0-5 defeat to Urawa Red Diamonds, Taishan team with 1 draw and 5 losses, completed the mission of the 2022 AFC Champions League, for this group of U21 elite echelon players, harvest a lot of exercise value. From bravely marching out in multiple uncertain environments to facing questions from all sides after the first two battles, Taishan Youth Army played a game and further performance proved the value of participating in this AFC Champions League. In the battle, YiXianlong, Baihelamu, Lu Yongtao, Liu Guobao, Taxi, Lin Guoyu and other half of the lords will look forward to the future.
Before going to the AFC Champions League, many media and fans believed that the Taishan team and Guangzhou team sent youth troops to participate in the AFC Champions League, which could not achieve any exercise purpose, but would affect the self-confidence of young players. However, at the end of the 6 group games, the progress of the Taishan players can be seen by the naked eye, whether it is the coach Yu Yuanwei or the opposing coach and players, they have affirmed the progress of the Taishan young players many times.
Overall, after the first two rounds of fiasco, the Tarzan team made adjustments in the back line, limiting the opponent's attack and defense by compressing space, which played a good effect. On offense, the Tarzans also dared to throw in their strength, scoring two goals in the second leg against the Lions Mariners. Whether from the result or the scene, the Tarzan team has shown a good level.
Personally, the Tarzan team also has many highlights. After the main goalkeeper Cao Zheng made a huge mistake in the first game, he adjusted his mentality in time, and in the next four games, he played a heroic role, and the self-confidence built up step by step through the AFC Champions League level of competition. The two main central defenders Mustapa Tasi and Lin Guoyu have entered the Taishan first team, the two do not suffer losses in physical confrontation, whether it is the speed of turning or the control of the high ball in the defense, there is no particularly obvious loophole, and it is possible to become a young player cultivated by the Taishan first team in the future.
In the midfield, Yi Xianlong, who has repeatedly proved his single-soldier assault ability in the Middle League, brought such confidence to the AFC Champions League stage. Although he was sometimes inexperienced in handling the ball, his personal assault on the counter-attack end became the tarzan team's biggest threat. High school striker Baihelamu continued the characteristics of Shandong Taishan's forward talent, after Su Maozhen, Han Peng, Guo Tianyu, there are still all-round high school forwards emerging, and if the training of the ball under the feet can be strengthened in the follow-up, it is expected to reach a certain height.
In the 6 group games, Taishan team back captain Lu Yongtao all played, in the case of being suppressed by the opponent for a long time, Lu Yongtao still found an opportunity to break into the Lion City Mariners penalty area to create penalties, and personally took the penalty, for The Taishan team won the first goal of this AFC Champions League. Liu Guobao did not have many opportunities to play in the first half of the AFC Champions League due to his injury in the previous warm-up match, but as the game progressed, Liu Guobao scored a wonderful world wave when facing the Lion City sailors, showing enough self-confidence.
Of course, the Tarzan Youth Army also exposed a lot of problems in 6 games. For example, making consecutive mistakes in the defense of set-pieces, giving different opponents multiple chances to score goals. In addition, the two full-backs were not well protected in the middle of the penalty area when they were continuously moved by their opponents, and there were many vacancies. In the final round against Urawa Red Diamonds, in the face of the opponent's onslaught, The Taishan players were physically weak on the one hand, and on the other hand, the offensive and defensive ideas were not unified and resolute, resulting in a complete defeat.
After these 15 days and high-intensity 6 AFC Champions League experiences, I believe that the lads of the Taishan Elite Echelon will further summarize the gains and losses after returning home. This unforgettable experience will surely become an important asset for this group of players to grow. More importantly, the Chinese Football Association needs to restore and improve the reserve team league as soon as possible, which is the opportunity for players of the same age group to play with each other and find problems in actual combat to improve together.