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November 8, 2013

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Guangzhou鈥檚 Conca eyes redemption

Dario Conca knows how it feels to lose the final of a continental club competition and the Guangzhou Evergrande playmaker is eyeing redemption in tomorrow’s AFC Champions League second leg decider against FC Seoul.

The Argentine went through the pain when he missed a penalty as Brazil’s Fluminense lost the 2008 Copa Libertadores final to Ecuador’s Liga de Quito.

Last month’s 2-2 draw in Seoul has put Guangzhou in an advantageous position for the second leg of the final of Asia’s premier club tournament at the Tianhe Stadium and Conca is determined to avert a second heartbreak.

“It’s an important factor because if you have had previous experience in these kind of global games it does help going into the second match,” said the 30-year-old midfielder.

“In my opinion, the first match is used to get to know the opponent in detail and then the second match you plan out the whole match in order to win it.

“The experience I had previously will help out with this second leg,” said Conca.

Since joining the Chinese champion from Fluminense midway through the 2011 season, Conca has been crucial to Guangzhou’s success.

It wrapped up its third consecutive Chinese Super League title this season and is on track for a unique treble with a Chinese FA Cup semifinal to come.

Marcello Lippi’s team is also on the cusp of becoming the first Chinese team to win the AFC Champions League and the significance of the achievement was not lost on Conca.

“It’s a very important match ... we’re not going to hold back, we’re going to put all our effort into the game,” he said.

 


 

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