Kitchee return to AFC Champions League looking for improvement after three-year absence
- The 10-time Hong Kong champions will take on China’s Shandong Taishan, Port FC of Thailand and the play-off winners from group J
- Kitchee won only one match while losing five when they made their tournament debut in 2018
Kitchee are looking for improvement in the AFC Champions League as they make a return to Asia’s top-tier club competition after finishing bottom in the group stages in their last appearance three years ago.
The 10-time Hong Kong champions will take on regional heavyweights Shandong Taishan of China, Thailand’s Port FC in group J, along with the play-off winners that will consist of either Shan United of Myanmar, Cerezo Osaka and Melbourne City, after the draw was conducted in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
“We have avoided drawing against the 2020 ACL winning side [Ulsan Hyundai] from South Korea and that can be down to luck,” said Kitchee coach Chu Chi-kwong. “Of course, we are looking for improvement from our last appearance. With half of the team having appeared in our maiden 2018 Champions League campaign, the players should treasure the opportunity of returning to top-flight club competition.
“The Champions League features the best clubs in the region. Shandong have changed some of their foreign players from last season but teams from the mainland are always a danger, while the Thai side are fast improving. Unlike last time when we played on a home-and-away basis, we won’t have any home ground advantage in the 2021 tournament, which will make life more difficult for us.”
Damjanovic chasing ACL history with Hong Kong champions Kitchee
Kitchee won only one game in the 2018 campaign – against visitors Kashiwa Reysol of Japan – after Cheng Chin-lung’s brilliant strike in a 1-0 win. Kitchee lost all five other matches before finishing bottom of their group.
Hong Kong gained the last spot in the group stage thanks largely to the pull-out of North Korea and the expansion of the tournament from 32 teams to 40 teams of 10 groups, divided between East and West regions. The group stage will be played in a centralised venue – which will be up for bidding by member associations – with the East zone kicking off on April 21 to May 7 through a double round-robin format of each group.
Only the top team from each group will qualify for the next round, with three best runners-up clubs of each region also going through.
Kitchee crowned Hong Kong Premier League champions
Kitchee have signed 39-year-old Montenegro veteran Dejan Damjanovic, whose 14 years playing in Asia in South Korea, China and Saudi Arabia have produced more than 350 goals, with a tally of 36 Champions League goals – second to South Korea’s Lee Dong-gook. But the biggest worry for coach Chu is not so much the high level competition but the suspension of the Hong Kong Premier League from November due to the fourth wave of the pandemic. There has been no fixed date for restarting the domestic campaign with all club training coming to a standstill.
Meanwhile, both teams from Hong Kong will play in the 2021 AFC Cup group stage. Eastern Long Lions and Lee Man will meet Tainan City of Taiwan and Athletic 220 FC of Mongolia in group J, the only group under East zone. There was supposed to be a preliminary round involving Lee Man and teams from Macau, but both Macanese teams have withdrawn from the tournament.
Set up in 2007, Lee Man would be making their debut in the regional cup competition after finishing third in the league last season as runners-up R&F have pulled out of the Hong Kong Premier League. Eastern won the spot as FA Cup champions.
The four teams will play a single round robin format in one week starting from May 24 and with only one group in the zone, the top team will advance to the inter-zone semi-final.
