Step by Step to Win

　　 "Group G, Pohang Steelers, Adelaide United, Tokyo FC, Shandong Luneng."

　　 When the result of the draw came out, Gao Shunyao who was resting was also watching the result of the draw with Li Ze and Chen Sirou. When looking at the team of his group, it took a long time before he sighed fiercely. Such a lottery is not what he expected, and it can even be said that it is very different from the lottery he expected.

　　Although the team has been on holiday, Gao Shunyao is still paying attention to his team's grouping during the break. And he never hides that he hopes that his team can draw a weaker group to ensure a smooth qualifying. However, when he saw the grouped teams, Gao Shunyao was almost speechless-they were drawn to such a terrible opponent, which is absolutely unexpected.

　　 The AFC has just been reformed in 2008. After the reform, in accordance with the regulations of the AFC, only countries with league points in the AB level can participate in the AFC. While there are only Japan and South Korea in the A-level leagues in Asia, and a dozen of the B-level leagues, most of them are concentrated in West Asia. Only China in East Asia, Mongolia and India in East Asia, or Hong Kong and Taiwan. They have their own leagues, but none of them meet the standards of Grade B. North Korea, which has a good national football strength, does not have its own professional league at all. Therefore, in the final analysis, only China, Japan, and South Korea dominate the East Asian football games. Countries like Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia are playing together.

In the East Asian Division, there are 16 teams in four groups. China, Japan and South Korea rank first, second, and third in the Asian leagues. Each league has 4 teams. Although the Australian Super League The level is not low, and even the top strong teams have enough strength to make the Chinese, Japanese and Korean teams headaches, but it is more embarrassing that it is only a semi-professional league. Some players participating in the Australian Super League also have part-time jobs in their spare time. The size of the league is not good, so they were suppressed in the AFC Champions League, occupying only two places. Among the remaining places, the 2009 rule is that the Indonesian league occupies one and a half places, and the remaining half. This place was won by Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore, and they competed for second place in the Indonesian league.

　　 And this result formed a quite interesting situation of grouping. There are only four teams in East Asia, and the principle of evading the same country. This will make each team have a team from China, Japan and South Korea, plus a team from other leagues. And this avoidance principle, when teams are divided into groups, naturally there is no strong and weak division like the Champions League. Strong and strong teams, weak and weak teams are all likely to encounter in the AFC Champions League.

　　Because the AFC has just restructured, there is no so-called avoidance principle in the current AFC draw. Last year, J-League champion Kashima Antlers and K-League champion Suwon Samsung were drawn to the same team. But this year, this rule has not changed. After all, the East Asian leagues are limited. There are only a few leagues. If the seed system that each league champion avoids is really implemented, then the lottery will basically become an allocation. It's not easy to adjust. The AFC has always been lazy, so the draw is still possible for any team.

　　 Such a rule is certainly not good news for those very strong teams: if a top strong team draws another league's top strong in the group stage, it will consume a lot of energy for this. For a team such as Tokyo that is not considered strong, such a draw is a chance and good luck. No one knows what the final result will be. If there are strong teams in the squad, that is definitely not good news for Tokyo, and if the squads are all weak, then maybe they can also be promoted without any worries.

"As far as this year is concerned, the team I most hope to be drawn is the team that comes out of the qualifying round. Although a team like the Singapore Warriors can be regarded as the dominant team in the Singapore League, what is the population of Singapore? Such an overlord is simply a hero. It's one-eighth of Tokyo's level."

Before the team’s holiday, in the team, teammates also talked about this. At that time, they had also joked. They did not hide their idea of ​​wanting to meet a weak team. One thing, it’s best to draw Pesipura-Indonesia’s team is not very strong, it’s easier than against the Australian team."

When talking about which team they want to meet, the first thing that teammates think of is the country that everyone considers to be underdogs: the qualifying round has not yet been completed, and the final participating teams will be Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The league champion and Indonesia's second place are decided, and the players of this team are not very optimistic.

　　 Of course, what they said about Singapore is a bit ridiculous, but at least compared to the Australian Super League teams, they still hope to get these underdogs. In the AFC Champions League in recent years, the Chinese Super League has not played very well, and the Japanese teams have quite a bit of disregard for the Chinese Super League. And if you can meet another underdog, then within a group, it will become a smooth promotion of Japan and South Korea, and other elimination situations. Such a grouping can at least ensure that the team will qualify.

　　 In the past few years, Japan has played well in the AFC Champions League. Group promotion is also the most basic requirement. If even this requirement cannot meet Tokyo, it will definitely not be acceptable. Although it is the first time to play the AFC Champions League, the Japanese team, which has always regarded itself as the first league in Asia, is naturally confident of qualifying in the group.

　　 However, full confidence does not mean that there must be good luck. Looking at his group, Gao Shunyao smiled bitterly. It's really difficult to qualify for such a group.

　　 It can be said that Tokyo drew a lottery.

The distribution of this group is extremely depressing: last year’s champion team Pohang Steelers, as well as the 2008 runner-up, last year’s Australian Super League champion Adelaide United, such a group can definitely be called the group of death. . Tokyo FC finally made it into the AFC Champions League, but this draw was not good enough.

In this group, first of all, there is the most powerful enemy, Pohang Steelers. Although the Japanese have always been unable to get along with the K-League, they like to say that the strength of the K-League is poor, but no matter what, Pohang Steelers is Last season’s AFC Champions League team, although the defending champion does not necessarily mean the strength or the strongest, but it is always okay to say that they are the favorite team to win the championship.

　　 There are four teams in this group, and it is quite possible for Pohang Steelers to occupy a spot as the defending champion.

　　 The other contender for the spot is likely to be Adelaide United.

　　 POSCO is considered to be one of the strong enemies, and Adelaide United cannot be underestimated. The Australian team has a very good football tradition, and their players generally have a physical advantage. The huge difference in this aspect makes the J-League players a headache. And Adelaide United is the leader of the Australian team. In the 2008 AFC Champions League, they also reached the final. Although they only got the runner-up in the end because of Lucas's excellent performance, this record is still It is still the best result of the AFC in the AFC.

　　The AFC divisions are separated from the Middle East and Asia. Among the East Asian teams, the most feared ones are the K-League and the Australian Super League, but Tokyo FC has chosen the two strongest opponents in these two leagues. As the defending champions of the AFC Champions League, Pohang Steelers, and the best results of the Australian Super League, Adelaide United, these two teams are suffocating in terms of name and strength.

　　 Looking at his group like this, Gao Shunyao is also somewhat speechless.

　　 "Why is this luck so good? I just met the group of death!"

　　 After seeing the result of the draw, Gao Shunyao was also stunned. He was not the only one who was stunned. Seeing this result, even Li Ze and Chen Sirou were also somewhat unbelievable.

　　 "This is definitely the most difficult group to play...you are in trouble." Seeing the result of the draw, Li Ze immediately spoke.

Among the four East Asian groups, this group should be the strongest. Although Kashima Antlers unfortunately won the K-League champion Jeonbuk Hyundai, the two teams in their group are Changchun Yatai and Indonesia. Champion Pesipura. When it comes to competition, their group competition is not as fierce as Group G-after all, two teams, two weak teams and three teams are very likely to qualify.

　　 Of course, the one that Li Ze thinks is not competitive is Shandong Luneng.

　　 Li Ze admitted that he hadn't watched the Super League for a long time, and he didn't care much about the Super League's AFC situation before. In his memory, Shandong Luneng seems to have not played very well in the AFC Champions League. This team has a good performance in the league, but the foreign war is always a layman. Especially last season, their strength is even more worrying.

　　Last season ~www.ltnovel.com~ Luneng's actual performance is actually hard to say is the real fourth. After the end of last season's Super League, they and Shenhua, TEDA with 45 points. And such rankings and points form an interesting cycle. According to the rules of the Super League, teams with equal points will be ranked first in the competition, while Shandong has one win and one loss against Shanghai, and a double play against Tianjin. However, Shanghai had one win and one tie against Tianjin. With mutual points, Luneng beat Shanghai's 7 points by 9 points and got the right to qualify.

This rule has made Shanghai’s bosses scolded for a long time-first because Shanghai won Shandong 4-1, and Shandong returned it back 1-0. The difference between the goal difference and the number of goals is so big, if you just look at it. The relationship between the two teams should be Shanghai qualifying. But in the end, Shandong pushed Shanghai to get the place, and he really didn't accept it. Secondly, the relationship between TEDA and Luneng in the Super League has always been relatively close, and some people even suspected that TEDA's loss to Luneng was originally a release, which made boss Zhu feel unbearable and screamed endlessly.

　　 However, looking at the luck of this draw, Li Ze felt that Boss Zhu was afraid that there was no need to complain. There are Pohang Steelers and Adelaide United in the group. Whether it comes from Shandong or Shanghai, the difference is really small.

　　 A group like Tokyo can’t be crowded out, let alone Luneng?

　　 "You guys are really dangerous this year." Li Ze and Gao Shunyao said casually. He frowned, but he was thinking about other things in his heart.

　　 This year's AFC is different from previous years: this is the World Cup year, and major events will be more valued. This year's AFC has been played well. It was supposed to be an important bridge to help Gao Shunyao go to Europe, but now it seems that it is very difficult.