Asia Angle: Al Ahli, Al Hilal should fear Guangzhou Evergrande

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Who will win the 2015 Asian Champions League?

    As expected, UAE representatives Al Ahli and Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal made it to the last four of the 2015 Asian Champions League. But for whichever of these two teams progresses to the biggest club game that the continent has to offer, there are plenty of shadows looming on the horizon. The question being asked from west to east is a simple one: who can stop Guangzhou Evergrande?

    #360win: Trip to watch Bayern vs Dortmund
    UCL Fans Top 5: Di Maria leads way in Week 1
    Husband bars Iranian footballer from competing

    Robinho, Goulart, Elkeson, Paulinho – there has never been a more formidable foreign force in Asian football. Three of these four Brazilian stars, and they really are stars and would be wherever they played in the world, scored last weekend as Guangzhou Evergrande won 3-0 at the home of Shanghai SIPG to move above the hosts into first place in the Chinese Super League. Shanghai have a few stars of their own, not least Asamoah Gyan in attack and Sven Goran-Eriksson on the bench but few would bet against Guangzhou winning a fifth straight domestic title.

    On the continent, the Cantonese giants are also favourites to make it two triumphs in three years in the Asian Champions League. A team full of big Brazilian names, a healthy proportion of the China national team, and a World Cup winning coach. Marcello Lippi won the 2006 global event and led Guangzhou to the 2013 continental prize. Luiz Felipe Scolari lifted the golden trophy in 2002 and has set his sights on 2015.

    Can Luiz Felipe Scolar follow in Marcello Lippi's footsteps?

    Big Phil arrived in southern China in June, signed Robinho from Santos and Paulinho from Tottenham Hotspur and has been doing pretty well. The win over Shanghai was an impressive one and dismissing the dangerous, if slightly inconsistent, Kashiwa Reysol of Japan in the quarterfinal, was fairly straightforward thanks to a 3-1 away win in the first leg. Guangzhou have the ability to win, and sometimes do so comfortably even without playing especially well. Under the more pragmatic Scolari, it is a habit that could serve the team well.

    And there are the likes of Zhang Linpeng, the intelligent central defender who was recently the subject of a bid, too low said his team, from Chelsea. It happened too late in the transfer window but the tattooed stopper will surely be on his way west, even if not to West London, before long. Kim Yong-gown lines up alongside him – a player who Lippi said was good enough for Manchester United when this was a bigger compliment than it is at the moment. There's also Zheng Zhi, the 2013 Asian Player of the Year, an intelligent midfielder who gets more authoritative as the years go, plus the improving Zheng Long and the mercurial Gao Lin in attack. Guangzhou’s threat is not just a Brazilian one.

    And there is a winning mentality. The 2013 continental title is still fresh and the four domestic crowns speak for themselves. The team is capable of going anywhere and getting a result.

    This is not to say the team is unbeatable. Gamba Osaka, the 2008 Asian champions, will be a tricky opponent in the eastern semi-final. The Japanese team overcame Jeonbuk Motors in the very last moments of their quarter-final tie. Guangzhou see Gamba as a more comfortable test but compared to the Koreans, the Kansai club – with veteran Yasuhito Endo in midfield and a survivor from the 2008 team – are more likely to take the game to Guangzhou. Takashi Usami has been in great form in attack in the J-League but has struggled to match that for Japan. If he can find his form against Guangzhou, it could be very interesting indeed.

    Guangzhou are not accustomed these days, especially in Asia, to teams going at them. Gamba are likely to do just that. It may not work, and it would be something of a surprise if it did, but it will at least give Al Ahli and Al Hilal a guide on how to play against Guangzhou.

    There is hope. There is major pressure on the Chinese club. The investment and the stars (though for some reason Robinho has not been registered for the Asian Champions League) means that media, fans and owners expect no less than the Asian title. There is also a fierce Chinese Super League title race too. Al Alhi and especially Al Hilal may enjoy being the underdog in the final – the Saudi Arabians know from bitter and recent experience that being the overwhelming favourite is not all it is cracked up to be.

    Yet for all that, fans in Dubai and Riyadh will surely be cheering Gamba Osaka on in the semi-final. Guangzhou are not only the team to beat, they are the team you want to avoid.

    Recommended