"It's an important game. We will give 100%."
Incheon United head coach Cho Sung-hwan has vowed to give his team the best possible effort as they compete in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) for the first time.
Cho made the announcement at a press conference at the Incheon Football Stadium on Nov. 21, a day before the club's 2023-2024 ACL playoff against Hai Phong FC (Vietnam).
Incheon qualified for the ACL for the first time ever after finishing fourth last season. A victory over Hai Phong in this single-leg match will see them advance to the much-anticipated main draw, where they will compete in the group stage.
The ACL is an especially precious stage for Incheon, as this year marks the club's 20th anniversary.
However, the physical demands of playing weekly K League 1 matches in the sweltering heat are at their peak right now.
It might be tempting to 'rotate' against Hai Phong, who are considered to be a step below.
However, Cho said he would not do that.
"I will send out the player who is in the best condition. "We play Suwon FC (three days after Hai Phong), but we know the importance of this game, so we will go out with 100%," he said.
However, Cho did leave some room for maneuver, saying, "We can't think about Friday's game (against Suwon FC) at all."
"We will go into tomorrow's game with as many experienced players as possible," he said, indicating that he will use senior players with ACL experience, including center back Oh Ban-seok.
The ACL is both an 'opportunity' and a 'crisis' for Incheon as they head to the international stage.
Incheon currently sits in sixth place (37 points) in the K League 1, just outside the Final A cutoff. They are only one point behind seventh-place Daejeon Hana Citizens.
This year, the ACL has been replaced by the Chuseok Festival, which means that the team will have to play a murderous schedule of ACL group stage games in K League 1.
They could easily lose both.
"If we could get a lot of points in the regular season (in the first half) and be in a (favorable) position to qualify for the Final A, we could expand our pool (of players), but we didn't get as many points as we wanted," Cho lamented.
As for Hai Phong, he added: "The level of football in Vietnam has improved, so we can't relax. I have the impression that the individual skills of the players are good. We need to prepare well for the foreign players, who are a big part of our strength."
Cho also emphasized the need for his players to remain calm on the big stage.
Cho had an unfortunate ACL tear in the 2017 season when he led Jeju United.
At the time, Jeju was eliminated in the round of 16 by Urawa Reds (Japan). Immediately after the final match on the road, players from both teams got into a rough brawl on the field, and several Jeju players were suspended for three to six months.
"I have nothing but good memories of ACLs, why would you do that?" said Cho, who smirked when asked by a reporter about the incident, "Our players need to learn from that. Nerves can affect your performance. I hope they can keep their composure and play their game."
Meanwhile, Judin Nghiem Haiphong is wary of Incheon's foreign offense.
"Incheon is a stronger team than Rangers (Hong Kong) in the qualifiers. It is difficult to play as aggressively as we did then. We may have to drop back depending on the game situation," he said. "Their No. 10 (Hernandez) and No. 11 (Gerso) are particularly dangerous. We have to be vigilant."
Hai Phong has Vietnamese international Le Xuan Trung, who played four matches for Incheon in 2018, starting this year.
"I know that Truong played for Incheon, but it was a long time ago," said coach Dinh Nghiem, adding that Truong's Korean team is very organized in their tactics.
The match between Incheon and Hai Phong will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22 at the Incheon Football Stadium. 파워볼게임