goals in 12 AFC matches, while Elkeson has chipped in four goals in four matches after joining Guangzhou midway through the tournament. (Yonhap News)
