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Chinese club Chengdu Longcheng, led by Korean soccer legend Seo Jung-won, took the stage in the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) finals for the first time in the club's history.
Chengdu won 3-0 in the 2025-2026 ACLE Playoff (PO) against Bangkok United (Thailand) at Phoenix Hill Sports Park Football Stadium in Chengdu, China on the 12th (Korea time) with Yang Ming-yang's first goal and Felipe's multi-goal in the second half.
Seo Jeong-won, who won the ACLE qualification by ranking third in the Chinese Super League (CSL) in the 2024 season, passed the final gateway to the finals and succeeded in going to the finals.
It has been seven years since it was founded as a professional team in 2018. Coach Seo took the helm of Chengdu in 2021 and put the team in the first division in a year, and advanced the team by ranking 5th, 4th, and 3rd in the CSL from 2022.
Coach Seo, who also made bombshell remarks calling for the normalization of the club at a press conference in July against various tyranny of the club's leadership, did not run away and continued to challenge. And eventually put the team on the best stage in Asia.
Coach Seo, who took the last train of the ACLE finals, is likely to face K-League teams such as Ulsan, Gangwon and Seoul in the league stage (group league). The league stage, where the final schedule is confirmed on the 15th, will be held from September to February next year, and eight games per team will be played to determine whether they will advance to the round of 16.
In the East Asian region, 12 teams will compete, including three South Korean teams, three Japanese teams (Vissel Kobe, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Machida Zelvia), three Chinese teams (Shanghai Port, Shanghai Shenhua and Chengdu), one Thai team (Buriram United), one Australian team (Melbourne City), and one Malaysian team (Johoru Darul).
Chengdu, who has been on the rise with four consecutive wins, including the FA Cup, showed his will to win by investing all of his key resources such as `K-League native" Felipe, Romulo, Timo, and Yang Mingyang, a midfielder naturalized for the Chinese national team.
Chengdu, who struggled to open the opponent's goal in the first half, scored the first goal that he had been waiting for in the 23rd minute of the second half. Yang Ming-yang hit a corner kick full of Romulo with a header from the gate.
Chengdu, who pierced his scoring blood, widened the gap three minutes later in the 26th minute of the second half, when Felipe "Brazilian goaltender" received Delgado's pass in a counterattack and scored an additional goal with a sensational left-footed shot. Felipe received Romulo's pass in the 38th minute of the second half and scored a multi-goal with his left foot and a winning wedge. With Felipe's multi-goal and Romulo's multi-help, Chengdu eventually confirmed its advance to the ACLE finals with a 3-0 victory.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
