Kitchee’s Dejan Damjanovic targets AFC Champions League goal record after 21-day quarantine ends
- The Montenegrin has scored 36 goals in the ACL and wants to break the record of South Korean Lee Dong-gook, who has 37
- The 39-year-old is part of ACL squad who face Guangzhou and Thailand’s Port FC in group J
The 39-year-old is one of the most successful strikers in the tournament’s history, scoring 36 goals – one fewer than South Korean Lee Dong-gook – over 14 years representing teams from South Korea, China and Saudi Arabia.
He hopes 10-time Hong Kong champions Kitchee can help him fulfil his ambition of becoming the ACL’s record goalscorer in group J in April and May.
“One of my priorities is to play in the ACL and that is the main reason I joined Kitchee,” said Damjanovic. “They are playing in the ACL and they are giving me the chance to try to help them and to break the record of becoming the best scorer in ACL history. I hope my goals and my performances can help Kitchee do something in the ACL.”
Kitchee are in group J of the ACL with China’s Guangzhou FC (formerly Guangzhou Evegrande), Thailand’s Port FC and the winners of a play-off qualifier. The Hong Kong Football Association is bidding to host the matches in the city, though they face tough competition from Thailand.
Damjanovic said he visited Hong Kong in 2016 and met his friend Nikola Komazec, who has played for South China, Pegasus, Southern and Kitchee.