Shandong Luneng striker Li Jinyu has called on the club's fans to rally behind their team as they take on Korean title-holders Seongnam Ilhwa in the AFC Champions League tonight.
Li, who finished as the Chinese Super League's leading scorer last season, is hoping that the support of the Shandong Sports Center crowd will help them past a side that reached the final of the AFC Champions League in 2004.
"Seongnam are one of the best teams in Asia and we will be the underdogs in the battle against them," said the Chinese international.
"We need our fans to be well organised and they need to get behind us because, as I see it, the fans' enthusiasm is as important as our performance on the pitch. If they can do well, then we can take full advantage of playing at home to win the game."
Li's sentiments were shared by the club's Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Zivkovic.
"We need to beat them in spirit and make the most of their mistakes," said the former Jubilo Iwata winger. "Home advantage will be key to our victory."
Shandong have been building the game up as the toughest in the club's history and both teams go into the Group G encounter off the back of opening day victories.
Seongnam defeated Vietnam'sDong Tam Long An 4-1 in the snow two weeks ago while Shandong downed A-League side Adelaide United to set up an intriguing encounter between the two east Asian heavyweights.
Shandong coach Ljubisa Tumbovic, who will watch the game from the stands as he continues to serve out a touchline ban, highlighted the Korean side's strength in the final third of the field.
"We must be wary of Seongnam's strong attacking line," said the Serbian.
"I will carefully watch the video (of Seongnam's games) and teach my players how to deal with them."
Central defender Shu Chang will be included in Tumbakovic's squad after recovering from an ankle injury picked up in the Chinese Super League loss at the hands of Shanghai Shenhua last week after featuring in the 3-0 win over Qingdao Zhongneng on Saturday.
Seongnam, meanwhile, go into the game off the back of a 3-1 win over Army side Gwangju Sangmu on Saturday thanks to goals from Brazilian striker Itamar, Son Dae-ho and Kim Dong-hyun.
With an experienced squad, the Koreans will be tough to beat even though coach Kim Hak-bom claims to know little about his team's opponents.
"We still know very little about the Shandong team. " he said upon arriving in Jinan.
"I know they have an ace striker called Li Jinyu and he will pose a big threat to us."
"Seongnam are one of the best teams in Asia and we will be the underdogs in the battle against them," said the Chinese international.
"We need our fans to be well organised and they need to get behind us because, as I see it, the fans' enthusiasm is as important as our performance on the pitch. If they can do well, then we can take full advantage of playing at home to win the game."
Li's sentiments were shared by the club's Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Zivkovic.
"We need to beat them in spirit and make the most of their mistakes," said the former Jubilo Iwata winger. "Home advantage will be key to our victory."
Shandong have been building the game up as the toughest in the club's history and both teams go into the Group G encounter off the back of opening day victories.
Seongnam defeated Vietnam'sDong Tam Long An 4-1 in the snow two weeks ago while Shandong downed A-League side Adelaide United to set up an intriguing encounter between the two east Asian heavyweights.
Shandong coach Ljubisa Tumbovic, who will watch the game from the stands as he continues to serve out a touchline ban, highlighted the Korean side's strength in the final third of the field.
"We must be wary of Seongnam's strong attacking line," said the Serbian.
"I will carefully watch the video (of Seongnam's games) and teach my players how to deal with them."
Central defender Shu Chang will be included in Tumbakovic's squad after recovering from an ankle injury picked up in the Chinese Super League loss at the hands of Shanghai Shenhua last week after featuring in the 3-0 win over Qingdao Zhongneng on Saturday.
Seongnam, meanwhile, go into the game off the back of a 3-1 win over Army side Gwangju Sangmu on Saturday thanks to goals from Brazilian striker Itamar, Son Dae-ho and Kim Dong-hyun.
With an experienced squad, the Koreans will be tough to beat even though coach Kim Hak-bom claims to know little about his team's opponents.
"We still know very little about the Shandong team. " he said upon arriving in Jinan.
"I know they have an ace striker called Li Jinyu and he will pose a big threat to us."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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