RETURN TO RIVALS GUANGZHOU FOR DEFENDING ACL CHAMPIONS WESTERN SYDNEY

Defending champions Western Sydney Wanderers will face continental rivals Guangzhou Evergrande in the group stage of the AFC Champions League following Thursday’s draw in Kuala Lumpur.

Tony Popovic’s side became the first Australian club to be crowned Asian champions by edging out Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal following a narrow 1-0 aggregate victory after stunning 2013 champions Guangzhou en route in the quarter-finals on away goals in what was a huge upset by the A-League team in their maiden campaign.

Western Sydney will also be joined in Group H by either 2007 champions Urawa Red Diamonds or Kashima Antlers, dependent on the winner of Japan’s Emperor’s Cup, and one of four teams who advance from the play-offs in the East.

“We had a great battle with Guangzhou last year, a big match in Parramatta Stadium and an exciting one in China and we look forward to continuing what could become a very healthy Asian rivalry between the two clubs,” said Western Sydney club representative Christian Layland.

“Although we dealt with all the logistics of travelling around Asia very well last year, with experience you get a little bit better, so we’ll certainly draw from everything we learnt from last time and put that into place in this year’s competition.

“We have a very high standard of expectation within the club. We set those standards high last year, we expected to do well last year and wanted to be champions. And this year is no different: we want to repeat that performance.”

Compatriots Brisbane Roar, who defeated Western Sydney in the 2014 A-League Grand Final, will face Montedio Yamagata or Urawa as well as K-League Classic side Suwon Bluewings and a play-off winner in Group G.

Elsewhere in the East, K-League champions and 2006 winners Jeonbuk Hyundai will meet Chinese FA Cup holders Shandong Luneng and Vietnamese champions Becamex Binh Duong in Group E in addition to a team from the play-offs.

And in Group F, 2008 champions and J.League winners Gamba Osaka will face two-time Asian champions Seongnam FC, Thailand’s Buriram United as well as the final play-off winner.

In the West, last year’s finalists Al Hilal will look to go one better starting with a Group C that includes Foolad Khouzestan from Iran as well as Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv Tashkent and one of four play-off winners from the West.

“I think we have a balanced group which is good for us,” said Al Hilal board member and media officer Abdulkarim Al Jasser. “We had a lot of experience from last year and we will certainly qualify from the group.

“I think we will start strong this time because we still feel disappointed from the result of last year’s final and this will encourage us to play strong from the beginning.

“We have a good team, a good coach and good players. We hope we will have good luck this year and we will be better than last year. Other teams will be afraid of us, but we will not be afraid of them.” 

Defeated by Al Hilal in last year’s semi-final, Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates will also be keen to go further having come so close in the previous edition. The inaugural AFC Champions League winners have been drawn in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab, Uzbek League champions Pakhtakor and a play-off winner.

Elsewhere, Saudi champions Al Nassr return to the continent’s premier club competition after a three year absence and will be joined in Group A by Lekhwiya from Qatar and Iran’s Persepolis as well as a team advancing from the play-offs.

Finally, Nasaf Qarshi of Uzbekistan will hope to hit the heights of their greatest ever continental campaign when they reached the semi-final of the 2001-2002 Asian Club Championship by emerging from a Group D that also comprises the UAE’s Al Ahli, Tractorazi Tabriz of Iran and the final play-off winner.

The eight outstanding places in the group stage of the AFC Champions League will be decided by the play-offs which take place over four rounds at the start of February with the first group stage matches set for February 24 and 25.