“We have probably the best fans in Asia, we have an incredible amount of support,” says Chow. “This support behind us and the support from the ownership group, these things put together have created this great environment for us.

“We constantly want to improve and give back more to the city. The reason I was desperate for us to get to the AFC Champions League Elite is because everyone in Asia needs to experience our fans.

“I want to take these fans across Asia and everyone’s going to say: ‘Wow, that’s Chengdu!’. I’m buzzing for these fans, for the city that we’ve made it the AFC Champions League Elite.”

Chengdu provided a preview of what Gangwon and the wider world can expect in their playoff victory over Bangkok United in August, when two goals from Brazilian striker Felipe and an effort by Yang Mingyang earned the club their place in the league phase.

That game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of red and white clad fans whose energy and enthusiasm drove their team to victory and Chow expects his team to be backed with similar levels of support for all of their home matches in the AFC Champions League Elite.

“It was special in terms of the tifos, but that’s the general atmosphere of what we have every game,” he says of the meeting with the Thai League 1 side.

“No matter if we win, lose or draw so long as our fans see us giving 100 percent they are behind us 100 percent the whole game. They’re incredible.”

Chengdu’s journey to the AFC Champions League Elite has been a long one, with the club having made steady progress through the Chinese football pyramid before securing their place in the competition last season.

As recently as 2018 the club was in the fourth tier of Chinese football before gaining consecutive promotions to move into China League One – the country’s second division – in 2019. In 2021, Chengdu climbed into the Chinese Super League via a playoff.

Chengdu have since established themselves among the country’s leading clubs, with a fifth place finish in 2022 that was bettered 12 months later when they jumped up to fourth.

Last year, Chengdu finished third and their rise has continued into this season, with Seo and his team two points behind leaders and defending champions Shanghai Port.

“It’s been a constant evolution,” says Chow, who signed for Chengdu in 2022 from Henan FC. “We’ve never stood still, we’re always looking to the future.

“The plans of the club, the city, all these things together have created this perfect story to continue this progress. There’s unity within the team. we have a very strong team spirit.

“Ever since I joined in the first year that we had in the CSL we had some difficult moments in that first season, eight games without a win but we grew with that and we went on to go 28 games unbeaten which proved the unity and spirit that we had.

“And there’s the head coach, I would give him a lot of credit with how he has managed the team. Every year we seem to turn over a lot of players and the way he’s managed the squad to keep progressing is impressive.

“He understands who we are and understands the CSL very well. He’s done a good job.”

Chengdu coach Seo is certainly no stranger to the leading club competition in Asia having twice been crowned a continental champion as a player during his days with K League outfit Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The former Korea Republic international was a key player in the Suwon side that won consecutive Asian Club Championship titles in 2001 and 2002 as well as back-to-back Asian Super Cup titles and he has continued to excel since moving into the dugout.

The 54-year-old started his coaching career with Suwon, where he worked for six seasons, while in 2021 he was appointed by Chengdu, leading the club into the Chinese Super League from the second division at the first attempt.

“He’s very calm, he’s very thoughtful. He manages people well,” Chow says of his boss. “He’s very clever and he understands what we need and puts together the right pieces in the right way.

“He prepares us very well for games and trusts us, which I think is very important for a head coach. When we go out there to play he lets us be ourselves, he doesn’t try to change us. He lets us do our job and it works.

“Over the last three years working together with him we’ve had a lot more good times than bad times, that’s for sure.”

Chengdu go into Tuesday’s meeting with Gangwon having already had their first taste of the AFC Champions League Elite, giving up a halftime lead to lose 2-1 to hosts Ulsan HD, but Chow believes Seo has prepared his players well for the challenge they face.

“From a physical perspective, we’ve always been the fittest team,” he says. “From preseason onwards, we’ve been well prepared to handle these extra games.

“On a footballing basis, the coach is always hammering home about the tempo and the speed of play, saying that once we go into the AFC Champions League Elite the speed is going to be so much faster.

“This is what we have to be ready for, we need to reduce the number of touches, we need to think faster, everything has to be faster just to get us ready for that because it is a new experience for us.

“I'm so excited for the club and the city, that they’re going to get to experience this and that other people are going to experience Chengdu and we’re putting Chengdu on the map for Asia.

“People always think of Shanghai or Beijing or Guangzhou but let’s put Chengdu on the map.”