Football players of Guangzhou Evergrande celebrate their winning of the AFC Champions League against South Korea's FC Seoul at Tianhe stadium in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Nov 9, 2013.[Photo/Xinhua] |
People's Daily hailed the role investment and free market played in Guangzhou Evergrande's AFC Champions League victory, via its Sina Weibo account on Saturday night.
Celebrating for the first Chinese football club to win the continental title, the posts asked for a higher level of professionalism in Chinese football clubs, and said the team's victory met the high expectations of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is a big football fan.