AFC Champions League
Preliminary Round
Beijing Guoan v Chonburi
Workers' Stadium, Beijing
Saturday 15th February, 2014
My pre match interview with Beijing Guoan fan, Brandon.
Q - Please can you introduce yourself
My name's Brandon, though I'm known around Wildeastfootball, the website that I serve as Editor in Chief and have been contributing to for the past 3 season, as B. Cheng. I'm in my early 30s and originally from the US, though I've been living in China for the last 7 years and before that on and off for a number of years.
Q - How long have you been supporting Beijing Guoan?
For 12 years now, though seriously for the past 8 years.
Q - Please can you describe your typical match day routine.
Unfortunately because of Beijing regularly being in the ACL and China's efforts to take care of the ACL sides, it means a lot of weekday matches, so I'm pretty much rushing from the office to the stadium, but for weekend matches, there's a great brewpub a block away from the stadium that I like to head to for a pre-match beverage or two.
Q - What sort of reputation does the club have in China?
Being the capital side, we're not well liked. It doesn't help that our slogan is "always be number 1" and yet the club has only won a single title.
Q - What sort of season did you have last year?
It was a solid year, finishing 3rd in the league, getting into the Round of 16 and putting up a good fight against eventual finalists FC Seoul in the ACL. We also had a semi final run in the domestic cup.
Q - How satisfied were you with the team's performance last season?
The team surpassed my preseason expectations and were close to what I'd pictured as a best case scenario.
Q - What are the fans' expectations for the club?
That's a good question and I haven't really taken the pulse of too many other fans yet. Speaking for myself, I'm optimistic we'll be in an ACL position at the end of the year and hopefully keep in contention in the league. It would be nice to get to the final of the domestic cup this year, though.
Q - What sort of crowds do Beijing Guoan attract?
Some of the best in China. Evergrande have had the biggest the past few years, but Beijing can expect in the mid to high 30,000s each match.
Q - How does this compare with other Chinese League clubs?
Outside of Evergrande, no other side can compare when it comes to crowds.
Q - What do you think about your new coach?
Perhaps I should ask which one? The club is rumored to have signed Gregorio Manzano just in the past day or two, but I'm guessing he's not going to be in charge on Saturday though. I'm very disappointed in the club's decision to fire Stanojevic and the time it took to find a replacement, but I'm hoping for the best.
Q - What are your expectations for the new coach?
That's a tough question. He hasn't really won much and he's never coached outside of Spain, so who knows. I'm taking a wait and see approach to things and just hope he can adjust to China quickly, it can be very hard for a lot of foreigners.
Q - How did Beijing Guoan qualify for the AFC CL play offs?
By finishing 3rd in the league this year. Unfortunately because of the spots being changed, that wasn't enough for automatic entry this time around.
Q - What are your expectations for the AFC CL this season?
I'd want the side to get into the Round of 16 again, from there it depends a lot on how things are going with the manager and how the draw works out.
Q - What sort of coverage will Saturday’s match get in the local media?
Beijing's sports media is all about Guoan, so the match is sure to get a lot of coverage.
Q - How seriously is the AFC CL taken in China?
China takes it extremely seriously. For the media it’s another chance to promote nationalism (at least now that Chinese sides are doing okay), fans come out in huge numbers, and of course a Chinese side won the competition last year.
Q - What are you expecting next Saturday?
I think the weather is going to be a big factor and I expect Guoan to win in a low scoring match.
Q - Which players do we need to look out for?
If Guoan expects to go anywhere this year, they'll need Peter Utaka to come through with a big contribution in his first full year in the Chinese capital. Of course the other big threat is our double digit goals and assists man and WEF's Chinese Player of the Year last season, Zhang Xizhe.
Q- What sort of crowd do you think you'll attract on Saturday?
I know the cheaper tickets went very fast, I'm expecting the typical large crowd as fans are really excited to be watching football.
Q - What do you know about Thai football?
I know it’s on the rise, it appears to be doing something right, and whether it’s a club side or the national team, Chinese sides know not to underestimate them or they'll be in for a long day.
Q - What do you know about Chonburi FC?
To be honest, next to nothing.
Q - What sort of reception can Chonburi expect from the home crowd?
From the moment they step onto the pitch and the players see the sea of green as 30,000+ hold up their scarves, they'll know it's an away match, and Worker's Stadium is sure to be loud.
Q - What sort of welcome will travelling Chonburi fans receive from the locals?
There's always a "Chinese way" of doing things and that extends to football. Being the capital of a country that is very concerned with "harmony", there will be security everywhere and there's unlikely to be much interaction between the fans. Inside the stadium, there may be taunts aimed at the away end, but after the match if they have the chance to interact with local fans, they can expect a friendly atmosphere.
Q - Should Chonburi win, how will the local fans and media react?
The media has a very close relationship with the club so for the most part it's not going to be too harsh and there will be plenty of excuses made, but the fans are going to be very cheesed off and I think a lot of fingers are going to be pointed at the club for not having the side ideally prepared for the new season.
Q - Would you care to make a score prediction?
I'm going to go with 1-0, a low scoring affair as Beijing won't be fully match fit yet.
Q - Anything else you'd like to add?
The one thing about Saturday that will be disappointing is that the ultras style supporters who've been in the north end of Worker's Stadium for every match since the club returned there in 2009 won't be there in full force on Saturday. The match isn't included in Guoan's season ticket package and the club and/or the company that handles the ticket sales didn't do a special buy for the supporters section, thus forcing many to other parts of the stadium, a very disappointing situation indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment