Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande will be without a host of key players, including talisman Elkeson, when they face South Korea’s Seongnam in the first leg of their AFC Champions League round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
The forward is one of three Brazilians who will be absent for the away leg, with striker Alan and midfielder Rene Junior also missing out. South Korean defender Kim Young-gwon is also unavailable for the 2013 AFC Champions League winners.
“We have a lot of injuries as we don’t have the international players Elkeson, Rene, Kim and Alan, so it is not normal,” Guangzhou manager Fabio Cannavaro told reporters in Korea on Tuesday.
“But I trust my team and even without these players, we can have a nice performance.”
The World Cup-winning Italian’s confidence has likely been boosted by the form of Brazilian attacker Ricardo Goulart.
The 23-year-old has notched eight goals in 10 appearances since joining from Cruzeiro, including a hat-trick in the group stage win at holders Western Sydney Wanderers.
Cannavaro, though, was also wary of Seongnam’s Brazilian talents, with Ricardo Bueno and Jorginho likely to prove a test for his backline.
“Seongnam are tough, they are Korean, and everybody knows Korean football. They are aggressive and the stadium is not big so we know they can put us under pressure,” said the Italian, in his first season in charge after succeeding Marcello Lippi.
“We know that we have two games and not just one and we know that we need to be clever and understand the qualification is not only down to one game.
“We know everything about them; I have seen the last four games. They work together, they have very good Brazilin players, and if they have reached this stage they have the quality.”
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