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View from the North: Guoan’s ACL adventure ends in depressing fashion

I had a whole match report prepared and as I went through my notes, I realized I would have to go back and watch video from the match again. As that would be like stabbing myself in the heart another five times, I’m saying screw it. If you want a match report, one that will be very unbiased and actually be coherent, go to the AFC’s website and read what they have to say.

Guoan simply didn’t show up, they left their hearts and brains back in Beijing. It’s absolutely disappointing because its a repeat of what happened a month ago in Korea. The Beijingers were missing players due to injury and cards, but that still doesn’t excuse the performance.

Some fans are calling for manager Jaime Pacheco’s bald head, but that’s just a sign of how stupid some fans can be. Other than the seemingly familial relationship Pacheco has with Zhang Xizhe (outside of them actually being related or Pacheco receiving thick red envelopes, I can’t explain how Zhang gets into the starting lineup), it’s hard to question Pacheco. The reality is that Guoan doesn’t have the players to compete with Korea and Japan, hell, no Chinese team does outside of Evergrande and that’s only because of their very expensive triumvirate of foreigners.

A depressing night indeed, I’m going to go hit the sake now…

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Brandon Chemers aka B. Cheng aka A Modern Lei Feng – is a name which may be familiar to many in the Chinese blogosphere. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for Wild East Football and is one of the lonely souls writing about Chinese football in English for the last 10 years. Chemers' credentials are second to none – his former blog focused not only on the fortunes of his beloved Beijing Guoan FC, but a multitude of other aspects of Beijing life. He’s deservedly built a reputation in the Chinese blogosphere as an insightful observer of not only Chinese football, but also the wider picture of life in modern China and its many layers. For WEF, beyond writing about Guoan, he often focuses on fan culture and the business of Chinese football.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Dan Orlowitz

    18/04/2012 at 13:10

    I’m not entirely convinced the last 30 minutes of the match happened because Guoan completely gave up and after they *continued* to make dangerous challenges Tokyo wasn’t in the mood to push the issue. As glad as I am to have not seen as much kung-fu soccer as there was in Beijing, it’s always a bit of a disappointment when the other team doesn’t even show up.

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