‘Guangzhou’s AFC win a boost for Chinese game’
guangzhou — Marcello Lippi says Guangzhou Evergrande’s AFC Champions League win is a major boost for Chinese football, ending a drought for the nation’s clubs stretching back nearly a quarter of a century.
The World Cup-winning Italian coach, who already has multiple league titles and a UEFA Champions League win on his impressive CV, wrote his name into Chinese football history with the win on away goals after a 1-1 second leg home draw against FC Seoul on Saturday.
Evergrande reached the AFC final in impressive form, smashing eight goals past their semi-final opponents, Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol, after scoring freely throughout the tournament. They drew the first leg of the final 2-2 in Seoul.
“Winning this cup is very important for Chinese football,” said the silver-haired Lippi, now eyeing an unprecedented continental and domestic treble after romping to the league title in his first full season at the helm.
“From our side, we grew a lot and we tried to reach this level of being able to compete at international level with other teams.”
“We won again this year (the Chinese league), which is something positive for Chinese football and for Guangzhou Evergrande,” the 65-year-old added.
“We were able to do this two years in a row so the thing that we missed out last year that we recuperated this year is enough effort and will to win the Champions league.” The last Chinese side to rule Asia were Liaoning, who won the former Asian Club Championship in 1990, before the long barren spell for China’s clubs. —
We were able to do this two years in a row
Lippi