Turkmen football player Ruslan Mingazov helped the Hong Kong club Kitchee to reach the playoffs of the AFC Champions League for the first time. This was determined by the results of the two-round tournament of group "J" that ended in Buriram (Thailand), in which two more teams contested tickets to the 1/8 finals - Thailand's Chiang Rai United and Japan's Vissel Kobe.
The 30-year-old midfielder of the national team of Turkmenistan, for whom this was his debut in the main Asian club tournament, played all four matches in Kitchi and was recognized as the best player in two of them against the Thai club. In the first match against Chiang Rai United, R. Mingazov scored the winning goal in the 17th minute - 1:0, and in the second match, which ended in Kitchi's victory - 3:2, he became the author of an assist on Alexander Akanda in the episode with the first naked.
Two meetings with the Japanese club Vissel Kobe, for which the 37-year-old one of the most outstanding football players of the planet plays - the 2010 world champion and two-time European champion in 2008 and 2012 as part of the Spanish national team Andres Iniesta, also took place in a bitter struggle. In the first "Vissel Kobe" won a difficult victory - 2:1.
Before the final round, "Kitchie" with 6 points lagged behind "Vissel Kobe" by 1 point. But despite this, Ruslan Mingazov expressed confidence that his team could make it to the playoffs of the AFC Champions League.
“After every game I started to feel better and better. I am enjoying this tournament. This is an ideal city, ideal football, an ideal field, an ideal team,” Ruslan Mingazov said before the game.
The match, during which the Hong Kong club lost twice in the long run, kept in suspense until the very final whistle. Three minutes before the end of regular time, Kitchi was losing - 1:2. However, in the first added minute, the current 11-time champion of Hong Kong walked away from defeat - 2:2. This result, as it turned out later, suited both teams, which reached the playoffs of the most prestigious club tournament in Asia.
“This is my first Asian Champions League with Kitchee and it immediately turned out to be something that has never happened with a team from Hong Kong – we reached the 1/8 finals. Someone teaches history, and someone writes it, the second is more pleasant. I thank all my loved ones for being with me during this time. Thanks to people who are sincerely happy and support me, thanks to my native Turkmenistan, there were a lot of messages from fellow countrymen. I am grateful to everyone who believed in me and in us,” R. Mingazov commented on the results of the tournament.
Ruslan Mingazov, who has 26 matches and 4 goals for the national team of Turkmenistan, previously played in Europe for a number of teams, including Latvian Skonto, Czech Slavia, Jablonec, Mlada Boleslav, Pribram ”, Kazakhstani clubs “Irtysh”, “Shakhtar” and “Kaspiy”.
In March of this year, Ruslan signed a contract with Kitchi as a free agent, becoming the first Turkmen legionnaire in the Hong Kong Football Championship.
Following the results of the group stage of the AFC Champions League, all participants in the 1/8 finals of the tournament became known. In the "East" zone, together with the teams "Vissel Kobe" (Japan) and "Kitchi" (Hong Kong), the following teams reached the playoffs: "Daegu" (Republic of Korea), "BJ Pathum United" (Thailand), "Yokohama F Marinos (Japan), Johor Darul Tazeem (Malaysia), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Republic of Korea) and Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan).
In the zone "West" in 1/8 made their way: "Al-Hilal", "Al-Shabab", "Al-Faisaly" (all from Saudi Arabia), "Er-Rayan", "Al-Duhail" (both - from Qatar), Nasaf (Uzbekistan), Shabab Al-Ahli (UAE) and Fulad (Iran).
The opponent of Ruslan Mingazov's team in the 1/8 finals will be announced later.
The matches of the 1/8 finals in the East zone will be held on August 18-19, 2022, and in the West zone on February 3-4, 2023.
The AFC Champions League final will consist of two legs. The meetings will be held on February 19 and 26, 2023. The first game will take place in the West region, and the second leg will take place in the East zone.
