The Chinese men's soccer team started their vacation after the 0-3 loss to South Korea. Nonetheless, for the national team players playing for Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua, they don't have much rest time and adjustment period. Since the final of the AFC Cup is coming up on November 25, 2023, they have returned to their respective clubs to fully prepare for the final showdown of the season.
Taishan and Shenhua are among the few veteran teams that have survived since the professionalization of Chinese soccer. They often appear in the finals of the F.A.C. Cup. Shandong Taishan is the absolute juggernaut, having won the F.A.C. Cup 8 times. Shanghai Shenhua has also appeared in 6 finals and won the title 3 times, showing a deep cup heritage.
The meeting was the third time in the history of Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua to meet in the final of the AFC Cup. 1995 was the first AFC Cup after the professionalization of soccer, and Shandong Taishan won the first AFC Cup trophy in the club's history as challengers in the Wutaishan Stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, with an unexpected 2-0 victory over the stronger Shanghai Shenhua.
For the second time in 2019, the two teams met in the final of the AFC Cup. Shandong Taishan led Jinan 1-0 in the home game. However, they were beaten by Shanghai Shenhua in a 3-0 reverse in Shanghai. After the match, Li Xiaopeng, the then head coach of Shandong Taishan, attended the award ceremony for the best coach in the Chinese Super League, leaving behind the classic quote of "three boring sticks". It is worth mentioning that the one who beat Li Xiaopeng at that time was the current head coach of the team, Cui Kangxi.
This time, Cui Kangxi's Shandong Taishan team faced their old boss Shanghai Shenhua, and the match attracted a lot of attention even before it started. In terms of the overall strength of the two teams, Shandong Taishan is more powerful, but Shanghai Shenhua should not be underestimated. This season, although Shanghai Shenhua's offense is lacking, their defense is excellent, with 13 1-0 victories in two fronts, and all 7 draws ended in 1-1 scores. This shows that Wu Jingui's team has reached the ultimate performance in "pragmatism".
In this match, Cui Kangxi should be careful to avoid Shanghai Shenhua scoring first. Once Shandong Taishan falls behind with a number of foreigners missing, Wu Jingui may resort to the "bus" tactic to make the comeback even more difficult. In a way, this game is a confrontation between the two teams.
