During the thanks, Chua Huikang (No. 6) stood at the back of the line.
After a humiliating 3-2 home defeat to Thailand's Pathum United in the AFC Champions League qualifying round, the decline of Shanghai Port has not stopped.
On the evening of the 25th, the 24th round of the Chinese Super League away to Henan team, the sluggish harbor lost 1-3 - only one point in the last three league rounds, with a lead of as many as 14 points, the port was narrowed to 9 points by Taishan with the last six rounds remaining.
After the game, Zhang Min, chairman of Harbour Club, listened to the dissatisfaction and opinions of the fans on the sidelines, and the team reached the moment when it had to change.
Zhang Min (left) accompanied Cai Huikang to thank the game after the game.
Javier gambling on people?
After being criticized for using a small number of foreign aides, Javier rarely started four foreign helpers in this game, Oscar and Vargas played in midfield, Caron attacked on the right and Joao played as a center.
Wu Lei served as a substitute for the first time in the league this season, with Lu Wenjun playing on the left wing and Cai Huikang alone.
Harbour's previous excellent away results, with 9 wins and 2 draws in 11 games, are related to Javier's style of stability, but in the face of the team's general fatigue after playing the AFC Champions League, Javier's technique and tactics in this game were very aggressive.
Javier appears to have completely lost control of the team.
In the AFC Champions League qualifying match against Pathum United three days ago, Javier used Chua Huikang, Xu Xin and Mattijiang to form a back three - the strategy of facing the Thai team at home could have been more adventurous, and the thinking of these two games was completely different, and it was reasonable to end up incurring two consecutive defeats.
It is understood that Havel's Chinese team is more concerned about the media's evaluation of him, and some people will extract some of the media's views on his formation and convey to him, judging from the situation of four foreign aides starting together in this game, Javier is somewhat gambling.
Javier gave the caddie a push.
Or is Javier's own mentality close to collapse?
A clear example is the inexplicable dispute between Javier and the caddie in the second half of the game, when Harbour was only one goal behind and the home caddy slightly delayed the return time, which is normal, but Javier directly pushed the caddie...
This impatient mentality will send very bad psychological hints to the players on the field.
The two sides clashed after the match.
The "Chongming Six Tigers" are overused
Judging from the course of the game, Harbour ultimately lost, and Javier was fully responsible.
The team's first two goals conceded were long-range shots from outside the opponent's penalty area, and it was outrageous to let Chua Huikang play a single back away from home, taking into account his age and psychological condition.
The 34-year-old Cai is no longer suitable for playing two starting games in four days, not to mention that after the last match with Pathum United, Cai Huikang was involved in a dispute with fans outside the field, and the club specially asked him to attend the press conference before the game to apologize, and the rotation of Choi Huikang in this game was the best choice.
The fitness problem is the biggest problem plaguing Harbour at this stage, and it has a lot to do with Javier's refusal to rotate.
Chua Huikang (right) cannot afford to start two games in four days.
Harbour is the oldest team in the Super League this season, there are almost no ones, and the six players in Chongming Phase I have a wealth of experience and ability as a squad, but the natural law of age growth cannot be overcome.
But what is exaggerated is that since the 3-1 home defeat of Wuhan Three Towns, there have been exactly 9 league games and 1 AFC Champions League game, and the two 34-year-old veterans Zhang Linpeng and Wang Shenchao have actually started all of them.
In fact, there are still Li Ang, Wei Zhen, Li Shenyuan and other immediate combat forces in the back line, Zhang Linpeng and Wang Shenchao can start 5 of these 10 games, and have 5 rotations to rest or substitute.
The consequences of Javier's overuse of the "Chongming Six Tigers" began to show up as the season drew to a close.
Wu Lei was given a rotational break for this game.
Whether to change Javier or not, that's the question
After the game, Javier accepted the result of the team's loss, admitting that the team's recent form has not been very good. However, after this game, the Chinese Super League will enter a three-week break, which may ease some of the team's fatigue.
The Spaniard also admitted, "Then go all out and take advantage of the lull and do some mental and physical rest." ”
Before the post-match press conference, the whole Harbour team came to the fans' stands for the first time after the game to thank the game, during which the call for "class" was endless...
Javier's AFC Champions League defeat, coupled with Chua Hui-kang's "light bulb" comments on social media after the match, heightened tensions between the club and fans.
In this regard, the club management has actually actively rescued itself - before the game, chairman Zhang Min specially came to the fan stand to communicate with about 300 expedition fans. During the post-match thanks, Zhang Min also walked alone under the stands to bow to the fans.
Vargas is still provoking his opponents after the game.
In the context of positive management communication, if Javier could win this game, it may ease the relationship between the two sides, but this loss has exacerbated fan dissatisfaction with Javier.
After the team left the stadium after the game, Zhang Min came to the outside of the stadium to communicate with the fans to apologize, but in the face of the fans' call to "leave class", perhaps the Harbour Club is not yet able to give an answer.
Although the points gap has been narrowed to 9 points, Harbour still has a high probability of winning the league, and changing coaches means risk; But if Javier can't adjust his mentality, it will also be a destabilizing factor on the road to winning the title...
The seaport management is now left with a dilemma.