Naegohyang Women's FC head coach Ri Yu-il, right, hoists the championship trophy after winning the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Tokyo Verdy Beleza at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday. Yonhap
After guiding his North Korean club Naegohyang Women's FC to the summit of Asian women's football Saturday, head coach Ri Yu-il thanked the communist regime's ruling party for its support.
Naegohyang defeated Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul. Naegohyang knocked off the South Korean side Suwon FC Women 2-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday — the first match between women's football clubs of the two Koreans to take place on South Korean soil — and then their captain Kim Kyong-yong scored the match's only goal in the 44th minute for the AFC title and US$1 million in prize money.
Kim was also named the MVP of the tournament.
At the postmatch press conference, Ri said his club wouldn't have been able to win the AFC title alone.
