AFC Champions League: Kitchee boss attributes success to persistence, despite a ‘minuscule’ team budget
- Kitchee started in AFC Champions League in 2015 but was eliminated in preliminary round
- Club boss Ng now looks forward to more success after becoming the first Hong Kong club to reach knockout stage of top tier regional cup tournament
Kitchee officials have attributed their success in the AFC Champions League to gradual improvement built under a stable team, as they became the first club from Hong Kong to reach the knockout stage of the top tier continent cup competition.
A dramatic 2-2 draw against Vissel Kobe of Japan in the last group match on Sunday night gave the Hong Kong champions the opportunity to become one of the top 16 teams in the competition.
“Kitchee has been a very stable team evolving step-by-step to improve its coach and player quality,” Kitchee president Ken Ng Kin said. “The long-term strategy to accumulate improvements without drastic changes has helped us close the gap with the top teams in Asia, even though our team budget is minuscule in comparison.”
Hong Kong national team manager Jorn Andersen praised the performance of Kitchee, saying their success would have a positive impact on Hong Kong football as his team prepares for the 2023 Asian Cup qualification matches.
Kitchee started their Champions League campaign in 2015 and featured in the preliminary round two, but were eliminated by Thai side Chonburi following a 4-1 defeat. South China were the first club from Hong Kong to qualify for the tournament when they were also eliminated in the qualifying round two of the Cup’s 2014 version.
Since then, the Hong Kong heavyweights have become a regular side in the Champions League and came close to reaching the round of 16 last year when they were edged out by Pohang Steelers of South Korea only by goal difference as one of the three best runners-ups across five groups.
After advancing through the group stage, Kitchee now meet group G winners PG Pathum United of Thailand in round of 16 which takes place on August 18 or 19 along with the three other quarter-final matches of the East Region. All following games will be decided by a single elimination over one leg in a centralised tournament format.