Conflict surrounds Beijing Guo'an, the Chinese Super League club.
How does the team entertain their fans at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Beijing today with the second half of their domestic league approaching and still avoid a drubbing at the hands of the English Premier trio of teams?
"It's going to be a difficult tournament for us," said Guo'an's Korean coach Lee Jang-soo. "But I know the fans will come to the stadium and support us. They would like to see the Premier League clubs but also hope Guo'an can put on a good performance."
Guo'an, who sit atop the standings in the domestic league and face a key away match against Chongqing on Sunday, open the biennial event against Hull City. Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United will face off in the other match today at Workers' Stadium.
The winners in each match will battle for the trophy on Friday; the losers will compete for a third-place playoff.
A crushing 8-2 defeat of another domestic league club, Hangzhou Greentown, by Manchester United on Sunday is fresh in the coach's mind but he played down the likelihood of such a big loss.
"It's clear that Chinese clubs have a way to go to catch up with Premier League teams. But I don't think the gap will be as huge as 8-2.
"It's football. Even two close teams will make it a big score," he said.
Guo'an were somewhat of a pioneer in Asia soccer when the team challenged Europe's elite clubs in the 1990s and defeated a number of big names such as Sampdoria, AC Milan and Arsenal.
Lee admitted he still has no idea if he would field a full-string squad or rest some key players at the risk of disappointing loyal and passionate Beijing fans.
"The domestic league is competitive and I am concerned about every match," Lee said. "But the Asia Cup is also a high-level game and our fans care about our performances."
But it won't be easy for Guo'an to pull off an upset in the Barclays Asia Trophy as the three Premier League clubs will field their best players and use the tournament as a major tune-up for their new season.
Spurs coach Harry Redknapp knows all about the tournament, lifting the trophy two years ago in Hong Kong when he was in charge of Portsmouth.
"I really enjoyed the last time I was involved in this competition with Portsmouth two years ago," said the manager, who saw his side out-played by Barcelona and Celtic in the Wembley Cup in England this past weekend.
"When you come all this way to play football, you want to win," Redknapp said. "We played in this tournament two years ago with Portsmouth and won it and got off to a great start to the season.
"Hopefully we can do the same thing with Tottenham. We're here to do our very best to win the cup."
Star striker Robbie Keane is carrying a groin injury and may be benched, leaving Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe to spearhead the front line.
West Ham coach Gianfranco Zola said his team will play at full tilt rather than just entertain the spectators.
"This preseason, and the matches we are going to play in China, are going to be very important for us because it will allow us to prepare for the new season in the right way.
"We are not coming to entertain. We want to make the tournament more competitive and intensified. We will give our 100 percent and play the real game," Zola said.
The Hammers finished a creditable ninth last season while Redknapp guided the Spurs to eighth.
After a solid start, Hull City slipped to 17th last season and coach Phil Brown knows the Beijing trip will be a real test ahead of their tough opening game of the new campaign next month against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
"I just want the players to go out there and express themselves," he said. "We're challenging for a trophy in a different country and that is testimony to how diverse the last two or three years have been for Hull City. The second year is always difficult for a promoted club. We have to work hard and focused."
Brown even joked that his team are the lowest-ranked compared to the other three. "I know Beijing is now topping the league standings and they all did very well last season. I have to tell our players to take them seriously."
(China Daily July 29, 2009)
