Almost a quarter of billion dollars worth of Brazilian talent will be on the field in Shanghai tomorrow as two Chinese Super League teams meet in the second round of the 2017 Asian Champions League.
Big names such as Hulk, Oscar, Alex Teixeria, Ramires and Elkeson have all helped Shanghai SIPG and Jiangsu Suning progress past the group stage to set up the first-ever all Chinese meeting in the tournament’s history.
With two-time winner Guangzhou Evergrande also in the last 16, China has more teams in the second round than ever before, with all three teams that started the tournament surviving the first round. It is another sign of the growing strength of the big spending Chinese league.
“We will have to be at our best when we play Jiangsu,” said Shanghai coach Andre Villas-Boas ahead of the first leg, which takes place tomorrow with the return match in Nanjing a week later. “We know all about their quality and they know all about us. We have been playing well and we will have to continue that form.”
The two teams come into the game in very different situations. Hulk’s fifth league goal of the season helped the team to a 3-1 win in Friday’s Shanghai Derby at Shanghai Shenhua. The three points put SIPG second in the table behind Guangzhou.
Despite the growing challenge from Chinese teams, Guangzhou Evergrande remains the only club to bring the trophy back to the country.
Under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guangzhou is looking to become the first club to win three Asian Champions League tournaments.
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