Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the final team to book their place in Group F of the AFC Champions League, with Monday evening’s 4-3 penalty shootout win over Chiangrai United. The Japanese team will now pit themselves against Melbourne Victory, Daegu FC, and Guangzhou Evergrande, to seek progression to the Round of 16. The Football Sack‘s Ngau Kai Yan takes you through all three of Melbourne Victory’s opponents, in an in depth preview.
Daegu FC
Hailing from the fourth largest city in South Korea, this is Daegu FC’s first foray in the AFC Champions League, in their 17-year existence. Playing out of the brand new Daegu Forest Arena in 2019, the K League side has only just returned back to the Korean top flight in 2016, having spent three uncharacteristic seasons in the K League 2. The only side out of the four group F teams to have qualified via a cup run, Daegu FC were the shock winners of the KEB Hana Bank FA Cup, defeating the league’s runners-up, Ulsan Hyundai, 5-1 on aggregate. This was also the club’s first piece of silverware in their history.
Domestic season
One of the favourites to make the drop, Daegu managed an honourable 7th place finish out of 12 teams. Led by the club’s former sporting director, André Gaspar endured a torrid start to Daegu’s 2018 campaign, with the side picking up only one win in their first 15 games. Heading into an extended World Cup break in June, Daegu were left straddling at rock bottom at the halfway mark of the season.
With the exception of Korea’s No.1, Jo Hyeon-uh, Daegu set off on an intensive two week training camp in Namhae County, which would prove instrumental in their resurgence later in the campaign.
A tactical overhaul and an influx of fresh foreign imports saw them change their fortunes completely, after league resumed. Despite going on multiple unbeaten runs that stretched more than three matches, they finish 8th, and entered the unwanted bottom half of the split rounds. Much like the Scottish Premiership, the final five rounds of the K League pit the top six teams and the bottom six teams in their two respective groups, to intensify the championship / relegation race.
With two draws and three wins, Daegu topped the bottom group, finishing the league at 50 points. Within days, Daegu were victorious against Ulsan Hyundai in both legs of the FA Cup, a pleasant ending to what could’ve turned out to be another forgettable season.
Tactical rundown
André Gaspar struggled with the side’s most effective formation in the early half of the season, whipping out multiple variations of a back four, but nothing seemed to work. After implementing a 3-4-3 that won them their second game of the season only on match day 16, Gaspar never looked back.
Daegu’s strongest front is likely to be a deadly combination combination of Brazilian journeymen in Cesinha, Edgar Bruno da Silva, and new signing Dário Júnior. Playing with two deep lying wing backs, the midfield pairing of attacking midfielder Hwang Sun-min and defensive midfielder Ryu Jae-mun should be called upon to face Victory.
What Victory need to fear
Edgar Silva has eight goals in 15 outings and Dario has three goals and four assist in 14, as a winger for Neftchi Baku, the Azerbaijani side he left. But César Fernando Silva Melo, also known as Cesinha, might be the one that keep Victory fans up all night.
The versatile playmaker is not only the league’s assist king (11 assists and eight goals in 25 starts), he was also awarded the Most Valuable Player award in the FA Cup, with eight goals in eight appearances. Here’s a highlight reel of the 29 year old, with adorable yet helpful graphic indications highlighting Cesinha whenever he’s on the ball. Tricky, clinical and well travelled, Victory’s leaky and uncoordinated defence might be exposed by just these three Brazilians alone.
What Victory could capitalise on
Despite boasting one of South Korea’s best performers at the Russian World Cup, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-uh, clean sheets have been a rarity for this Daegu side. Throughout the season, Jeong-un Hong, captain Han Heui-hun and Park Byeong-hyeon have featured in most of Daegu’s three men backline.
Posted by 대구FC – DAEGU FC on Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Apart from the 28 year old Han, Park (25) and Hong (24) are vastly inexperienced, both only just experiencing their first breakthrough seasons of their career with the Daegu, fresh from university. Big name transfers into Daegu has boosted all other areas, except in central defence. With no other rumours adrift, this backline should be reinstated for Daegu’s AFC Champions League push. The pace and expertise of Victory’s potent strike force should torment the very heart of Daegu’s defence, and outscoring this side remains key.
Daegu somewhat possessed an irksome habit of not performing at home last season. They collected the second least number of points amongst all other K League teams while playing at their home ground, Daegu Stadium – one of the stadiums featured in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup. However, Daegu will be playing in a spanking new boutique 12,415 seater stadium come 2019. Will Daegu benefit from playing two legs of their group F ties ‘away’?
Images of Daegu FC's new football stadium, being circulated on the Internet. Outside looking of main building (main stand) looks like Stamford Bridge. Can't wait to visit here soon! #KLeague #DaeguFC pic.twitter.com/u3XDaXZSlL
— Daegu_freak (@Daegu_freak) December 3, 2018
Daegu’s first encounter (away) with Victory falls on the 5th March, just four days after a game with Jeonbuk Motors. Apart from the fact that Daegu are up against the 2018 league champions, that also happens to be their season opener. With a fresh start and a new roster of players, even the best of managers knows that good pre-season results count for nothing. Kevin Muscat is well into the season to know his side’s best XI for the occasion, while Gaspar’s men might not have even kicked into fifth gear when they make the trip to Melbourne.
Melbourne Victory VS Daegu FC, Tuesday 5 March 2019, AAMI Park
Daegu FC VS Melbourne Victory, Wednesday 8 May 2019, Daegu Forest Arena
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao
By far the most successful side in the history of the Chinese game, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao has won it all. Since the establishment of the Chinese Super League (CSL) in 2011, Guangzhou won their first division one title, and went on to do so for six consecutive years. Within this seven year period, they have won the AFC Champions League twice, and progressed to three quarter finals.
#10YearsChallenge
Posted by Guangzhou Evergrande F.C (广州恒大足球俱乐部) on Wednesday, 23 January 2019
However, 2018 was not the South China Tigers’ year. Losing out to fellow CSL outfit Tianjin Quanjian on away goals rule, Guangzhou failed to progress past the round of 16 in the AFC Champions League. Back home, Guangzhou’s dominance of Chinese football was ended by Shanghai SIPG, winning the league on the second last match day. Nonetheless, the club gained entry into the 2019 edition of Asia’s premier tournament by finishing as runners up.
Domestic season
Led by Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro, Guangzhou performed disappointingly in the first half of the season, drawing or losing more than half of 11 games before the World Cup break. In the second half of the season, Guangzhou won 15 out of a possible 19, but eventually lost out to a more consistent Shanghai, led by Oscar and Hulk. Throughout the season, not once were they in the driving seat of first place, and they were even knocked out by second tier Guizhou Hengfeng in round 16 of the Chinese FA Cup.
Guangzhou eventually finished five points behind Shanghai, despite possessing the highest goal difference in the league at 46 points. Cannavaro’s management of the team not only concerned fans but the higher management of the club. Not only did they give up their coveted crown to Shanghai, but they lost both games against them this season. However, the former Real Madrid man is set to stay at Tianhe Stadium in the foreseeable future, at his second stint at the club.
Tactical rundown
Cannavaro has stuck to a 4-2-3-1 in nearly all games last season, with former Benfica man, Talisca, running the show in the hole. The sole striker role was rotated between Alan, Ricardo Goulart or the club’s all time top scorer, Gao Lin. With the foreign pair now departed, it is unknown if Cannavaro will choose to rely on the 33 year old Gao Lin, entrust youngsters Yang Liyu or Wang Jinze to lead the frontline, or revert one of the many wingers he has at the club to take on the striker role.
Guangzhou Evergrande v Beijing Renhe 6-1 #guangzhou #evergrande #beijing #renhe #china #CSL #CSL2018 #superleague #nevergiveup (staff) pic.twitter.com/vihom2nw6Q
— Fabio Cannavaro (@fabiocannavaro) October 20, 2018
The club’s star player, Paulinho, will likely be paired up with either defensive midfielders Huang Bowen or Zheng Zhi. While both are on the wrong side of 30 (Zheng Zhi is 38!), they do a fine job of accommodating the free scoring Paulinho.
What Victory need to fear
Paulinho and Talisca are responsible for 44% of Guangzhou’s goals in the CSL last season (excluding contributions from the departed Ricardo Goulart and Alan). Special attention has to be paid particularly, to Paulinho. The 30 year old showed that he still possessed the ability to play at the top tiers of European football.
The former Brazilian international was the perfect solution for everything that wasn’t going right for Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona. Neymar’s void meant goals were lacking, the extra dimensions of play that Xavi and Dani Alves brought to the field vanished with their departure, and Sergio Busquets’ niggling injury problems rounded off a leaky, unconvincing Barcelona side. Paulinho’s arrival instantly brought much needed respite to the Catalan giants. A defensive midfielder with his interests very much attuned to that of a goalscorer, Paulinho is often caught out of position when Barcelona lose the ball, but his teammates are willing to work hard to stall opposition attacks to ensure Paulinho returns to get those tackles in.
In return, he works tirelessly for his team in other aspects. The former Spurs player essentially doubled up as a third winger (much like what Arda Turan and Ivan Rakitic failed to do), making bursting runs into the box at pivotal moments. And it worked like a charm. With nine goals come season end, Paulinho was Barcelona’s third highest scorer, behind Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez – and Barcelona went on to do the double. Now back in the CSL, Paulinho’s running riot, scoring a goal every 132 minutes last season, totalling 13 in 19 matches. Victory would have to be at their collective best, to snuff out the real lynchpin of Guangzhou.
What Victory could capitalise on
In what was billed as the CSL title decider, Shanghai SIPG defeated Guangzhou on match day 28 to go five points clear, ultimately winning the league on the subsequent match day, the second last of the season. In that match, Guangzhou fielded their oldest squad in their history, at an average age of 31.2. And it wasn’t an anomaly. In 2017 and 2018 alone, Guangzhou’s starting XIs made up the club’s top 10 oldest XI in their nine years of playing in the CSL – all above an average age 30.
It might pay to have many former Chinese internationals in the side, but even the stars themselves know that might prove to be a liability, weighed down by a natural loss of quickness and fitness. While navigating through a rough patch last year, owner Xu Jiayin threatened a club shakeup of senior members of the squad, both local and foreign, sending a stark warning to most squad players.
Apart from 24 year old right back Deng Hanwen (not to be confused with the Victory defender), all other regular starters in Guangzhou’s backline last season are all aged 30 and above. Victory players like Elvis Kambosa and Kosta Barbarouses should look to run rings around these defenders, and look to hit them on the break. Guangzhou’s board has desperately attempted to freshen up their squad with young Chinese players like Wei Shihao and Liu Yiming, but critics feel that these signings are just not good enough for this Guangzhou side.
It is perhaps testing times for Cannavaro, who has to ensure both the squad’s performance and oversee the transition of this ageing side. Victory couldn’t have found a better time to pit themselves against China’s best club.
Guangzhou Evergrande VS Melbourne Victory, Wednesday 10 April, Tianhe Stadium
Melbourne Victory VS Guangzhou Evergrande, Tuesday 23 April, AAMI Park
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Despite being one of Japan’s most accomplished football clubs, Sanfrecce Hiroshima has yet to mount a serious challenge for the AFC Champions League. Based in the Hiroshima’s Asaminami-ku ward, the club has only made it to the round of 16 once, in 2014, where they were defeated 3-3 on away goals by eventual champions Western Sydney Wanderers. Hiroshima are not having the best of years of late.
Their last J1 League title came in 2015, the year that they memorably finished 3rd in the FIFA Club World Cup. In the subsequent two years that followed, they came 6th, and then narrowly avoided relegation with a 15th place finish. Hiroshima returned to their best last year, narrowly missing out on the title that would make them the most decorated club side in Japan. As runners up of the J1 League, Hiroshima directly entered the play-off round. With tonight’s (19 February) win over Thai outfit Chiangrai United, Hiroshima was the last team to book themselves a spot in group F. Here’s a feature on them, by FIFA.
Domestic season
What started out as a rejuvenated turnaround in club fortunes for the Sanfre faithful soon turned into a sour one. In Hiroshima’s first 12 games (11 wins, one draw), they already accumulated more points than they did so for the previous campaign. By the time the league paused for the World Cup, Hiroshima were a full nine points at the top of the table. Their collapse after the break was spectacular.
When the league resumed on match day 16, Hiroshima were unable to rack up back to wins, until match day 25. Their 3-1 win over Kashima Antlers was to be their last of the season. In last nine matches of the season, Hiroshima lost seven matches and drew two. By matchday 28, Hiroshima surrendered their lead to Kawasaki Frontale, who had been arduously chasing them since the start of the season.
Despite a 2-1 loss to Cerezo Osaka on matchday 32, Kawasaki wrapped the league with two matches in hand. Hiroshima finished the season with 57 points, 12 behind Kawasaki. A poor showing in the J. League Cup and the Emperor’s Cup rounded up a trophy-less season for the side.
Tactical rundown
Manager Hiroshi Jofuku stuck with an unchanged 4-4-2 system for a large portion of their season. Hiroshima are likely to stick to the two deep lying midfielders that served them well last season – Sho Inagaki and captain Toshihiro Aoyama. Yoshifumi Kashiwa should take his natural left wing position while attacking midfielders Kosei Shibasaki or Hayao Kawabe will fight for a place on the right.
Jofuku’s first choice striker pairing last season featured Patric and loanee Teerasil Dangda but with the latter now returned to Muangthong United, new signing Douglas Vieira looks to be the likeliest candidate to plug the gap, and form a Brazilian partnership up top.
本日のスターティングイレブンは、こちら‼️
清水航平選手がキャプテンを務めます。
勝利をつかむために、ICHIGANとなって戦いましょう✊#sanfrecce pic.twitter.com/IPBdenoq73— サンフレッチェ広島 公式 (@sanfrecce_SFC) February 11, 2019
What Victory need to fear
Scoring over half of Hiroshima’s goals last season, Patric was two away from matching Sagan Tosu’s entire goal tally of 29. Though his playing career spanned across 11 clubs, the 31 year old journeyman is very much feeling at home in Japan.
Having won the league with Gamba Osaka in 2014, the striker led the charge for Hiroshima’s title push last year with his mercurial form. Having permanently signed from Salgueiro from Brazil’s Série C, Patric will be looking to convert those air miles to titles once more, and finish off his career on a high, as this could very well be his peak.
What Victory could capitalise on
With the retirement of Kazuyuki Morisaki, Japanese international Toshihiro Aoyama remains the sole experienced defensive midfielder at the club. Alternatives for Aoyama come in the form of youngsters, the best of them being 20 year old Taishi Matsumoto. Hiroshima should be looking to enforce this area with more signings, or they risk being overrun by not only Victory, but by other J League clubs as well.
Hiroshima’s win over Chiangrai was their first competitive win since September 22 last year. While it was considered to be a routine win, Hiroshima have yet to be put to the sword by an outfit of the same stature. Niggling issues that struck them late last year might be unresolved. Hiroshima only have the luxury of three competitive outings in the J League before playing their first AFC Champions League game, against a well oiled Victory. It is crucial that Jofuku and his boys hit the ground running – quick.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima VS Melbourne Victory, Tuesday 12 March, Edion Stadium Hiroshima
Melbourne Victory VS Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Wednesday 22 May, AAMI Park
Feature image: Ngau Kai Yan
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