China's involvement in the Asian Champions League came to an end on Wednesday evening as Shandong Luneng's 1-1 draw with FC Seoul saw the South Korea side advance to the semifinals, but coach Felix Magath stressed his players would exit the competition with their heads held high.
Guangzhou Evergrande won the continental club crown last season but were surprisingly eliminated in the group stages of this year's competition, leaving Shandong and Shanghai SIPG as the sole remaining participants in the quarterfinals.
Shanghai were hammered 5-0 on Tuesday by former champions Jeonbuk Motors to go out of the tournament before Shandong's draw saw them exit the competition 3-2 on aggregate against the club from the South Korean capital.
"Unfortunately we were eliminated today but we defended the honour of Chinese football and we can leave the competition with our heads up," the German coach said. "We had a lot of injuries in the team, but regardless of that we were the superior side in terms of attacking football.
"Our team was facing a counterattacking expert and it was extremely difficult for us to maintain balance at both ends. But we were putting pressure on our opponents and I'm quite satisfied about that."
Shandong, traditionally one of the stronger clubs in Chinese football, have struggled this season and were flirting with the relegation positions until Magath took over at the club in June.
Since his arrival, Shandong have climbed to 12th in the Chinese Super League standings and the 63-year-old has targeted a return to the upper reaches of the domestic game before the end of his tenure.
"I have said so many times that my reason for coming here is to win titles with Shandong," Magath said. "If we win the domestic championship, then of course we will be in the Asian Champions League again."