Reporter Lu Mi reported that the 2024 season of the Chinese Super League has been carried out 1/4, in addition to the stable and enthusiastic fans, the league is most noteworthy, of course, is the impact of five foreign aid on the league pattern.
The strength of Shanghai Shenhua, Chengdu Rongcheng, Shanghai Port and other teams undoubtedly has a lot to do with the strength of its foreign aid, of course, there are also teams like Cangzhou Lions that were not favored at the beginning, but "killed" giants like dark horses, supporting Cangzhou Lions ranked 6th after the 8th round, in addition to the player's faithful implementation of the technical and tactical system, the most important thing is the outstanding performance of several foreign aids.
In fact, after the liberalization of the foreign aid policy on the fifth day this year, it will test the club's vision of selecting foreign aid and the accuracy of using foreign aid. Although it is no longer the investment standard in the Jinyuan football era, the number of appearances, time and level of foreign aid can still determine the team's performance and results to a large extent.
Shanghai Shenhua, which ranked first in the standings after 8 rounds, is the biggest highlight of this year's Chinese Super League, on the one hand, it is the stable performance of domestic Mesozoic players, and on the other hand, it is the precision of the new coach Slutsky's use of foreign aid. Last season's original foreign players Malele and Teixeira performed well this season, Teixeira made 8 league appearances, averaged 87 minutes per game, scored a total of 6 goals and contributed 1 assist, which has long exceeded his statistics for the whole season of 2023. Malele has started six of his seven appearances this season and although his playing time has been affected by some injuries, he still has two goals and one assist, and is one of the players who has created the most chances.
In addition, striker Andre Luiz, who has just been introduced by Shenhua this year, has also made eight starts, averaging 87 minutes per game, and the best thing is his efficiency on the offensive end, with five goals and five assists so far. Defender Amadou was indispensable in all games except for being substituted in the second half due to injury in the Shanghai derby, while full-back Manafa, who started seven times and missed the Shanghai derby due to injury, has been relatively consistent in his appearance and performance. Generally speaking, Shanghai Shenhua Slutsky has achieved a fine division of labor for the use of five foreign aid on three lines, and let everyone exert their maximum energy.
Chengdu Rongcheng, which ranks second in the league, has mainly focused on domestic players in terms of investment in reinforcements this season. Three of the foreign players were the original players from last season. Rongcheng's foreign aid is more stable Felipe, Teemo and Gulfinkel, the three started 8 times, played the whole game, Felipe has 6 goals and 1 assist, and is currently ranked third in the Chinese Super League scorer list. Midfielder Andrigo has started seven of his eight appearances and scored two goals in total, while Romeolo has returned from injury and has made four substitute appearances this season due to the competition for places with Andrigo, and has yet to score. Chengdu Rongcheng has introduced a lot of Mesozoic players, and Zhou Dingyang has played as a player from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as a naturalized player like Ackerson, and the overall squad strength is in line with the ranking.
When it comes to the performance of foreign players, we have to mention the Cangzhou Lions, one of the least favored teams at the beginning of the season. It is said that it is not favored, and it is more due to the operation of the club itself. But through the first 8 rounds of games, it can be seen that this relegation team has a unique vision in selecting foreign players. Strikers Oscar and Ewell started 8 games, averaging 89 minutes per game, both with 5 goals and 1 assist, while another striker, Otabor, also played 8 games, with 2 goals and 4 assists. Defender Suzu also had a goal and played all the games. Zhukov is seven starts and yet to score or assist. Cangzhou's defensive counterattack tactics mainly rely on the counterattack of the three foreign aid explosion points in the front court, and Zhao Junzhe relied on tactical design and made full use of foreign aid to make Cangzhou Lions rank fourth.
Some of the top teams have held up the entire board by virtue of having high-quality domestic players.
In the case of Shanghai Port, who are in third place, striker Gustavo has only five appearances in the league, three starts, an average of 54 minutes per game, and two goals. Vargas started all seven games, but only had one goal and one assist. Midfielder Oscar made six appearances, five starts, with two goals and three assists. Citardini made six appearances and started four times, averaging just 64 minutes per game, with one goal and one assist. Yusa is the longer averager with 72 minutes per game, but also has five starts in six appearances. The foreign aid goals of the entire Shanghai Port have a total of 6, which is not as much as Wu Lei. Unlike Xavier last season, Muscatt has no thinking limits on the use of foreign players, and as the league progresses, he will offer five foreign players in more games to reduce the pressure on the young homegrown players and try to avoid injuries. Shanghai Port, which aims to win the championship, has the AFC Champions League in the second half of the year, and it is important to ensure the physical condition of all members to the greatest extent.
Shandong Taishan, an old powerhouse, was originally a strong contender for the Chinese Super League championship this season, but since the start of the game, due to the injury of foreign aid and many factors, it has not reached the level it should be, and their ranking has stayed at the fifth place. Cressan, who has been injured on both fronts, has only made six appearances and four starts in the league, averaging just 56 minutes per game, and has scored just one league goal so far. New signing Kazaishvili started six of his eight appearances and scored three goals. Pato made three starts in six appearances, contributing one goal and two assists. Judson started five of his six appearances as a defender, scoring two goals. Zeka was injured during winter training and did not sign up. The poor situation of foreign aid affected the ranking of the Taishan team, but it did not fall to the bottom, and still relied on the support of domestic players. Their all-Chinese starters in the last round won away from home to a red-hot Chengdu Rongcheng city, which is the best example.
Beijing is fourth, the team with the fewest goals among the top seven teams. In terms of foreign players, Adebenro made seven substitute appearances and scored only one goal, Fabio made four starts in five appearances and scored only one goal, and midfielder Guga played the whole game in seven starts and scored one. Only Ngadeu and Traore have played the full eight games, with the former scoring a goal. Guoan's ranking can be stable in fourth, although the credit of the double foreign aid central defender is indelible, but the supporting role of high-quality domestic players is very obvious, Zhang Yuning as a local striker has scored 4 goals, and other positions Yang Liyu, Wang Ziming, Zhang Xizhe and other players have scored, but also achieved more flowering. Especially Zhang Xizhe's performance after his comeback, the older he gets, the more demonic he becomes, and his skills in organizing and passing the ball are not inferior even compared with foreign aid in the same position in other teams.
Starting from the seventh-ranked Jinmen Tigers, all of them are teams that have been affected by the state of foreign aid and have had ups and downs.
Tianjin Jinmen Tigers are the first team in the Chinese Super League this season to use five foreign aids, and the team's results were also stable in the top four at the beginning, and the performance was relatively good. But recently, due to the injuries of some foreign players, the results have been poor. Overall, the ability of foreign players is still good, Kompagno has scored 5 goals in 6 appearances, Ademi has 4 goals in 8 appearances, Fiolić and Škoric have both made 8 appearances, and the former has one goal. Defender Grant made five appearances and scored one goal. The Jinmen Tigers have replaced all foreign players this season, and it will take time to run in with each other, which is also the reason for the team's ups and downs.
Henan team has had a poor start to the season, but fortunately, with the recovery of foreign aid and the technical and tactical adjustment of Nan Jiyi, it has recently won two consecutive victories, and the five foreign aides have played more time and the distribution of goals is relatively average. Both Achimpen and Maidana have recently opened their goal accounts. It's just that Kovic, a striker who performed well last season, is currently slowing down the pace of goals, with only one goal and two assists on the offensive end.
Wuhan Three Towns has suffered a serious turnover this year, but it still retains a good team of domestic players, and if the foreign aid is in good condition, their results can also be improved. Striker Enrique has scored four goals in eight appearances, but only two goals in open play. Balde, on the other hand, made just three appearances due to injury and failed to score. Avoleda have also been affected by injuries and have only made four appearances. It stands to reason that the backline of the two foreign players should be relatively stable, but the number of goals conceded by Three Towns in the first 8 rounds ranks third in the Chinese Super League.
At present, the teams with single-digit goals are Zhejiang team, Nantong Zhiyun, Shenzhen Xinpeng City, Qingdao Manatee, Qingdao West Coast, Meizhou Hakka, and Changchun Yatai. Few of these teams have been able to get enough playing time for the five foreign players, due to suspensions and injuries, while others are simply due to ability. For example, Qingdao Manatee, Kangua, Boacye, and Milovic all played 8 games, and Saric also made 6 appearances, only Diego had the least, with 2 appearances and 1 start. The use time of foreign aid is not the worst, but the whole team of foreign aid scored zero goals in the first 7 rounds, until the last round of the game with Shenzhen Xinpeng City, with the help of the opponent's mistakes, two foreign aid opened the goal account.
In general, the results of most teams depend on the ability of foreign players and the use of foreign players by the coaching staff.