DOHA (Qatar): Beijing FC or FC Tokyo will become AFC Champions League quarterfinalists for the first time when they clash in the Round of 16 at Education City Stadium on Sunday.
Unbeaten Group E winners with a club record 16 points, Beijing were one of the standout sides in the group stage, but they’ll need to buck a historical trend if they are to go any further in the competition.
The Chinese outfit have reached the knockout stage on three separate occasions – the most recent coming in 2015 – but fell at the first hurdle each time, with all three defeats coming against Korean opposition.
Head coach Bruno Génésio said Beijing FC were determined to break new ground in the AFC Champions League.
“It’s a very good opportunity for myself and for the club to make a new record in the club’s history. We’ve got a very good opportunity,” said Génésio. “I hope all my players will concentrate on the how we play the game instead of thinking only about the result.
“I believe if our players perform very well, we have a good chance of getting the result, and the chance to qualify for the next round will be an extra kind of motivation for our players. We’re not thinking about anything negative like pressure, we’re motivated by this.”
Génésio’s charges certainly appear to be made of sterner stuff in 2020 and are a side side bursting with attacking options with the likes of Spanish midfielder Jonathan Viera playing a key role in their group stage dominance.
They also had the luxury of qualifying for the knockout stage with two matches to spare, allowing the Frenchman to use some of his star names sparingly in their final group stage matches against FC Seoul and Chiangrai United plus having also done their homework on FC Tokyo.
