On March 20, the German transfer market showed that Shandong Taishan, the double champion of the Chinese Super League and the FA Cup last season, had completed the renewal of contracts with 7 players in the team, including Qi Tianyu, the main rotation player of last season, and the 29-year-old was given a three-year contract extension that expired at the end of 2024. It is worth mentioning that just yesterday, another Full-back from Luneng Academy, Chen Zhechao, joined the Chinese Super League promotion Mameizhou Hakka without a free reintegrate contract. Both wingers were once downcast, but why are they in very different circumstances now? The reason is simple, the ability to grasp opportunities is not the same.
Qi Tianyu is in the 93rd age group, and he is in the same batch as Liu Binbin, Wu Xinghan and Wang Tong, but the youth storm that Luneng blew up in the 2012 season of the Chinese Super League has nothing to do with him. Because he was only promoted to the Luneng first team during his second transfer in 2013, his ass was loaned to Portuguese Second Division Casa Pia for a season before he sat on the hot bench, which was also a bit of foreign ink. However, this did not bring him good luck, in fact, it was not until the 13th round of the 2016 Chinese Super League that Qi Tianyu made his Chinese Super League debut, which was 2 months later than Chen Zhechao's Chinese Super League debut.
However, although Chen Zhechao's debut was well received at that time, it was like a small stone thrown into the sea, which did not stir up much splash, but lost the opportunity because Luneng fell into the bitter sea of relegation. Qi Tianyu, on the other hand, is a player hand-pulled by firefighting coach Magat and is seen as a fresh blood to reinvigorate the team's morale. The debut match with SIPG, he showed an excellent up-and-down ability in the position of right-back, which made people shine, when Luneng fans knew that this 93-year-old guy also had a nickname called "Qi San Lung", and the good physical fitness was evident. In addition, he also had a good cross, in the 2016 season of the Chinese Super League, Qi Tianyu played 11 games and delivered 2 assists.
According to this development trend, qi Tianyu occupies the position of Luneng's main right-back position without any problems. However, he was extremely happy and sad, and secretly left the team to date his girlfriend during the recuperation period, and as a result, he touched the scales of Magat, who was strict in governing the army, and the old horse did not give the beloved disciple the slightest chance and directly banned him. In the entire 2017 season, Qi Tianyu only played 6 games in the Chinese Super League. After that, Magat preferred to use centre-back Li Songyi as a cameo at right-back rather than the stronger Qi Tianyu, who was obviously extremely disappointed in him.
Also in that season, Chen Zhechao was even more unlucky than Qi Tianyu, who suffered serious injuries and was even revoked from the first team registration at one point. In those seasons, the two were difficult brothers and sisters, holding hands and looking at each other with tears in their eyes.
In the 2020 season, Chen Zhechao joined Guangzhou R&F on loan and played 9 of the 13 Chinese Super League starts, which is more than his previous four seasons in Luneng combined. Qi Tianyu only played 3 games in the Chinese Super League as a substitute that season, and all competitions added up to only 6 games, but in the only 3 games, Qi Tianyu received 1 assist, and his footwork is still accurate.
Last season, Chen Zhechao returned to Taishan, it is reasonable to say that in the intensive schedule, he should be able to get some opportunities, but there are two major generals in the left-back position, Song Long, Liu Yang, one old and one young, and Zheng Zheng, who is more as a center-back, occasionally pulls back to the left-back position, and Chen Zhechao, who is still young, cannot enter Hao Wei's vision. In fact, Qi Tianyu is the same, the main right-back position is shared by Wang Tong and Ji Xiang, and Qi Tianyu is arranged to play as a full-back even if he comes off the bench. But he seized the opportunity very well, contributing 1 goal and 4 assists in 12 games, thus conquering Hao Wei, and the renewal was also logical. Chen Zhechao, on the other hand, could only leave the team in disgrace.
As a giant team in the Chinese Super League, the competition in Shandong Taishan team is unprecedentedly fierce, and the players are like sailing against the current, especially for youth players, whether they can seize the opportunity in the limited playing time is crucial. Qi Tianyu grasped it, so he was able to come back to life and continue to stay in the team, while Chen Zhechao, who did not seize the opportunity, could only go away, which is the cruelty of professional football.