Written by Taishan Evening News Niu Zhiming
After 11 years, Shandong Taishan team won the Chinese Super League championship again, which is the result of the steady development of the team. In the future, as the defending champion, the Taishan team will definitely face more challenges, how to maintain their advantages and win more championships, which is a topic that the Taishan team needs to think about. Judging from the current situation, the Taishan team has found the right direction to see how to adhere to and seek more positive changes and reshape the glory of 5 years and 3 crowns.
Small goal THE FA Cup showdown at Harbor to rush to the double
After winning the Chinese Super League three rounds in advance, Taishan's focus was on the final of the FA Cup, and in the remaining 3 rounds of the league, Hao Wei arranged more substitute players to play, and helped the main players adjust their status and prepare for the FA Cup final. Judging from the current situation, after playing the final round of the Chinese Super League match with Yatai, the taishan team rested in Guangzhou for a day on the 5th, went to the Chengdu division on the 6th, trained on the 7th and 8th, and played the FA Cup final with the harbor on the 9th.
For the goal of the FA Cup final, the taishan team is very clear, that is, to win the championship, defend the title, and win the double. Last season, Hao Wei led the team to win the FA Cup, which was the sixth FA Cup title in the history of the team and the first championship led by Hao Wei. Now, Hao Wei has led the team to win the Chinese Super League championship in the 2021 season, and has great hopes of impacting the double. This is also the second time after 15 years that the Tarzan team has a chance to win the double, historically, the Tarzan team won the double in 1999 and 2006.
Taishan's opponent in the FA Cup final is Shanghai Harbour, which to some extent is the two most stable teams in the Chinese Super League at this stage, and even the direct competitors for the championship in the coming seasons. In the two league meetings, the Taishan team won 1 win and 1 draw, which also boosted the confidence of the players. The FA Cup final is a single game to win or lose, which will make the game have more suspense, but from the overall strength point of view, Taishan team is still dominant. Harbor foreign aid Paulinho Jr. is most likely absent due to injury, Oscar and Moi lead the team to play, Taishan has limited the experience of two in the league, and Hao Wei can also have more room for adjustment.
If The Taishan team can win the double championship, this is a more meaningful season, after the equity reform, the Taishan team will move forward steadily, the double champion will have more attention and more support, I believe the team is also well aware of this, which is more conducive to the team's sustainable and stable development in the future.
General direction Adhere to youth training + reasonable reinforcement is the right way
This season, the Taishan team won the Chinese Super League championship under the intensive schedule, and the advantages of the thickness of the lineup were fully demonstrated. From the overall lineup configuration, the Taishan team has 2 or 3 players in each position to use, including players produced by Luneng Youth Training, as well as newly introduced internal support. Youth training, which has always been the advantage of Taishan team, in the first 19 rounds of the league, Taishan team had 18 local players play, of which 11 were from Luneng youth training, which is also the foundation of Taishan team.
From the perspective of the appearance of personnel, Guo Tianyu and Duan Liuyu are the main choices of U23 players, the former has scored 10 goals this season and has always been the main center of the team. Although the latter has played less time than last season, he has also scored 3 goals and seized limited opportunities to improve himself. In addition, Han Rongze, Liu Yang, Wang Tong, Zheng Zheng, Qi Tianyu, Liu Binbin, Wu Xinghan and other players are all from Luneng Youth Training, and they have also proved themselves in various competitions. In the future, players from Luneng's youth training are still important, chen Pu, Shi Yan and Fang Hao on loan have all won opportunities in the Chinese Super League, and Xie Wenneng, Yi Xianlong, Tian Yuda, Ji Shengpan and others have also been trained in the lower leagues, and they are all the future of Taishan.
Youth training is the foundation, reinforcement is promotion, and it is also a key step in the championship. This season, the Taishan team signed Sun Zhunhao, Leonardo, Jia Desong, Shi Ke, Xu Xin, Ji Xiang and other new signings, of which three local players are zero transfer fees to join, Jia Desong is on loan to join, the real cost of transfer fees is only Sun Zhunhao and Leonardo. Sun Junhao played a very key role, greatly improving the team's midfield strength, and Jia Desong also brought surprises. Ji Xiang, Shi Ke and Xu Xin are all the main choices, and their arrival also enhances the overall strength of the team.
In the future, the Taishan team will also have greater initiative in the introduction of internal and external assistance. At this stage, Taishan is one of the most stable teams in the Chinese Super League, and it will attract more players to join after winning the championship. This is a two-way selection process, in view of the team's lineup status, Taishan will also strengthen to further enhance the competitiveness of the team. Especially in the case of difficulties encountered by many teams in the Chinese Super League, Taishan team can also have many choices, how to operate, and wait until the end of the season to have a clear answer. In terms of foreign aid, Hao Wei revealed in an interview that he is talking with Moises and Judsson about contract renewal, Sun Zhunhao, Fellaini and Delgado are all on contract, and the team must strive to maintain the stability of the lineup. Of course, if there is a suitable new foreign aid, Taishan team will also shoot in time, especially the front line, Taishan team needs a forward with better comprehensive ability, so as to bring greater changes to the team's attack, and it is also the direction of Taishan's future reinforcements.
New choices How to respond to the return to the AFC Champions League remains a difficult problem
In the 2021 season, The Taishan team was punished by the AFC and lost the AFC Champions League qualification. In the 2022 season, Taishan will return to the AFC Champions League as the champion of the Chinese Super League, which is also an opportunity for the team to hit a higher goal. However, how the AFC Champions League in the new season will be arranged and whether it will conflict with the Chinese Super League schedule is still unknown. It is reported that according to the arrangement, the AFC Champions League group stage draw will be held on January 13, and the opponents of the Taishan team will have a relatively clear answer.
Not surprisingly, the group stage of the new season of the AFC Champions League still adopts the format of the tournament system, each group has a host place, and then each team competes in the centralized tournament system to determine the qualification for the group qualification. In the 2021 season, the three teams in the Chinese Super League participating in the AFC Champions League, Guoan, Guangzhou and Haigang, are all arranged to play on the bench, the harbor stops the qualifiers, Guoan and Guangzhou are also poor, which has a direct impact on the qualification of the AFC Champions League in the Chinese Super League, in the 2023 season, the Chinese Super League only has 2+2 places, and may continue to decrease in the future.
Under such circumstances, the attitude of the Chinese Super League team to play in the 2022 AFC Champions League has become a key. Hao Wei revealed that after winning the Chinese Super League, he had already communicated with the club, and now the situation is to wait until the end of the FA Cup final before discussing. What kind of lineup Taishan team plays in the AFC Champions League has a lot to do with the schedule of the Chinese Super League in the new season. If the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League schedule conflict, this is indeed a greater test for the team, to know that the AFC Champions League group stage is basically a three-day schedule, the team's lineup thickness puts forward higher requirements, in order to achieve good results, it is necessary to arrange the main players to play.
Nowadays, the Taishan team can only wait for the communication between the Football Association and the AFC, and the most important task of the team at this stage is the final of the FA Cup, and strive to return to the AFC Champions League as a double champion, and also to impact better results in the Asian arena.