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Evergrande faces no pressure to play Jiangsu in CFA Super Cup, says Scolari

Xinhua, February 24, 2017 Adjust font size:

Luiz Felipe Scolari, head coach of the Guangzhou Evergrande, said that he felt no pressure to face Jiangsu FC in the 2017 Chinese Football Association (CFA) Super Cup here on Saturday.

"Everything is fine," Scolari said in a pre-match press briefing on Friday, "We feel no pressure for tomorrow's match."

"Both teams have winning chances. So we just take the match as a normal one," he added.

Both teams had a busy week as Guangzhou just stunned the Hong Kong Eastern SC 7-0 in an AFC Champions League match last Wednesday, while Jiangsu scored a 1-0 away win over the Jeju United of South Korea. Three days later, the two sides will kick off the CFA Super Cup, the opener of the 2017 Chinese football season.

"After the AFC Champions League match, we started training for the Super Cup and will take the match seriously," said Zheng Zhi, captain of the Evergrande, which aims to win four titles of the Super Cup, Super League, CFA Cup and AFC Champions League in 2017, namely one more than its triple crowns in 2016.

On his part, Choi Yong Soo, head coach of the Jiangsu FC, said: "Frankly speaking, Guangzhou is the best in the Chinese Super League, and we are on a slight disadvantage. But we will be united as one and do our utmost in tomorrow's match. Besides we will try to take our revenge over Guangzhou."

During the 2016 edition, which was also battled between the two, Guangzhou wrapped up a 2-0 victory for its second Super Cup trophy since 2012. Apart from the two Super Cup finals, Jiangsu also lost to Guangzhou in the 2016 CFA Cup final.

"It might be my destiny to face Guangzhou in several finals. I would enjoy it rather than take it as a burden," said Choi. "We have nothing to lose. Just go for it."

The CFA Super Cup, which was inaugurated in 1995 and resumed in 2012 after being halted since 2004, features the Chinese Super League champions and the CFA Cup winners. Endit