After storming to a maiden domestic title last season to
secure a place in the AFC Champions League for the first time just one year
after gaining promotion to the top flight, Guangzhou have held onto their
all-star squad for the 2012 continental campaign.
Former Celtic midfielder Zheng Zhi and striker Gao Lin
lead a strong contingent of China internationals, with Argentinian midfielder
Dario Conca and Brazilian Muriqui headlining an equally impressive line-up of
foreign talent.
Guangzhou paid Brazilian side Cruzeiro over 10 million
euros for Conca's services midway through the 2011, while also making the
midfielder one of the highest paid players in world football.
The investment, though, paid off as the the two-time
Brazilian league Player of the Year adapted to life in Chinese football
quickly, ending the season with nine goals in 15 games, while Muriqui was the
club's top scorer with 16 goals in the league.
K-League champions Jeonbuk have also retained the
majority of the squad, which suffered heartbreak in last year's final after the
2006 champions lost on penalties to Qatar's Al Sadd.
Last season's AFC Champions League top-scorer Lee
Dong-gook , who scored for Korea Republic's in last week's FIFA World Cup
qualifier against Kuwait, and Brazilian duo Eninho and Luiz Henrique have all
remained and are at the disposal of new coach Lee Heung-sil.
Veteran striker Lee Dong-gook, who was also named the
Most Valuable Player in last year's AFC Champions League after scoring nine
goals, was also honored with the K-League's MVP award after finishing as second
highest scorer in the league with 16 goals and with the most number of assists.
He was joined in the K-League's Best XI by defenders Park
Won-jae, Cho Sung-hwan and Choi Chul-soon, while Brazilian attacking midfielder
Eninho - who was second-highest scorer in the AFC Champions League last year
with seven goals - was also honored.
Lee Heung-sil will also have Korea Republic midfielder
Kim Jung-woo and Chile international Hugo Droguett available in a formidable
squad, which also includes veterans Kim Sang-sik and captain Cho Sung-hwan.
After Choi Kang-hee, who steered Jeonbuk to the AFC
Champions League finals in both 2006 and 2011, took over as head coach of the
Korea Republic national team at the end of last year, Lee Heung-sil was
promoted after joining the Jeonbuk coaching staff in 2005.
With Group H made up of four domestic champions from
2011, Thailand's Buriram United entertain Japan's Kashiwa Reysol in a meeting
between two more debutants in the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League.
Elsewhere, 2010 champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who were
unable to defend their title last year, begin their campaign in Group G with a
trip to Japan to face Nagoya Grampus, while China's Tianjin Tede entertain
Australia's Central Coast Mariners.
Qatar champions Lekhwiya, meanwhile, begin their maiden
continental campaign in Group C at home to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli, while Iran's
Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan entertain Al Nasr of the United Arab Emirates.
Lekhwiya, who eased to a maiden domestic title last year
just one season after earning promotion from the second division, boast
Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra, Ivory Coast striker Bakari Kone and
promising Korea Republic midfielder Nam Tae-hee in their impressive squad under
coach Djamel Belmadi.
Bougherra joined from Scottish side Rangers in August
2010 after playing all three games for Algeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup,
while Kone won the Qatar Football Association Player of the Year award last
year after emerging as Lekhwiya's top scorer along with Muhammed Razaq.
Finally, play-off winners Al Shabab Al Arabi from the UAE
entertain Qatar's Al Gharafa and Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal face Iran's Piroozi
Athletic in Group D.
Al Shabab Al Arabi beat Uzbekistan's Neftchi 3-0 last
month thanks to a double from Essa Obaid to earn a second appearance in the
Group Stage of the AFC Champions League.
