On January 9, the final of the 2021 FA Cup will be played, Shandong Taishan will play against Shanghai Harbor, and if it wins, Taishan will be crowned the "double champion" for the third time.
In 1999, during the Santrazi era, the team was crowned a double for the first time; in 2006, Tubbakovic once again created the glory of "double champion". After years of dormancy, this season, the Tarzan team is back to the top and is expected to create new history. Taking this opportunity, let's take a ride on the train of time and explore the people and things related to the "double champion" of the Tarzan team in those years.
Start
When it comes to the glory of the Tarzan team in the 1999 season, The name of Santracci naturally cannot be omitted. At the beginning of that year, the arrival of the former famous coach of the South China sensationalized the Chinese football scene for a time, and also completely subverted the development trajectory of Shandong football.
"Sonny's arrival is a subversive change for The Tarzan team." Zou Xinguang, then assistant coach of the team, said that he concluded, "In terms of management, he made the team more professional, and in terms of training, he tried to achieve the greatest standards. In terms of competition, he emphasized that 'everyone is for me, I am for everyone', so that the team is always a united and strong whole. ”
As a player who played in the team at that time, Hou Zhiqiang had a different perspective of memory, "That winter training, we should have been the team that practiced the hardest, often from morning to night. After all, people still played the World Cup with Yugoslavia before, and some of the things brought to us by football made us refreshed. ”
However, at the beginning of the league, The Taishan team's performance was not stable. As the season progressed, the team showed great strength. A wave of "July surprises", the team even beat strong opponents, all the way to the top of the standings. Some media reporters recalled that the goal of the Taishan team at that time was to lock in the "double champion".
Is this statement true? According to Zou Xinguang's description, at that time, the Taishan team did not have the conditions for the championship due to its overall strength, and did not set a championship goal at that time. With the deepening of the league, with only three rounds of the league left, The Taishan team formed a championship situation with the Liaoning team, and the team really set the goal of competing for the championship.
However, in the penultimate round of the league, the away game faced Shenyang Haishi, the players have encountered accidents since arriving in Shenyang, as for the game, a "hockey" under the 1-1, but also let the initiative to win the championship give up.
Recalling this game, Hou Zhiqiang still remembers it vividly, "When I adapted to the venue before the game, the staff was shoveling snow outside the stadium, but on the day of the game, the stadium was still a white expanse. Hou Zhiqiang also revealed that at that time, in order to cope with the extreme weather, the team specially prepared long spike shoes brought from Europe, but after the game began, the stadium had frozen like iron, even if the spikes were sharp, they still could not pierce the hard ground. In the end, the team had no choice but to accept the result of the draw.
At this time, the player's heart is naturally depressed. However, in the last round, The Taishan team played at home against the Wuhan Red Peach K, which has been relegated, and Liaoning had to go to the away team to challenge the powerhouse Beijing Guoan, and the team still had expectations for the championship.
Facing the Wuhan team, there were no surprises. Tarzan took the opponent 5-0 lighter. After the game, some players chose to wait in place on the pitch, and some players entered a conference room in the Shandong Provincial Sports Center, surrounded by a small TV, watching the development of Liaoning and the game. At first, the Liaoning team has maintained a 1-0 advantage, but unexpectedly, in the 73rd minute, Gao Leilei, who came on as a substitute, broke through the Liaozu gate with a long-range shot and equalized the score, at this time, the lucky balance once again tilted towards the Taishan team.
"Gao Leilei's ball, in fact, none of us saw the picture, but when we heard the cheers, we knew that the championship should be there, and everyone began to wait for the end of the game." Hou Zhiqiang recalled.
With the whistle of the referee in the distance, the Taishan players rushed back to the court with excitement, at this time, the scene they saw was unprecedented, and the fans could not suppress their excitement and rushed into the field with excitement. You know, the provincial stadium stands are about three meters away from the height difference in the field, and many fans even broke their legs because of it, but they still excitedly continued to run in the direction of the center of the stadium to celebrate...
As Zou Xinguang said, the A-A championship in the 1999 season was the first league trophy in the history of Taishan's team, which is not only a milestone in the history of Shandong football, but also a huge surprise for fans. But after winning the championship, the players did not have time to celebrate, and a few days later, still in the provincial sports, they will meet the challenge of Dalian Shide and compete in the second leg of the FA Cup final.
In the first leg, the Taishan team drew 1-1 away from home, and the great cause of winning the double seemed to be in sight. However, in the opening 28 minutes, Wang Peng broke through the ten-finger barrier of Taishan goalkeeper Sasha. Seeing that the team was unfavorable, Sonny pointed his finger at Romedo on the bench, the Uruguayan did not expect to have a chance to play, hungry he ate half a piece of chocolate and hurried to the field.
Next, it's time to witness the miracle. In the 72nd and 81st minutes, Romero scored two goals in a row to reverse the score. However, in the 90th minute, Dalian foreign player Pitt scored the ball in the melee in front of goal. At this time, the scene suddenly changed from a frenzied noise to a silent dead silence.
At this time, although the Taishan players could not hide their disappointment, the game was not over, and they had no time to think too much, only to fight to the death. At this time, it was still Romero, only to see him have a flash of inspiration in front of the goal, shooting the ball into the net, and the province once again turned into an ocean of joy. Luneng scored 4-3 for the first "double champion" since the professionalization of Chinese football.
Romero's kill, which seems to have an element of luck, is actually the result of the players' hard work. Hou Zhiqiang admitted that looking back at that game, several goals conceded by dalian team were actually the result of Taishan's tough attack, resulting in the opponent's defense compression too tight, leaving loopholes. It is worth mentioning that Romero's third goal was precisely the out-of-bounds ball caused by Hou Zhiqiang's reckless shot on goal, and it was also that shooting attempt that caused his ligament to tear in the confrontation with Ji Mingyi, resulting in a three-month injury suspension. But at that time, I didn't think too much at all, seeing that the final whistle was about to blow, desperately fighting, desperately gambling was the only way out...
At this point, the Taishan team has become the first "double champion" in the history of Chinese football, and at the post-match press conference, Santracci said loudly, "All the truth needs to be proved through the hard work on the field, and it is self-evident who is the best team in China now." ”
Talking about the outstanding performance of the Taishan team that season, Zou Xinguang believes, "Before that, Yin Tiesheng's pragmatic defensive counterattack style and Kim Jong-nam's pursuit of offensive and defensive balance have laid a solid foundation for the championship this season, and it can be said that the glory of the 1999 season is not a day's work." After the arrival of Sonny, from the performance of the season, he showed his coaching style and level, both adhering to principles and daring to correct mistakes in time, and finally won the honor of double crown, which is a natural success. ”
peak
Unfortunately, the "double champion" in the 1999 season did not allow the Taishan team to achieve the transformation of the giants. The following seasons, the team spent ups and downs, and at the end of the 2003 season, manager Nepo chose to resign and leave. Who will take the helm of this veteran team? After several maneuvers, Belgrade Guerrilla Meritorious Coach Tubakovic became the new coach of the Tarzan team.
"Compared to Sonny, Tuba is completely different, he has a very calm personality, and this composure has brought him a good coaching environment, but also brought him the football concept of focusing on me and pursuing smooth ground coordination." Zou Xinguang said so. Lu Zheng, who once played in the Chinese Super League, was selected for the Taishan team in 2004. Recalling his impression of Tuba, Lu Zheng said: "Tuba attaches great importance to the control of details, requiring us to pass the ball must go to the ground, and it is not allowed to casually take a high ball. ”
Through strict control of training, Tuba quickly gave the team a new look. In the 2004 season, the team won the Chinese Super League Cup and the FA Cup, and the league was runner-up. In the 2005 season, the team upgraded the lineup again, and at that time, the Taishan team with the big team was also crowned the "Chinese Real Madrid" reputation. Unfortunately, the Taishan team did not win any championship honors this year. In the FA Cup final, the team lost 0-1 to Dalian Shide. After the game, the team's flagship figure Li Xiaopeng announced his retirement.
"In fact, Peng Ge (Li Xiaopeng) wants to retire, everyone already knows in advance, we as juniors, on the one hand, respect the wishes of Big Brother, on the other hand, we also understand that the career of professional players is not permanent, so it can be regarded as a natural acceptance." Recalling that Li Xiaopeng retired from the army, Lu Zheng said so. It was this time that it went with the flow, and in the 2006 season, the Taishan team in the "post-Li Xiaopeng era" had no waves and started smoothly.
In the first round of the league, the team won 3-1 away to the Xiamen Blue Lions, and returned to the home court to win Qingdao Zhongneng 3-0, showing good strength. However, in the third round of the match, the team lost 1-5 away to the promoted team Shanghai United City, pouring cold water on the team in time.
"Still too relaxed, before playing United City, I think the other side is a promotion team, it should not be a difficult game." Lu Zheng said that it was this defeat that the team re-corrected its mentality up and down and played every subsequent game seriously.
Starting again, the Tarzan team showed great offensive firepower. In the 23rd round of the league, Taishan won 2-0 away to Xi'an International and won ten consecutive wins. At the same time, the team's victory over Guoan in the next round of matches will be able to stabilize the league championship 6 rounds in advance.
After seven years, the championship is expected to return to Qilu, and the fans have long been unable to hold back their inner expectations and want to experience the joy of the championship at their doorstep. Tickets for the national security competition are naturally hard to find. Even many "scalpers" who peddle tickets at the entrance of the provincial sports are worried about not receiving a ticket.
The players naturally had a hard time hiding their inner expectations, Lu Zheng said frankly, "At that time, everyone's idea was very simple, that is, they must win this game and create the history of Shandong football and even Chinese football, the psychology is all expectation and excitement, not nervous at all." However, the pre-match preparation training, the players were a little too excited, which also made Tuba have to remind the players that the match with Guoan should still be prepared as an ordinary game, calm down and go with the flow.
On August 26, the team bus slowly drove into the Shandong Provincial Sports Center amid the welcome of fans. Less than three minutes into the opening, Han Peng broke the deadlock for the team. In the end, the 1-0 score was maintained in midfield. With the whistle of referee Hardy, the Shandong Provincial Sports Center was already a sea of joy, and all the players huddled together excitedly, and then rushed to the fan stands to celebrate the championship with the fans. Of course, the carnival is far from over, excited players, improvised ideas, collectively pasted the turf, gliding in the direction of the fan stands...
Fans were celebrating the championship in their own way, and in the stands, some fans set off fireworks. After the game, the streets of Jinan were crowded with people in orange jerseys, holding aloft portraits of Tuba and Taishan players, shouting, "Luneng is the champion!" ”
Of course, the league victory is not the end, a few days later, the team eliminated Xi'an International, broke into the final of the FA Cup, and competed with Dalian Shide for the championship.
On November 18, the Taishan team and Dalian Shide met at Changsha Helong Stadium. Relying on the goals of Li Jinyu and Han Peng, the team won 2-0 against the opponent and locked up the double crown honor. When captain Shu Chang lifted the championship, the team members could not wait to put their fingers to the trophy, wanting to experience this joy at the first time...
In the 1999 season and the 2006 season, the Taishan team won the "double championship" twice, and Zou Xinguang experienced it as the team's assistant coach. Speaking about the team this season, he said, "As the tactical play has matured, the Tarzan team has everything to reach a higher goal. The 1999 double was a bonus, while the 2006 double was a sign of true strength. ”
future
After the 2006 season, the Tarzan Dynasty was officially established. In the following two seasons, 2008 and 2010, the team used the players of the 2006 season as the team and won the league championship twice.
In the 2011 season, the team was strong and strong, and the age structure was very reasonable, originally, this would be a good time for them to hit the double again, but I did not expect that this was indeed a turning point for the Tarzan team to decline and rebuild. This year, the team's coach Ivankovic was dismissed after losing home to Jeonbuk Hyundai in the AFC Champions League group stage, and the team's assistant coach Matic succeeded him, but after a series of defeats, Barbosa, then the foreign head coach of Luneng Football School, rushed to Jinan as firefighting manager. His arrival made the Taishan team change positively for a while, but in the FINAL OF THE FA CUP at the end of the season, the team was finally reversed by Tianjin Teda in a good situation. Subsequently, the Taishan team entered a long reconstruction period.
In the 2012 season, the Taishan team hired Theon Carter of Europe to teach, but the youth storm came and went quickly, and this season the team did not succeed in relegation with Dewey's second-reading seconds until the penultimate round of the league. In the 2013 season, Serbian Antic put The Taishan team back on track, but it was still difficult to beat Evergrande's golden storm.
At the beginning of the 2014 season, the team's "arms race" officially opened, Montillo, Aloisio and other high-priced foreign aid have arrived, domestic players, Wang Dalei, Dai Lin, Zhang Wenzhao and other international footballers have joined, equipped with South American coach Kuka, the team originally wanted to compete with Evergrande, but "anxious", bad luck, failed to eat "hot tofu". Kuka coached for two seasons, and the team won only one FA Cup and one Super Cup.
In the 2016 season, Taishan team is deeply in the relegation quagmire, under the fire, the German coach Magat took office, at the same time, the team also introduced two Premier League celebrities, Pele and Cisse, at the end of the season, under the golden dollar storm, the team went against the current, Wang Yongpo, Yang Xu, Zhao Mingjian and other star players transferred and left, although during this period, Fellaini, Guedes and other players are also worth a lot, but in comparison, Taishan's investment in this period is not large at the Chinese Super League level.
Dare to swim against the current in the golden dollar storm, thanks to its strong youth training system, it has been able to send high-quality players to the team's first team. In 1999, Santracci's contribution to the Tarzan team was not just two championship trophies. At that time, Santracci pointed out that there was a general lack of youth training construction in Chinese football, and proposed that Taishan open a football school to cultivate a sound youth training system. After the completion of Luneng Football School in July of that year, it quickly developed into the "Whampoa Military Academy" of Chinese football. Relying on the self-hematopoietic blood of Luneng youth training, coupled with the targeted reinforcements of the team, the Taishan team of "small management" has unconsciously created a team with championship potential.
In the 2017-2019 season, Taishan team has been in the forefront of the league consecutively, and the FA Cup has reached the final twice. During this period, although Magath no longer coached Taishan in the 2018 season, his successor Li Xiaopeng continued the personnel structure and tactical system of Taishan with a pragmatic concept. In the middle of the 2020 season, Li Xiaopeng left the team, and the assistant coach Hao Wei who took over the team also led the team forward under pragmatism.
In the 2020 season, the last season of the Luneng era, Taishan ended with an FA Cup title. At the same time as the transition between the Luneng era and the era of cultural tourism, the Taishan team smoothly transitioned and set a model for optimizing equity reform.
The 2021 season can be regarded as a year when Taishan team truly integrates into the "cultural tourism era". Looking back on this year, the Taishan team can see the rapid efficiency from the introduction of reinforcements at the beginning of the season, coupled with stable investment, professional operation and deep cultivation of youth training, injecting a steady stream of power into the Taishan team, and the steady progress of this old team is a warm sun in the Chinese Super League during the "winter" period, and also sets a benchmark for the benign development of the league.
Because of this, this season's Taishan team won the championship in the Chinese Super League, which can be described as well-deserved. This championship belongs to the fans, to the player coaches, and to Zou Xinguang, Hou Zhiqiang, Lu Zheng and any other Taishan hero who has dedicated his life to this team.
Talking about this season's Chinese Super League victory, Zou Xinguang, who is no longer a participant, is still difficult to hide his joy, he frankly said, "This year, the main purpose of Shandong Taishan's participation is also inheritance and glory, I think they have perfectly interpreted this theme with good performance and excellent results, which makes our older generation of footballers feel very pleased, and also makes our Shandong fans feel the joy and joy brought to them by football once again." In the next FA Cup final, I also hope that the team will guard against arrogance and impetuosity, win the game smoothly, and make the dream of another double champion a reality! ”