After 3 seasons, the Chinese Super League teams are once again participating in the AFC Champions League with a full squad, and there are expectations that the teams will be able to return to their former glory. However, due to the decline in the overall level of foreign aid, the strength of the Chinese Super League teams has also declined. Moreover, the No. 1 team in the league, Harbour, lost in the qualifying round, which further illustrates the lack of strength of the team. Therefore, it can be said that when the Chinese Super League teams participate in the AFC Champions League again, they are more pragmatic in setting the target, i.e., they hope to advance to the group stage successfully. If they can achieve this goal, the outside world will be satisfied, and as for how far they can go, the team will do their best.
There are now only Taishan, Sanzhen, and Zhejiang participating in the AFC Championship in the Premier League. In terms of strength, Sanzhen are no longer champions and are underfunded. It remains to be seen whether Malcolm will be able to participate in the competition. The outlook for Sanzhen is not optimistic. Although Zhejiang advanced to the tournament through the qualification round, they are inexperienced in the game and are only ranked fourth in the league. The strength is far less than that of the ports, and it is hard for outsiders to be hopeful. Now, Taishan is the most hopeful from the group.
Despite Taishan's average foreign record, this time it is Choi Kang-hee who is leading the way, the latter being a famous AFC Champions League manager, so fans are optimistic about Taishan also giving strength to the foundation. However, Taishan also has difficulties. After advancing to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup, the team was unable to relax the three-front war, and the main force was called up to the national team. Facing the "devil schedule" of 6 matches in 19 days, Choi Kang-hee's coaching team had to take the initiative to rotate. Due to the different competitors, they made the corresponding choice. According to informed media reports, Cui Kangxi in this AFC Champions League debut with only 18 players, so that some of the main relaxation.
Five international players, such as Zheng Zheng, Wang Dalei, Shi Ke, Chen Pu and Liu Yang, all missed the first round match against Kaya FC. Considering the latter's limited strength, Choi Kang-hee boldly discarded the starting lineup and chose four foreigners, Jadson, Moises, Kressan, and Pato, to lead the bench for the match, while Fellaini was rested and adjusted.
On top of that, Fernando will also be traveling with those 5. On top of them, we will also pair up young players such as Abdul Meat Suli, Buyurang, Chen Zeshi, and there are also experienced veterans such as Zhang Qi and Ji Xiang. According to the schedule, Taishan will challenge Kaya FC on the road on the night of September 19th, and Choi Kang-hee is also confident that his debut will be flagged off and bring back a win.
