A few days ago, Xie Feng commented on the performance of young player Liu Guobo in an interview, believing that this is the best preparation period for his training in recent years. This also seems to indicate that Liu Guobo will usher in more opportunities in the new season and occupy the main position of Guoan U23.
In this season's Chinese Super League, Gao Tianyi, Hou Yongyong and Bai Yang are no longer U23 age players, and Liu Guobo, born in 1999, is the oldest U23 available player in the team. After that, there are Xie Longfei and Li Boxi, who were born in 2000, and Ruan Qilong, Duan Dezhi and others in 2001.
Although Guoan has entered a period of adjustment of new and old replacements, in the position of U23, in fact, the reserves are not sufficient. The key is that the reserve of players in the 99-2000 age group is too small. Players after 2001 are still young, and it will take time to expect them.
Therefore, Liu Guobo has become the biggest hope. However, judging from the situation in the past few years, Liu Guobo is indeed much inferior to Wang Ziming in 96, Zhang Yuning and Guo Quanbo in 97, and Hou Yongyong and Gao Tianyi in 98.
Not to mention that in the past few years, Liu Guobo's playing time is more or less, and there is really nothing outstanding in terms of performance. Remember when Barton came out as an Under-23 player, he was only 21 years old and did quite well. When Wang Ziming was 22 years old, he also sent assists for Guoan. Zhang Yuning and Guo Quanbo directly stood in the main position. But Liu Guobo, now 23 years old, has not yet kicked out even one of his masterpieces.
But there is no way, Liu Guobo is still an important candidate for Guoan's U23 next season, because his age is the most suitable.
In terms of position, Liu Guobo has mainly played as a full-back in the past, but in recent years, Guoan has not set up a full-back position, which is one of the reasons why Liu Guobo cannot have more opportunities for Guoan to play.
Now after Xie Feng returns, whether Guoan will change to 442 or 4231 is not yet known. If you can set up a full-back, Liu Guobo may have a little more opportunities to play, if there is no full-back, or continue to use the three-centre-back style of play, Liu Guobo may not have a chance.
Li Boxi and Xie Longfei, who are 1 year younger than Liu Guobo, are also full-backs, and to be honest, the two of them have had a dazzling feeling at least for a few seconds in the past games for Guoan. For example, Li Boxi's original human ball in the FA Cup and Xie Longfei's mid-road direct block in the Chinese Super League last year showed that the two youngsters had something to look forward to in terms of technology and consciousness. However, like Liu Guobo, they can also play better in the full-back position of Guoan.
In the second half of last season, Nguyen Chi Lung and Liang Shaowen played the last two games as a centre-back combination, of course they played as two of the three centre-backs. From the performance point of view, Ruan Qilong is stronger than Liang Shaowen.
In the new season, if Guoan continues to use the three-guard style of play, the two young players will still have a lot of opportunities to play, and they will also solve the problem of Guoan's U23 use. But if it is the style of play of the four defenders, in fact, any one of the two young players to partner Yu Yang or Yu Dabao, can not be assured. After all, they are still a bit naïve.
The same is true for other positions, the left guard is said to be the most lacking, but Naibi Jiang and Xiaoqiang are also relatively young, and if they have little experience, they may become the main direction of the opponent's attack. Duan Dezhi and Leng Jixuan have their own characteristics, but they are unlikely to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities in the forward line. Chen Yanpu and Hu Jiaqi in the midfield also have some ability, but Guoan's midfield talent is not lacking, and Gao Tianyi, the main force of U23 last season, may not be able to play the main force this season, let alone the 01 young player.
Counting, Guoan's U23 location is still not very clear. It depends on Xie Feng's tactical play. If it is a full-back 4231 or 442, then Liu Guobo is very likely to become the first choice for U23, and the opportunity for Xie Longfei and Li Boxi to play will not be too small. If the three-guard system is continued, Ruan Qilong, Liang Shaowen and Naibi Jiang and Xiaoqiang, who are more suitable for wing-backs, will have more opportunities to play, and may have more opportunities than Liu Guobo.
Obviously, Xie Feng is now considering that in addition to the U23 players who are strong in ability and good form, they must also consider the overall formation of the team. You can't make other players play awkwardly for the sake of U23, you can only let other players play at their own level, and then see which position can be given to U23 players.
In fact, since the beginning of that season in 2020, Guoan has been trapped by U23, and Zhang Yuning has been physically exhausted, but because Hou Yongyong was injured, Guoan did not have suitable U23 players available. Last year, gao Tianyi signed, fortunately, the performance was good, but because Hou Yongyong could not recover for a long time, Gao Providence almost supported the entire season, and it was also very difficult.
This year may be the most difficult year for The U23 position of Guoan. If no player in the 01 echelon suddenly rises to sit in the main position, then it can only be used from Liu Guobo, and transition to the age when the 01 echelon becomes the main force of U23 little by little.