Setting the ACL Final scene: Guangzhou the team ready for game day but for the town, life goes on

The National's John McAuley provides his thoughts from the Chinese town as Al Ahli and Guangzhou Evergrande prepare for Saturday's Asian Champions League final.

Guangzhou has had little in the way of pomp ahead of the Asian Champions League final. AFP

GUANGZHOU, CHINA // One day out from the Asian Champions League final and Guangzhou appears distinctly unaffected by what lies on the horizon.

Other than the immediate surroundings of the imposing Tianhe Stadium, where Guangzhou Evergrande host Al Ahli in the second leg of a clash to determine the finest team in Asia, there is little to suggest the decider for what is the continent’s premier club competition is close at hand.

No signage, no banners, no advertisements; no hint that one of the Asian Football Confederation’s showpiece events will take place in their city.

Life just goes on, feverish and fascinating, hectic and hyperactive, spilling out from every corner, all underneath a blanket of heavy smog.

The streets are lined by restaurants and packed with locals. The roads leading into the Tianhe district are surrounded by dull and dilapidated Communist-era building blocks, most probably housing a portion of the metropolis’ 13 million inhabitants, an arresting figure that makes Guangzhou the third most populated city in China.

Inside the more affluent Tianhe business centre, huge skyscrapers peer down at those scuttling in every direction below, lit up in neon and parading videos on giant screens plugging blue-chip companies. There is even the occasional bit of political propaganda.

Perhaps it is because Guangzhou is so vast, so sprawling, that if a section of the city were gripped by Champions League fever you would never know it. It would simply be drowned out by the perpetual din.

And anyway, football is not exactly high on Guangzhou’s sporting agenda, trailing in popularity behind the likes of table tennis and basketball. Hardly a priority, which can be a difficult concept for an outsider to grasp.

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Yet at least the Tianhe Stadium buzzed Friday with ticket touts and traders, each seeking to cash in. Match tickets were going for 5000 Chinese yuan (Dh2875), apparently substantially more than face value, and pitched only to the monied or the non-native.

Counterfeit Guangzhou merchandise was readily available, as well: shirts, scarves, tracksuits, flags. Knock-off gear at a knockdown price, bizarrely only a few metres from the club’s official store. In truth, the shop, small and sparsely stocked, seemed somewhat inadequate for a team who less than a month ago were crowned Chinese champions for a fifth successive season.

It may not make a dent on Guangzhou, but Ahli have brought a large delegation with them, including officials and approximately 700 supporters. The club have been keen, too, to tap into the strong Arab presence that resides around Tianhe.

On Thursday, they handed out flyers to the many Arabic restaurants in proximity, informing whoever would be interested that the most important fixture in the club’s history is happening right on their doorstep. It was a real shame that one nearby restaurant had invested in its own bit of marketing, but confused Al Ahli Dubai with Al Ahly Egypt.

The Emirati team trained Friday night inside the Tianhe Stadium, the players in good nick and good spirits during the 15 minutes open to the media. Coach Cosmin Olaroiu chatted with chairman Abdullah Al Naboodah, sometimes juggled a ball, sometimes attempted a cheeky nutmeg on his charges as they stretched muscles and prepared for a marquee match.

Guangzhou may not sense it, but for a couple of hours on Saturday this grand old theatre represents the centre of Ahli’s universe.