'First Champions Miraculous 3 consecutive wins' Lee Jung-hyo's Gwangju and Emery's Aston Villa look similar but different
Oct 23, 2024
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Gwangju won 3-1 against Johor Darlle Takjim (Malaysia) at Yongin Mir Stadium, a neutral stadium, on the 22nd, thanks to Asani's multi-goal and opponent's own goal in the third group stage of the Asian Champions League (ACLE) in the 2024-2025 season.
Earlier, Yokohama F.Gwangju, which beat Marinos 7-3 and Kawasaki Frontale 1-0, was the only team in ACLE East Asia to lead the group stage alone by winning all three games.
Gwangju, which entered the Asian stage for the first time this season with its third-place performance in the K League 1 last season, is making the Asian soccer community buzz with results that far exceed expectations.
On the day Gwangju beat Johor, Aston Villa won the third round of the European Champions League (UCL) league phase of the 2024-2025 season against Bologna at Villa Park, their home stadium, winning three consecutive games.
Villa are the only winning team in the UCL League phase, which was held until the 22nd local time, and are leading the surprise by beating out prominent big clubs.
Villa advanced to the UCL stage for the first time in the club's history by beating Tottenham led by Son Heung-min in the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2023-2024 season.
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It is similar that it depends on the performance of the "mad player". Colombian striker Jon Duran of Villa scored the first goal against Munich on the 2nd and scored the winning goal against Bologna.
Albania's active national team Asani scored in all three ACLE games played by Gwangju. He scored a hat trick against Yokohama and scored one and two goals against Kawasaki and Johor, respectively, for a total of six goals. He showed remarkable concentration, scoring six goals with just eight shots. He is the sole leader in scoring including East and West Asia.
Coach Lee Jung-hyo is surprising the K-League in his second year in office and surprising Asia in his third year. Emery, who has gone through Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, and Villarreal, is said to have raised Villa, which is in the middle of the age, to the level of EPL TOP 4. As of the eighth round this season, Villa are in fourth place, which is the Championship.
The difference between Gwangju and Villa is the budget and environment. Villa, whose owner is Egyptian rich Nasef Sawiris, spent nearly 300 billion won last summer to strengthen its power. Gwangju, a civic club, was banned from recruiting players last summer for violating the financial soundness system prepared by the Professional Football Federation last year. He is playing the second half without reinforcing his players.
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The atmosphere surrounding the same three consecutive wins is quite different. Villa's squad is getting better and better. There is room to further strengthen its power in the winter transfer market and next summer's transfer market. On the other hand, Gwangju is in such poverty that it welcomes the prize money for participating in the ACL and the winning prize for the group stage. It is unclear when the grass problem at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium will be resolved, so there is a possibility that the next ACLE home game will also be held somewhere outside of Gwangju.
Ahead of the match against Johor, head coach Lee Jung-hyo voiced his voice, `There is no worse stadium than Gwangju.' Director Emery doesn't say that.
Gwangju and Villa have an important match next month. Gwangju will play the 4th away game against the 'rich club' Vissel Kobe, which boasts the best environment in the Japanese J-League, on November 5. It's a real test. Villa will play Juventus in their fifth league phase on November 27. Will the gusts from Gwangju and the gusts from Villa continue.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
