FC Seoul eyeing continental trophy in China

The reigning South Korean football champion FC Seoul will be eyeing a prestigious continental trophy in China on the weekend as they take on Guangzhou Evergrande in the second leg of the AFC Champions League final.

The match will be held at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou on Saturday at 8 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. in Korea.

The two clubs played to a 2-2 draw in the opening leg at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 26, as FC Seoul's Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic scored a late equalizer for the dramatic finish.

The aggregate score after the two legs will determine the Asian club champion of 2013. The away goals rule will be in effect, giving more weight to goals scored in road matches in case of a tie in the aggregate score.

Since Guangzhou netted two goals away from home, they can still lift the AFC trophy either with a 0-0 draw or a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

FC Seoul, however, faces a must-win situation, and one of its key players said he is confident that his squad can pull off a victory in the hostile confines.

"We did our best in the first leg and it wasn't a bad result as Guangzhou is a good team," said Cha Du-ri, a defensive back who sat out the first match after picking up two yellows in two semifinal legs against Esteghlal of Iran. "Every away match is not easy to win, but we're confident and we have good energy."

FC Seoul is the fifth consecutive club from the K League Classic to reach the AFC Champions League final. Three of the past four champions have come from the top South Korean league.

FC Seoul is coming off an encouraging 2-1 win over its archrival, the Suwon Bluewings, in the domestic league last weekend, and Cha, a veteran of two FIFA World Cups, said his players will be buoyant heading into their clash against Guangzhou.

FC Seoul features a deep midfield with the Colombian playmaker Mauricio Molina, Sergio Escudero, who had a goal and an assist in the opening leg, and four recent call-ups for the South Korean national team, Ha Dae-sung, Yun Il-lok, Go Yo-han and Koh Myong-jin.

With the World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi at the helm, Guangzhou has already clinched its third straight Chinese Super League title, and is trying to bring China its first continental title in 23 years.

The Chinese side will once again be led by the triumvirate of South American attackers: Brazilians Muruiqui and Elkeson, and Argentine playmaker Dario Conca.

Elkeson scored one of Guangzhou's two goals in the first leg, his fifth in five AFC matches. Muruiqui was largely kept in check in the opening match but he still scored a tournament-best 13 goals in 13 contests.

Conca had his five-game AFC scoring streak snapped in the first leg, and said he will look to get back on the score sheet.

"We're not going to hold back. We're going to put all our effort into the game," he said. "And it's going to be very entertaining and a lot of fun but there is always that level of seriousness that's going to present."

Conca said he will enjoy the support of the partisan fans, but insisted the players will still have to perform.

"It's going to be amazing to be at home because ... this is our stadium and it's going to be something positive for us," he said.

"In the end, it's not the biggest factor that will influence the result of the match. It's up to us to do our work and to put 100 percent effort into winning the game."

The AFC champion will represent Asia in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which will bring together club champions also from Europe, South America, North and Central Americas, Africa and Oceania. Germany's Bayern Munich, the reigning European champion, is among five teams already qualified for the club completion set for December in Morocco. (Yonhap News)