Global Cebu to parade new look in AFC debut

The new-look Global Cebu FC makes its debut in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2018 with an away match against V.League 1 runner-up FLC Thanh Hoa at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam.

“Players are in good shape mentally and physically. Away (match) is always tough but we will do everything to get a good start in our AFC (Cup) campaign,” said Global assistant coach Glen Ramos.

Global will showcase its new acquisitions today after losing some of its key players in last year’s AFC Cup campaign, in which the Cebuano side went as far as the Inter-Zone semifinals.

Global some of its key pieces - skipper Misagh Bahadoran, central defender Amani Aguinaldo, winger Hikaru Minegishi and Dennis Villanueva.

Global had a total of eight new acquisitions in the transfer period. The club signed 19-year-olds Jordan Jarvis and Chima Uzoka; FC Meralco Manila players Curt Dizon, Jinggoy Valmayor, Daniel Gadia, Florencio Badelic Jr. and South Korean defender Lee Jeongmin; and Ilocos United FC’s Angelo Marasigan.

“We had five weeks of preparation to let the new players gel with the old ones. Based on our friendlies, they showed that they can play together,” said Ramos.

Global had two exhibition matches with its new rosters. Global outclassed Malaysian second division club Sabah FA, 5-1, and lost to JPV Marikina FC, 1-0.

Global, however, will miss the services of young striker Paolo Salenga, veteran midfielder Paul Mulders and Marasigan.

“We will try our best because this is an away game. We have to adjust also to the place,” said Ramos. “We are adjusting to the weather. Our first training last night was freezing. The team is doing good. We had high intensity training and did some set pieces.” Thanh Hoa is fresh from the AFC Champions League. The Vietnamese club won its first match, beating Eastern Sports Club, 4-2. Thanh Hoa, however, got eliminated in its second match after a 5-1 crushing by K League 1 club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.