On the evening of January 5, Beijing time, the Chinese men's football team ushered in the last warm-up match of West Asia preparation before the Asian Cup, and with Zhang Yuning's hat trick, the national football team defeated the UAE Gulf Heroes 6-2 and ended the Siala training with a victory.
Wang Qiuming started the game in this game, and the captain of the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, who returned from injury, is using hard work to win back his rightful position in the national football team.
According to the plan, the national football team will fly to Doha, Qatar, the venue of the Asian Cup on January 7. In this Asian Cup, the national football team is in the same group as Qatar, Tajikistan and Lebanon, and the top two teams in the group will directly qualify, and the third place with the best results in 4 of the 6 groups will also advance to the round of 16.
The Qatar Asian Cup will open on January 12, and on the evening of the 13th, the national football team will welcome the first opponent of the group stage of this Asian Cup - Tajikistan.
Wang Qiuming is attacking the Asian Cup with the national football team, while the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers are starting winter training at the Mission Hills Football Training Base in Haikou.
On January 3, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers' two new foreign players, Škorić and Fioric, arrived in Haikou to join the team, and according to the arrangement of the coaching staff, the two will first have a period of individual training before joining the team's joint training.
In the first warm-up game of the Jinmen Tigers in Haikou, the two may get some playing time.
Compared with Fiolić, who made his debut in the Chinese Super League, whether it is the Jinmen Tigers coaching staff or Tianjin fans, they are no strangers to Shkolić, who played for the Cangzhou Lions last season.
Although the Croatian only played 21 Super League games for the Cangzhou Lions before leaving on a free transfer due to unpaid wages from the club, he has already made a name for himself in the Chinese Super League.
Interestingly, in the 16th round of the Chinese Super League last season, in the first game after the halfway, the Jinmen Tigers challenged the Cangzhou Lions away.
Before the game, when the reporter of "Sports New Vision" asked Cangzhou team coach Zhao Junzhe about whether Škorić could play, Zhao Junzhe also joked with Jinmen Tiger coach Yu Genwei in the air, "You asked for Brother Yu, right? Tell him that he can't play." ”
Who would have thought that half a year later, Yu Genwei had already recruited Škorić under his command.
At the end of March 2023, Ossijek's meritorious captain Škorić bid farewell to the team he had played for 14 years and landed in the Chinese Super League to join the Cangzhou Lions, and his Chinese Super League debut was against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers.
In that game, the Cangzhou Lions also drew 1-1 with the Jinmen Tigers, and Škorić started as captain of the Cangzhou team, and he was active at both ends of the pitch in midfield.
The Croatian handed in all-round stats of 6 long balls, 79% pass completion rate, 3 dribbles, 3 successful aerial duels, 4 successful interceptions, 2 clearances, 2 tackles and 1 key pass.
It can be said that it was with the excellent performance of this game that Shkorić, who made his debut in the Chinese Super League, became famous, and at the same time, Yu Genwei remembered himself deeply.
After that game, Škorić wrote on social media, "This is my first Super League game and it is a great honour to captain the new team. ”
Under this dynamic, Škoric's old club, the Osijek Club, also left a symbol of the captain's logo to applaud Škorić.
In fact, at that time, the Cangzhou Lions introduced Shkolić as a central defender, but a few days before the game, Zhao Junzhe specifically found Shkolić, hoping that he could play in the midfield position.
In this regard, Škoric, who started as a young man in midfield, said with a smile that he was "back to square one", "The coach said that he knew that the midfield was not my natural position on the pitch, but in training he saw that I had good technique and passing ability, so he wanted me to take on more responsibility in central midfield. ”
What was even more unexpected for Škorić was that after only a few training sessions with the Cangzhou team, Zhao Junzhe handed him the armband of the captain of the Cangzhou team, hoping that he would show his leadership skills.
'I had been captain of Osijek for a long time and had a lot of experience leading the team and managing the dressing room, so they gave me the captain's armband so quickly, and there must have been a reason for that. ”
Now, Škorić is close to becoming a member of the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, and if the target new signings are in place, the central defenders of the Tianjin Tigers are Han Pengfei, Yu Yang, Grant, Wang Xianjun, and Chen Shihao.
In the middle of the midfield, in the case of a large number of departures, the main players are only Wang Qiuming, Guo Hao and Škorić, as well as Huang Jiahui, who is expected to join.
If nothing else, in the new season in the Jinmen Tigers, Shkolić will still play in the central midfield, and according to the actual needs of the team, he can also play at any time to play multiple positions such as central defender, forward midfielder, and even forward.
You know, from the perspective of Škoric's entire career, except for the goalkeeper, he has played all positions on the field.
If nothing else, Shkorić, Grant, and Han Pengfei will form the backcourt iron triangle in the new season, and whether this combination can produce good chemistry will determine the safety factor of the Jinmen Tigers' defense, and will also affect the speed of the Jinmen Tigers from defense to offense.
At the same time, after the departure of Andujar, who is very leader, the midfield of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers is also in urgent need of players with super leadership and infectious energy to fill the void left by Andujar.
Maybe it won't be long before Yu Genwei will make the same choice as Zhao Junzhe......