The importance of the goalkeeper as the team's last line of defense is self-evident. As the saying goes, a good goalkeeper can top half a team. Yan Junling has been sitting in the first place in the country for a long time, and its advantages and disadvantages are very obvious.
Yan Junling is in excellent physical condition, with a height of 192cm and an astonishing arm span of 210cm. Tall, with long arms and a wide coverage area, this is an extremely good static talent as a goalkeeper. Such outstanding physical talent gives him a huge advantage when it comes to goal. We often see him make good saves in the game, and as long as the ball is within reach of his outstretched feet, it is difficult to break through the goalkeepers he is guarding.
However, Yan Junling's shortcomings are equally prominent. Judging from the performance of the national team in the World Preliminary Tournament and the recent Chinese Super League:
- The sense of position is poor, and the standing position is relatively accustomed to biasing towards the near goalpost.
The scene of the national football team against Singapore is believed to be impressive, Yan Junling's position is too biased towards the near post, which leads to a large gap in the far corner. In the 11th round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Port played against Changchun Yatai, after Beric broke the ball, he found that Yan Junling's position was biased towards the near post, so he decisively shot with his feet. Although the ball speed is not fast and it bounces off the ground, if Yan Junling's position is not a problem, the chances of scoring a goal with this shot are not very good.
- He likes to get too close to the goal line and doesn't like to go up and block the opponent's shot or pass angle.
In the AFC Champions League qualifiers, Pathum United scored the first goal, if Yan Junling could move to the near post at the same time, advance to the goal line of the small penalty area to block the angle of the shot, Sergeyev's shot may not be so easy. Also in the AFC Champions League, when Shandong Taishan team challenged Kawasaki Frontale away, Kawasaki Frontale suddenly went straight in the middle, and the striker faced Wang Dalei directly. Wang Dalei stepped forward in advance to block the angle of his foot, shook the opponent's striker, and then saved the opponent's shot. Successfully transform a reactive situation into a proactive one.
- Lack of concentration and decisiveness.
In the AFC Champions League qualifying round, Pathum United scored the third goal of the Shanghai Port team, and the opponent's side player crossed to the attacking player in the middle, although he touched other players first, but did not change the direction of the ball. At this time, Yan Junling should have immediately moved in the opposite direction, but the fact was that he paused first, watching the ball and waiting for the ball to almost reach the feet of the attacking player in the middle before starting to move quickly. In contrast, Wang Dalei of Shandong Taishan team successfully defused the crisis in another AFC Champions League game, facing the opponent's offensive player's two-foot cross, quickly moving and stepping forward to block the angle. He is focused, moves in one go, and is decisive and not procrastinating.
- The bounce is average, the explosiveness is insufficient, and the handling of high-altitude balls needs to be improved.
In the 11th round of the Chinese Super League, in the game between Shanghai Port and Changchun Yatai, the first goal of the Yatai team, in the face of this corner kick, Yan Junling chose to wait for the jump and stretched forward to receive the ball, so that the ball was far away from the cylindrical range of his body, and it was easy to be grabbed by the opponent in advance. He will either get stuck forward and catch the ball in the position where the attacking player grabs the point, and as long as he is hit, he will have a high probability of hitting the goalkeeper. Either you can knock the ball out with one punch without getting stuck in the early position, and use the other hand for balance and body protection.
To sum up, we can summarize some offensive strategies when facing Yan Junling in the game: the long shot between the march can first drag Yan Junling's position and then shoot to the far corner; For close-range shots, you can choose the top corner of the near post. Wide crosses or corners are relatively easy to make goalkeeper mistakes.
"In fact, the goalkeeper position, if you can turn passive into active, you will have a high level of stability and can save a lot of balls." This is what Yan Junling once said in an interview with reporters during the 2019 Asian Cup. Yan Junling knows what his problems are, and he has continued to grow and improve over the years, with outstanding performances for club and country. As Chinese fans, we have seen his hard work and dedication, and we respect him. But for now, if you want to choose the first choice of the country, it should not be Yan Junling. Goalkeepers such as Wang Dalei of Shandong Taishan, Hou Sen of Beijing Guoan, and Bao Yaxiong of Shanghai Shenhua have performed better and are more suitable for appearing in the national team list.
(Note: The above views only represent the personal views of a blogger who loves Chinese football)