Asian Champions League 2 Preview

Between 2012 and 2023 Kitchee qualified for either the Asian Champions League or the AFC Cup every season. After consecutive fourth place finishes in the league and a lack of cup success ruined the streak, their title win last season earned them a return, albeit the restructuring of Asian club competitions means they enter the second tier Asian Champions League 2. While Kitchee lost four of six games in the 2023/24 Champions League, they did make history in 2022 by becoming the first Hong Kong team to reach the knockout stages, and in 2018 they were the first Hong Kong team to win a game.

Kitchee will be looking to make Mong Kok Stadium into a fortress for the competition, with the small stadium hopefully being intimidating to players used to much bigger stadia. As Kitchee used Hong Kong Stadium in 2023/24, and the two previous campaigns were hosted in neutral venues due to COVID-19, Kitchee have not played a continental game at Mong Kok since April 2019. Kitchee club president Ken Ng stated after winning the league in May that the aim was to go one better than in 2022, meaning the quarter finals. This is a rather ambitious aim, but a slightly favourable group draw will have fans dreaming. But fans are not being arrogant or complacent; given the vast sums spent by clubs across Asian football, Kitchee will be underdogs.

Kitchee have never played any of our opponents before, so in this preview we look at Kitchee's record against teams from their leagues. We also look at key players and tactics that we can expect, and look at the experience in Kitchee's squad when it comes to continental competition. 

Kitchee have lost all five previous encounters with South Korean opposition, with a qualifying defeat on penalties to Ulsan in 2017 coming in between four losses to Jeonbuk Hyundai, in 2018 and 2023/24. Against Malaysian opponents Kitchee have picked up three wins, two draws and three defeats, with one of these being another qualifying penalty shootout, this time against Perak in 2019. Kitchee are yet to take on any Cambodian opposition in a competitive fixture, but Hong Kong have played Cambodia a lot in recent years, suffering a first defeat in over fifty years in June.

Note: venues and times subject to change. All times given are in HKT.

Gangwon- 17/9 8.15pm (home), 26/11 6pm (away)

History and route to ACL2

Founded in 2008, they have never won a trophy. They did finish second in the K League in 2024, which qualified them for last seasons ACL Elite (their first foray into Asian competition. They were knocked out byeventual runners up Machida Zelvia in the last sixteen after beating Shanghai Shenhua and Vissel Kobe in the group. Gangwon had a long fascination with merely making it into continental football, and are determined to win their first trophy. Given their league position Gangwon could still make the ACL Elite through the league but will fancy their chances at winning ACL2 and qualifying that way- they are probably up there with FC Seoul and Machida Zelvia as the strongest East Asian sides.

Key players and tactics

Lee Gi-hyuk

The majority of their squad is Korean, with star centre back Lee Gi-Hyuk starting all three games for South Korea at the recent World Cup. He previously made his debut against Hong Kong in 2022 EAFF, a game where veteran left back Hong Chul scored and assisted. Forward Kim Dae-Won was Gangwon's top scorer last season, and also contributed seven assists.

Despite foreign player limits being abolished in Asian competitions, Gangwon do heavily rely on their locally developed talent, and young players get regular minutes. New signing Karim Mammar is a Swedish centre back who has mostly played in Sweden, and he may partner Montenegrin international Marko Tuci, who has been at Gangwon for three years. In attack recent arrivals Nigerian winger Jesse Sekidika and former Israeli youth international forward Abdallah Hleihel will pose major threats to our defence. Sekidika played at Brooke House College with captain Tan Chun-lok, before playing for Benfica's academy and clubs in Serbia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, while Hleihel has spent the bulk of his career in his homeland. For the opening game Gangwon will be without star player Lee Gi-hyuk as well as Lee Seung-won and Shin Ma-ha through Asian Games commitments.

With a deep squad and dealing with a few injuries and suspensions Gangwon have changed their line up frequently in recent weeks, making it hard to predict. Typically they set up in a 4231 or 442 while pressing high, although there have been experiments with 541 and 343 while counterattacking. Given the talent they possess relative to Kitchee and other teams in the group, we will likely see them pressing high. Gangwon seek to create triangles and overloads in central areas, and attack the half-spaces, often with wide players cutting inside.

Chung Kyung-ho

Manager

Former assistant Chung Kyung-ho took over in December 2024 after Yoon Jong-hwan could not negotiate a new contract after securing second place in the K League. Gangwon is his first managerial role; he had spent the last decade as an assistant across Korean football. He took Gangwon to the ACL Elite knockout stages in their first continental appearance. An experienced South Korean international, he went to the 2006 World Cup.

Kuching City FC- away 8.15pm 15/10, home 8.15pm 3/12

History and route to ACL2

Founded as Kuching FA in 2015 to represent the Kuching district in Sarawak, they rebranded as Kuching City FC in 2021. They have only been in the Malaysian Super League since 2023, and finished 4th and 2nd over the last two seasons, and given the dominance of Johor Darul Tazim (JDT) no other club stands a chance of success. They rose through the leagues, starting off in the fourth tier and reached the first tier after only seven years as a club. Qualified for their maiden continental adventure by finishing second in the league after JDT secured the double yet again.

Key players and tactics

Safawi Rasid

Kuching have a number of local and foreign players on loan from JDT, which would not be allowed in many leagues around the world. Experienced attacker Safawi Rasid is one of these, a two time Malaysian player of the year. He has over seventy international caps and twenty two goals, including one against Hong Kong in 2022. Goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli spent eight years as a backup at JDT, and kept fourteen clean sheets for Kuching last season, while left winger Ramadhan Saifullah also spent time at JDT, before joining Kuching in 2024 initially on loan, and had over twenty goal contributions last season. Bosnian striker Ajdin Mujagic has just been signed on loan from JDT, and has scored twenty five goals in just over a year in Malaysia, firstly for Sabah. Australian winger Dylan Wenzel-Halls joined this summer after two outstanding years with Penang, and won the 23/24 AFC Cup (essentially the precursor competition) with Central Coast Mariners. Towering Brazilian Gabriel Peres made twenty two goal contributions in just over seventy games for Sabah before moving this summer, an insane record for a centre back, while they are captained by three capped Nigerian centre back James Okwuosa (who played with Kitchee flop Ogenyi Onazi in all three of his international games).

Kuching spent the start of last season typically in a 433 or 442 setup, but as the season progressed they also utilised 352 and 343. Despite only playing six games so far this season they have already used three different formations as they search for their best eleven. Kuching often start games aggressively, aiming to force mistakes and win territory. They also attempt a pragmatic pressing strategy, targeting key players but still keeping an element of composure. When playing a three at the back, the wing backs tend to push high and wide, becoming a 325 shape in possession, and the presence of three centre backs allows the wingbacks to function as auxiliary wingers and in Aidil Sharin they have a very adaptable head coach who alters the shape depending on the opponent and the game state.

Aidil Sharin

Manager

Kuching are managed by Singaporean Aidil Sharin, who has been in charge for nearly three years. Spent four years as an assistant at Home United in Singapore (now called Lion City Sailors) and two years as manager, before managing Kedah of Malaysia and Persikabo 1973 of Indonesia before joining Kuching in August 2023. He was in charge of Kedah when they beat Tai Po 5-1 in qualifying for the 2020 ACL, with new Kitchee signing Dudu captaining Tai Po, and has had deep runs in the AFC Cup with Home United in 2017 and 2018 and with Kedah in 2022.

Phnom Penh Crown- away 8.15pm 29/10, home 6pm 5/11

History and route to ACL2

Founded in 2001 as Smart United, they are eight time Cambodian champions (a national record), most recently in 2022, and were runner up last season. They reached the knockout stages of the 23/24 AFC Cup and the 25/26 Challenge League- in the latter they lost to compatriots and eventual runners up PKR Svay Rieng in the quarter finals.

Key players

Chanpolin Orn

Captain Chanpolin Orn came through the academy and has been captain for six years, winning multiple league titles and is closing in on fifty international caps. He may play in central midfield with youngster Samuel Bong, who scored on his international debut. Diminutive forwards Ty Sa and Yem Devit will pose a threat up front. Centre backs Rick Ketting (Dutch) and Raul Feher (Romanian) both had reasonable careers in second tier European leagues before both moving to Cambodia in 2025, while English born Australian midfielder Callum Timmins brings a lot of experience from the A League. In attack Phnom Penh have a number of options; giant Czech striker David Bares had a solid career in lower leagues in Europe, New Zealand international Moses Dyer scored twenty four goals last season for Phnom Penh, while Dutch/Surinamese forward Guytho Mijland did the same for Angkor Tiger before earning a move in the summer. Ukrainian striker Valeriy Gryshyn returned to Phnom Penh in February after two and a half years away, and often drops into midfield to act as a playmaker.  

Phnom Penh are also a team who are comfortable using a back three, and also push the wingbacks high and wide, typically starting in a 343 which turns into a 325 in possession. With wingbacks supplying the width, their attacking players can operate the space in between and really stretch the opposition. In the 343 setup the two central midfielders have major responsibility to protect against counter attacks and covering the wingbacks. Out of possession Phnom Penh drop into a back five, but if the wingbacks are high when possession is lost they can be vulnerable in transition.

Oleg Starynskyi

Manager

Phnom Penh have a very multinational coaching setup, with Cambodians working alongside a Ukrainian manager and assistant, an Italian assistant, an Egyptian goalkeeping coach and a Spanish physio. Ukrainian Oleg Starynskyi has been manager of Phnom Penh since November 2020. He overlapped on Shakhtar Donetsk's academy coaching staff with former Kitchee boss Edgar Cardoso prior to moving to Cambodia. He had previously been on the staff at Phnom Penh between January 2016 and December 2017, and has also worked in Moldova. Has won two league titles and three domestic cups with Phnom Penh.

Given the turnover of Kitchee's squad in recent years, only four current players featured in Kitchee's 23/24 campaign. Ruslan Mingazov played in four of those games, but was more effective in the 2022 campaign, scoring the winner against Chiangrai United and playing ninety minutes in the historic draw with Vissel Kobe. He also brings experience of Champions League and Europa League qualifiying from his time in Europe. Cheng Chin-lung came on three times in 23/24, but is most remembered for his historic winner against Kashiwa Reyol in 2018. Tan Chun-lok and Juninho featured sparingly in 23/24, but do bring nearly ninety combined Hong Kong appearances worth of experience.

Of the new signings, Dudu and Everton were both a part of Lee Man's shambolic 24/25 ACL2 campaign, with Everton grabbing a goal. As mentioned earlier, Dudu captained Tai Po in 2020 ACL qualifying against Aidil Sharin's Kedah, while Everton contributed to victory against Bali United in 23/24 qualifying. Yumemi Kanda scored a screamer for Rangers in 23/24 qualifying, but they could not hold on for victory. Marcos was injured for the entirety of Tai Po's campaign last season, but being around a side who went unbeaten at home will be important to the squad. 

Asier Illarramendi has the most continental experience in the squad, with it being well-known that he was a part of Real Madrid's 2013/14 victorious Champions League campaign. He also captained Real Sociedad four times in the Europa League, and he will be pivotal to any success Kitchee are to have in the competition. Roger Riera won the UEFA Youth League with Barcelona, captaining five games including the final.

The recent changes to Asian club competitions have removed foreign player limits, but it is still likely that Inigo Calderon uses a number of local players. The three at the back worked so well last year but has been less effective so far in 25/26, with Kitchee's dominant win over Eastern District coming with a conventional back four. 

Tickets for the Asian Champions League 2 games are available on Kitchee's ticketing website. Tickets are $180 plus booking fee per game, or there is a package available for $460+$15 booking fee for all three games. Ticket link

Thanks to Ross Davis from K League English for the help on previewing Gangwon FC and Lester Chan from Offside for helping to preview Phnom Penh Crown FC. You can find their socials linked.

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Written by Adam O'Domhnaill