Lekhwiya undaunted by Evergrande
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 20, 2013
Coach Eric Gerets insists Qatar's Lekhwiya are undaunted by the task of facing Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League ahead of Wednesday's first leg at Tianhe Sport Center.
Former Belgium international defender Gerets replaced Djamel Belmadi in October 2012 following a two-year spell with the Morocco national team and has guided Lekhwiya to their first appearance in the last eight of the AFC Champions League.
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Qatar's Lekhwiya travel to Tianhe Sport Center on Wednesday for the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final against Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande. |
Lekhwiya, who also finished second in the Qatar Stars League last season while winning the Crown Prince Cup under Gerets, topped a tight Group B ahead of UAE Pro League side Al Shabab Al Arabi before recording a 3-2 aggregate victory over Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal in the Round of 16 having failed to advance past the group stage on their debut appearance a year earlier.
"Guangzhou are by far the best team in China this season. They are a fantastic team and have a fantastic coach in Marcello Lippi. We have seen videos of their games and our conclusion is that they are a very strong team," said Gerets.
"But we are not under pressure for the next game, we are just satisfied that we have a chance to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time."
Lekhwiya must travel to China for the first leg on Wednesday following a training camp in Malaysia with the Qatar Stars League season not starting until September, before hosting the return fixture in Doha next month.
"We have learnt that we don't need to be afraid of the other teams in the AFC Champions League as long we play our best football," added Gerets.
"It is a big advantage that they started their league a long time ago, but all we can do is make sure that we prepare well to deal with the circumstances. We will do our best to prepare as well as we can."
Two-time Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou, who are coached by FIFA World Cup-winning coach Lippi, are appearing in the quarter-finals for a second consecutive season having won Group F before beating Australia's Central Coast Mariners in the last 16.
And unlike Lekhwiya, Guangzhou are in the middle of their domestic season and currently top the Chinese Super League table by 14 points after beating Changchun Yatai 2-1 on Friday thanks to goals from Brazilian Elkeson and Argentinian Dario Conca.
Elkeson, who has scored 20 goals in 21 appearances this season, has been added to the Guangzhou squad for the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League at the expense of Paraguayan Lucas Barrios, while compatriot Muriqui is the top scorer in the continental competition with eight goals.
Elsewhere, in-form Korean champions FC Seoul travel to Saudi Arabia to face 2012 finalists Al Ahli, while Japan's Kashiwa Reysol entertain Al Shabab and Thailand's Buriram travel to Iran to face Esteghlal.
FC Seoul, who are making their third AFC Champions League quarter-final appearance in five years, recorded a last-gasp 3-2 win over Daejeon Citizen on Thursday to seal a seventh win in eight league matches having initially made a slow start to the defence of their domestic title.
Brazilian defender Adilson, though, will be suspended for FC Seoul although coach Choi Yong-soo does have Cha Du-Ri at his disposal after the former Korea Republic international was added to the squad for the knockout stage.
Al Ahli, like domestic rivals Al Shabab, have yet to resume their new league campaign with the Saudi League beginning at the weekend.
Kashiwa, though, warmed up for their visit of Al Shabab by extending their unbeaten run to seven games with a goalless draw against Vegalta Sendai in the J.League on Saturday.
Both Al Ahli, who lost last year's final to Korea's Ulsan Hyundai, and Kashiwa are unbeaten in the AFC Champions League this season.
Finally, both Esteghlal and Buriram enjoyed wins prior to their first leg meeting at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Wednesday.
Esteghlal continued their strong start to the defence of their domestic title as a 2-1 win over Damash Gilan on Thursday extended their winning run to three games, while Buriram beat Chiangrai United 2-0 on Saturday to remain a point clear at the top of the Thai Premier League.
Defender Theerathon Bunmathan will miss the first leg due to suspension as Buriram look to follow in the footsteps of 2003 AFC Champions League finalists BEC Tero Sasana.
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