Cannavaro's side lost the initiative to qualify.
Fabio Cannavaro, who stood by the sidelines of the Caliph International Stadium on the evening of December 1, wondered if he would remember himself sitting in the stands of the Enrique Stadium in Guimarães 16 years ago...
That night, Guangzhou Evergrande struggled to draw Suwon Samsung 1-1 in the final match of the team's AFC Champions League group stage, and finally ended the team's group stage journey with 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss, accumulating 5 points. If Guangzhou Evergrande wants to qualify, it can only hope that the Kobe Victory Ship, which has already qualified, will not lose with more than 2 goals in the match with Suwon Samsung on the evening of the 4th.
Putting fate, and only advancing to the knockout rounds, into the hands of opponents is indeed an extremely bad reality for Guangzhou Evergrande, which has won the AFC Champions League twice. But looking back at Guangzhou Evergrande's performance in the AFC Champions League, this "my fate is up to others" situation really looks like they are self-inflicted.
The previous game is not much to say, this game against Suwon Samsung's game, Guangzhou Evergrande originally only needed one victory to lock in the qualification in advance. But Guangzhou Evergrande, which should have been able to control its own destiny, played an extremely bad game.
Guangzhou Evergrande's badness is reflected in their chaotic offensive organization. Despite sending Wei Shihao, Talisca, Axon and other attackers, Guangzhou Evergrande, which only had long passes and not even a rush, did not finally complete the first effective shot of the game until the 30th minute in the entire first half, and Talisca's long-range shot was easily defused by Suwon Samsung's goalkeeper Liang Yingmo.
Guangzhou Evergrande, which attacked badly, was actually just as bad on the defensive end. Shortly after the start of the second half, Jiang Guangtai sent a perfect free kick for Suwon Samsung, although Liu Dianzuo struggled to save Li Jidi's sharp free kick from an angle, but Liu Dianzuo, who was "abandoned" by all his teammates, was simply unable to prevent Lin Xiangxi's complementary shot.
Wei Shihao is guangzhou evergrande's best performing player.
This conceding goal made Guangzhou Evergrande, who won the promotion, quite a blow, and perhaps the only thing that made them feel relieved was that in the 73rd minute of the second half, Wei Shihao finally helped Guangzhou Evergrande see some hope with a wonderful provocative shot.
But hope comes and goes faster, and it may be Guangzhou Evergrande and Cannavaro himself who destroy the team's hopes. After Chung Yi-ho was sent off after accumulating two yellow cards, Cannavaro made an adjustment that may have been enough to make him extremely remorseful, replacing goal hero Wei Shihao with Wu Shaocong, which proved to be an absolute defeat after the game.
Wei Shihao's departure also caused Guangzhou Evergrande to lose the most active player on the offensive line, and Fernando wasted a one-handed opportunity in injury time, which may be even more nostalgic for Wei Shihao.
Current standings in Group G.
Unfortunately, any remorse and self-blame after the game was meaningless, and after being forced to draw 1-1 by Suwon Samsung, Guangzhou Evergrande also missed the opportunity to grasp its own destiny. As of now, the mythical victory ship has locked the group head of the group, and the kobe victory ship, which had sent a full substitute lineup in the last round against Guangzhou Evergrande, is afraid that it is difficult to win the final round of the match against Suwon Samsung, and looking at the situation in the standings and the qualification of the group stage, as long as Suwon Samsung defeats the mythical victory ship that is likely to be absent-minded in the last round with an advantage of more than 2 goals, then Suwon Samsung can kick Guangzhou Evergrande out of the knockout round with the advantage of goal difference.
Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by coach Cannavaro, needs the "gift" of the opponent to continue to move forward, which is indeed like the encounter between captain Cannavaro and Italy at the 2004 European Championship. After the first two rounds of draws between Denmark and Sweden, Cannavaro and Italy must not only beat Bulgaria in the final round, but must also hope that Sweden and Denmark will not draw 2-2.
Cannavaro has experienced the helplessness of handing over his fate to his opponent.
Unfortunately, Cannavaro, who was suspended for accumulating yellow cards, although he witnessed his team's thrilling 2-1 victory over Bulgaria in the stands, Denmark and Sweden sent Cannavaro and Italy home with a just right 2-2.
This scene 16 years ago can only illustrate one problem, hoping that the opponent will never be so reliable, and the fate of the opponent is not so reliable. Of course, for today's Cannavaro, he not only handed over the fate of Guangzhou Evergrande to the opponent, but even handed over his fate to the opponent, if Guangzhou Evergrande happens to have no chance of the knockout round, then the "marriage" between Cannavaro and Guangzhou Evergrande may really come to an end, after all, Cannavaro can't always count on saving his coaching prospects by "going to class".