Scolari has a point to prove after past failures in the Asian Champions League
2002 World Cup-winning coach, now in charge of Guangzhou Evergrande, is confident going into the quarter-finals
Guangzhou Evergrande soccer coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has a point to prove after past failures in the Asian Champions League, and with his star-studded Chinese team in fine form, there is much to be confident about going into the quarter-finals.
The 2002 World Cup-winning coach was hired by Uzbekistan’s Bunyokdor in 2009 charged with delivering the continental crown. The Tashkent team was eliminated at the 2009 quarter-finals and only made it as far as the second round in 2010 before the Brazilian left.
Kashiwa Reysol are not a weak side and we must pay 100 per cent attention and give 100 per cent effort against them as they deserve to be at this stage in the competition
Scolari returned to Asia in June to succeed Fabio Cannavaro as coach of Guangzhou, a team that has won the last four Chinese Super League titles and the 2013 Asian Champions League.
A trip to Kashiwa Reysol for the first leg on Tuesday night will not be easy, but Guangzhou have memories of an 8-1 aggregate win over the Japanese team in the 2013 semi-finals when the Chinese team, under Marcello Lippi, went on to win the title.
“Kashiwa Reysol are not a weak side and we must pay 100 per cent attention and give 100 per cent effort against them as they deserve to be at this stage in the competition,” Scolari said.
Kashiwa are the only team from the eastern half of the draw – the tournament is split into east and west Asia until the final – never to have won the Asian Champions League.
The other game in the region sees the South Korean and Japanese champions meet, with Jeonbuk Motors looking to overcome Gamba Osaka for a first continental win since 2006.