- Title: CHINA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL: China rejoices as Guangzhou wins Asian Champions League
- Date: 9th November 2013
- Summary: GUANGZHOU CITY, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA (NOVEMBER 9, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CROWD WATCHING LIVE-STREAMING OF MATCH UNDERNEATH CANTON TOWER VARIOUS OF FANS MAKING NOISE WITH PROPS VARIOUS OF FANS WATCHING GAME IN FRONT OF GUANGZHOU SKYLINE CROWD WATCHING GAME MARCELLO LIPPI, HEAD COACH OF GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE, SITTING DOWN FOR PRESS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF REPORTERS (S
- Embargoed: 24th November 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA4F7BR212SFWLLBQBX0FVEKE35
- Story Text: Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese winners of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League when they drew 1-1 with FC Seoul in the second leg on Saturday (November 9) to take the title on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate tie.
The Chinese champions dominated but struggled to convert pressure into goals until Brazilian forward Elkeson broke the deadlock in the 58th minute, sending the majority of the red clad 58,000 capacity crowd at the Tianhe Stadium into raptures.
FC Seoul were level four minutes later with their first chance of the game, Dejan Damjanovic firing home to make it a nervy finale but Guangzhou survived to take a deserved title.
Across the Pearl River underneath the southern city's iconic Canton Tower, about a thousand fans clad in red jerseys shouted and applauded as they watched the game live on a big screen.
Guangzhou's victory means they will be Asia's representative at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco next month while Italian World Cup winner Marcello Lippi became the first coach to win both the European and Asian Champions League titles.
The Italian, who won in Europe with Juventus in 1996, was thrown in the air by his players after they collected their winners medals.
"The game went as we thought. We knew perfectly well that it wasn't going to be easy. We could have certainly done more in the second part of the first half. But we managed to score a goal. we scored a beautiful goal and we started very well in the second half. We created a great opportunity with Muriqui, then we scored a goal, and so we scored a goal in the first opportunity possible. At that point, it was all up in the air because if we'd lost that goal we'd be out. Instead, I think that I can seriously and sincerely say that we really deserved this," Lippi said after the match.
His expensively-assembled Chinese side were strong favourites after drawing 2-2 in the first leg in Seoul last month and their milestone success was celebrated throughout the country despite their failure to hit the heights set in previous rounds.
The coach who brought the Italian national team to World Cup glory in 2006 said his Chinese team has made significant strides and he hoped the improvements could be carried onto the national team.
"Competing for an important international trophy like this one is certainly a prize for all Chinese football. The growth of Guangzhou -- because we must talk about them growing -- in a year and a half the team has grown a lot since the beginning of the championships in China. I always said to the players -- you are good enough to win in China but you are not good enough to win the Cup. To win the Champions you need something more. And that something more -- the team has managed to attain it. They are much better tactically, more organized, they're proud. We started to win everywhere, against different nations, 3-0, 4-0, to play at home and away in the same manner. The team has grown a lot. And with the team, a lot of players have grown, and many of those players are in the national team. The hope is that this is also growth for Chinese football," Lippi said.
Choi Yong-soo, head coach of FC Seoul, said his team worked hard but had to accept defeat in the end.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate our opponents Guangzhou Evergrande on their championship. When we were preparing for this game, my players went through a lot of tough training in terms of physical training and more. In the end, we could not win the game, but in the process we enjoyed the joy that the competition gave us," Choi said.
Some of the 60,000 fans poured out of the sold-out Tianhe Sports Centre and paraded around the stadium to celebrate their team's victory.
Many had flown into the southern city from different corners of China.
Sun Baiyang, from the northeastern Heilongjiang province, called himself the fan who travelled furthest to watch the game.
"I feel very satisfied. We witnessed Chinese history in the making. Last time when we were so excited was 11 years ago, when China qualified for the World Cup and I also paraded on the street back then. Today we Chinese are very proud. We screwed the Koreans. We Chinese are the best. Chinese are the champions," Sun said.
Another fan Yan Ping, who took a two-hour flight from central Sichuan province, said the championship marked a huge leap for Chinese soccer.
"We pulled through from the bottom of the valley. Through the nurturing and training of the Guangzhou Evergrande team, the mindset of the Chinese players has improved significantly. This is a great leap for Chinese football players and fans," Sun said.
The victory has brought a breathe of fresh air to Chinese soccer, which has been long plagued by institutional problems including an opaque and powerful football bureaucracy, corruption, lax oversight, poor management, piecemeal youth training schemes and widespread underground football betting rings. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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