Chinese fans have the impression that the overall level of Southeast Asian football is low and seems to be not enough to be afraid. However, in the past few years, their strength has really improved a lot. Chinese football, it's time to recognize the reality!
In the AFC Champions League, the youth teams of Guangzhou and Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League are suffering fiasco in succession, but the three teams from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have all successfully won the second round, breaking out a lot of cold and triggering public opinion in Korean football.
Singaporean team Lion City Mariners beat Daegu last season's K-League runner-up Daegu 3-0 to finish 3rd in Group G with 3 points, higher than Shandong Taishan in 4th place. Thai side Baton United defeated last season's Korean FA Cup winner Jeonnam Tenryu 2-0 to finish 4th in Group F with four points. After a 5-0 win over Guangzhou, Johor Bahru upset last season's K-League runner-up Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 to top Group I with six points.
Southeast Asian teams have managed to beat South Korean teams that seem to be at a better level in the past, which was hard to imagine before, but that's how it happened in 2022. Next, let's take a look at these three club teams from New Mattei: Lion City Mariners, Johor Bahru and Baton United.
01.
Lion City Sailors
Lion City Mariners, winner of last season's Singapore Premier League, topped the league table this season, formerly known as Home Office Football Club, was founded in 1996 when the Singapore Professional Football League was founded. In 2020, it was officially renamed lion city sailors football club, and the home stadium is Jalan Besar Stadium.
In May 2021, South Korean coach Kim Do-hoon took over as head coach of the Lion City Mariners, where he led Ulsan Hyundai to the 2017 Korean FA Cup and the 2020 AFC Champions League. When the 2021 season ended, the Lion City Mariners won the Singapore Professional League for the first time in 18 years, and Kim Du-hoon won the first league title of his head coaching career.
The overall strength of the Lion City sailors is not bad, the current total value of 6.18 million euros, is currently in an upward period. Among the team's squad is Kim Shin-woo, a 34-year-old South Korean striker who left Shanghai Shenhua in January this year, and has scored six goals in seven league games this season. Homegrown striker and new MVP of the 2020 season, Kwa Junyi, has played 20 goals and 16 assists for the team in 40 games in all competitions since joining in 2020.
02.
Johor Bahru
Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club was founded in 1972 and its home stadium is the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, which is a team that cannot be underestimated in Southeast Asian football in recent years, winning the Malaysian Premier League championship for eight consecutive times from 2014 to 2021, which is malaysia's eight champions.
Johor Bahru's squad is almost dominant in the domestic league, similar to a Chinese Super League team in previous years, not only has strong local players, but also a number of naturalized players and foreign players, and the whole team is worth 7.25 million euros.
What is the concept of a €7.25 million worth? For example, the current Guangzhou team is worth 6.48 million euros, Guangzhou City is worth 6.78 million euros, and only 8 of the 16 teams in the Chinese Super League are currently worth more than Johor Bahru.
Foreign aides include Italian striker Frestieri, who is no.1 in the league, and Brazilian striker Bergson, who has scored 10 goals in six games. In terms of naturalized players, there are former Spanish striker Bienve, former Brazilian striker Guillermo and former Spanish midfielder Inza.
03.
Baton United
Many fans may not have heard of Baton United, but they beat Buriram United to win the Thai Super League last season and are temporarily ranked second in the league this season. BG Pathum United Football Club was founded in 2006 and its home stadium is the BG Stadium. Compared with the veteran team Buriram United in 1970, it can be described as a new force in Thai football.
Baton United is also a team to be reckoned with a total value of 6.58 million euros. Brazilian striker Diogo, 34, who has 11 goals and two assists in 16 games so far this season, and Ilhasan Vandi, a 23-year-old Singaporean striker who played for Lion City sailors, such as Diogo, 33, Thailand's No. 10 Dilasi Dangda and a 23-year-old Singaporean striker who played for Lion City sailors.
In January, the 54-year-old former Assistant Coach of the Japanese National Team, Makoto Kuramori, took over as baton United head coach and led the team to five wins and one draw in six recent matches in all competitions, drawing 1-1 in the first round of the AFC Champions League with Melbourne City, the champions of last season's Australian Premier League.
04.
Recognize reality
The decline of Chinese football, at present, there is no place to see the head. But in contrast, it is no accident that southeast Asian football, which was once weak, has been improving, and three new Matei teams have beaten three South Korean teams. If the Chinese Super League team sends all the main forces to play this time, it may not be able to win steadily.
In recent years, many things have been enough to refresh fans' previous football cognition: the strength of Chinese men's football has been inferior to that of the former Asian fish belly Vietnam, the glory of professional leagues has no longer turned to operational difficulties, Japanese players are spread throughout the major leagues in European football, southeast Asian football has a good momentum of development, and the rise of North American football in the United States and Canada has increased dramatically...
Southeast Asian football is no longer as weak as it once was, and in the past decade, it has been enough to beat Chinese teams in various competitions for adult and youth teams, and even compete with Teams from Japan and South Korea.
When others are constantly improving, opponents who have not been paid attention to have been equal and will even be surpassed by them. Many things do not come together in a day, one side is precipitating, and on the other hand, the problems are accumulating more and more.
In the past, it was said that we wanted to "rush out of Asia and go to the world", but now it is difficult to stay in the first or second popular ranks in Asian football!