On April 16th, Shandong Taishan will start the new season on the road. 11th, Taishan officially announced that 7 new recruits will join the team, and the thickness of the bench will be further improved. 2023, Taishan will start the mode of "three lines of battle". Can this veteran powerhouse with more talent and a younger lineup set off a youthful storm in its 30th year of existence?
three-front war
Test lineup rotation
In the new season, the league has completely reverted to home and away. Looking at the Chinese Super League alone, the schedule is much looser than in previous seasons. However, considering the need to participate in the AFC Cup and the AFC Champions League, which starts in the second half of the year, the team is still under a lot of pressure to play. Taishan has been playing for many consecutive seasons and need to adapt to the rhythm of home and away as soon as possible.
The new season, the Chinese Super League in the schedule arrangement to take full account of the national football training, the Asian Championship and other factors, the entire schedule "before the tight after the loose". In terms of the importance of the three fronts, the Super League is of course the most important. For Taishan, only by playing the first half of the game well can they be more comfortable in the F.A.C.A. Cup knockout round and the start of the AFC Champions League.
The depth of the team's bench is being tested by the three-front war. For this reason, the team strengthened the signing work during the winter window. 11, the team announced that Tong Lei, Sun Guowen, Li Yuanyi, Fernando, Huang Zhengyu, Hu Jinghang, Liu Shibo to join the team, and completed the strengthening of the personnel supplement in a number of positions.
However, judging from the previous Gift Cup and Super Cup matches, the new recruits still need to further integrate with the team. Fortunately, the team has enough personnel on all fronts, and there will be healthy competition among the players, which will also encourage the players to get into shape as soon as possible.
be in one's prime
Can the Youth Storm happen?
Before the season, the Taishan team had two purposes. The first is to increase the depth of the lineup, so as to make a good reserve of personnel for the new season's three-line battle, and the second is to accelerate the rejuvenation of the lineup, so as to plan for the club's long-term development.
The average age of Taishan's starters last season was around 30 years old, which can be regarded as the "older" team in the Chinese Super League. In recent seasons, their own youth training has not been efficient in sending good players to the first team, which has also become a hidden danger for the team's future development.
In order to solve the age structure problem, the club prioritizes young players. Tong Lei, Huang Zhengyu, Hu Jinghang and Liu Shibo are all excellent players of the "97 generation". Sun Guowen and Li Yuan are a bit older, only 29 years old.
The addition of these mid-generation players will improve the age structure of the team. Taishan, as a veteran team in the Chinese Super League, is expected to create a youthful storm in its "founding year". Meanwhile, Guo Tianyu, who had a poor performance last season, has reduced his body fat percentage after the off-season adjustment. He performed well in the "Gift Cup" and is expected to lead the "youthful lineup" of Taishan.
However, the age structure of the team is not without its pitfalls. Compared to the younger domestic players, the overall age of Taishan's foreign players is in the Chinese Super League. 35-year-old Moises can continue to play the role of "model worker", and 36-year-old Fellaini can continue to play the role of "siege hammer" in the second half? These questions need to be tested by the game.
There are many strong players in the field.
It's more difficult to compete for the title
Last season, the Super League title fight three towns and Taishan's "duo". At the end of the season, the two teams accumulated 78 points, 13 points ahead of the third place in Zhejiang. It is certain that with the further strengthening of a number of strong teams, the competition for the title in the new season will be more intense.
In the new season, five domestic players, including Wei Shihao and Yan Dinghao, were brought in by Wuhan Sanzhen, as well as new foreign aid Malcolm. The depth of the team's squad has been further improved without much change from last season. There is no doubt that Sanzhen is still a strong competitor for the title in the new season.
In addition, the "return" of the two traditional strong teams in the Chinese Super League will also affect the ranking of the upper reaches of the team. Last season, Guoan and Shenhua were not successful enough in their equity reforms, and they were wandering in the league. During the winter window, Guoan brought in eight new players, and Li Ke welcomed his return. Shenhua officially announced the addition of Zhang Wei, Cui Lin and Bao Yaxiong. This will make both teams much more competitive and no longer be "scoring" teams.
In addition, Shanghai Seaport should not be overlooked. Although their personnel did not change much in the winter window, this team has actually been stockpiling personnel from the second half of last season. With the addition of strong reinforcements such as Wu Lei and Vargas, Port changed the downward trend in the first half of the league, and at one time saw the hope of hitting the top three in the league. In the new season, the luxury lineup has also become Port's confidence to win the title.
In the new season of strong players, Taishan team must not approach the Chinese Super League with the same mentality as in the previous seasons. We must show a 12-point spirit in every game and face every opponent with a dare-to-fight and fight attitude.
