Even for someone born thousands of miles away in South Korea, Song Ui-young is firmly entrenched in Singapore football.
Since leaving home at the age of 18 to pursue a career at the now-defunct Home United, Song has spent the last 11 years in the Southeast Asian nation and -- as of last year -- is now not only a Singaporean citizen but a full international for the Lions.
- Lion City Sailors' historic win is everything they set out to achieve
- JDT's upset of Ulsan caps off memorable night for Southeast Asia
- Iniesta-less Vissel find some much-needed respite in ACL 2022
For someone who has lived the highs and lows of Singapore's oft-erratic footballing landscape, it was only fitting he played a pivotal role in a history-making night on Monday.
By claiming a win in the second match of their debut AFC Champions League campaign, Lion City Sailors -- a club that was born from the ashes of Home United in 2020 -- became only the second Singaporean team to taste victory in Asia's premier club competition.
With a looping header in the 21st minute, Song became the Sailors' first-ever scorer in the ACL and sent them on their way to a historic triumph over a team he would have been very familiar with -- Daegu, from his very own country of birth.
It was to be a memorable night not just for Singaporean football but all of Southeast Asia, with Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim beating 2020 winners Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 while Thai outfit BG Pathum United were also 2-0 victors over Jeonnam Dragons.
And while Song appreciates the significance of such results, he is only thinking about embarking into more unchartered waters with the Sailors in the days ahead.
"It was a big night for all of Southeast Asia, but especially for Singapore football and its fans," the midfielder told ESPN.
"To be honest, we didn't expect to beat Daegu by three goals. These results show people that Southeast Asia is bringing its quality higher and getting closer to the top teams from Japan and South Korea.
"I've been in Singapore for 11 years now and seen many things, so I can tell that this was a big moment.
"We're not just here for the experience. This is a stage where we need to prove how strong we are and that we belong on, and I'm very proud we showed our quality."
The Sailors' journey in ACL 2022 certainly did not get off to the most promising start when they were beaten 4-1 by Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds on the opening match day, although the margin of victory arguably did not reflect how competitive they were against the two-time champions of Asia.
The confidence they gained from that display and the obvious benefit of having a tactician who has went all the way in the tournament before in Kim Do-hoon -- the 2020 title-winning coach with Ulsan -- would ultimately pave the way for Monday's monumental win.
"In the first game, we didn't expect how physically strong we needed to be at this stage but we also felt that we had the quality to compete with these teams," explained Song.
"Before the game against Daegu, coach Kim talked about his experience of winning the ACL previously and told us to just look at him if we were nervous, and that he was going to be behind us helping and fighting for us from the bench.
"His experience and words gave us the confidence that allowed us to just focus on fighting on the field."
Next up for the Sailors are back-to-back games against Shandong Taishan, who ordinarily would have posed a tough test but have this season opted to field a youth team that have thus far conceded 12 goals in just two defeats.
While admitting that the maximum six points will be the target from the two ties, Song is wary of avoiding the similar fate of Daegu, who he believes perhaps underestimated Lion City, and does not want his teammates to get too far ahead of themselves.
"Honestly, when I spoke to some of the Daegu players after the game, they said that they didn't expect us to be this strong," explained the 28-year-old.
"It's a similar situation for us. Even if Shandong have sent under-20 or under-23 players, there is no room for complacency for us.
"I can feel there is big confidence within the team from the last game. There's positivity and we want to get the best result we can from the group stage, but we know that means we need to put in 100% effort.
"We need to focus on beating Shandong and taking the six points."