The group stage of the Asian Champions League has begun. The championship will bring together stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Benzema and many others. However, a Brazilian striker who has stood out in Asian football for more than five seasons appears among the outstanding athletes: Léo Souza, player for Zhejiang, from China.
The striker has already scored 17 goals in 19 games in the Chinese Super League and is the competition’s top scorer. In the entire season, he played in 25 games, with 17 balls in the net and six assists – which gives an average of 0.92 in goal participation.
It is worth noting that in Asian football, Léo was already top scorer in the 2nd and 3rd divisions of the J-League and was voted best player in the second division of the Japanese championship in 2019, when he played for Albirex Niigata.
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Zhejiang, the Brazilian striker’s team, debuts next Wednesday (20), against Buriram United, from Thailand, at 7am (Brasília time). The match is valid for group H, which also includes the teams: Melbourne City and Kofu.
“It will be an excellent competition. The Asian Champions League has always been competitive and now with the arrival of other great football stars, the visibility increases. For me, it will be very important, I like high level competitions. I am very excited and I will do my best to help my team in the best way possible”, said the top scorer.
Before shining on the fields of the East, Léo began his career in Brazilian football. Born in Sorocaba (São Paulo), the striker started at youth level at Red Bull Brasil, then spent time at Corinthians and Ituano, until arriving at Santos in 2016.
A boy from Vila, the center forward played in 16 matches for Peixe and scored three goals, between the Under-20 and Under-23 categories. Now he plans a possible meeting with another striker revealed at Santos, Neymar, who is at Al-Hilal and will play in the Asian Champions League.
“Neymar is a reference in world football, just like Cristiano Ronaldo. They are stars who encourage you even more to show your work. But, before thinking about them, we need to live in the now and do our best in the group stage. Our The team has been preparing hard for this and I hope our work is blessed”, concluded Léo.
