On February 21, the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon lifted its head, and so did the Cangzhou Lions of the Chinese Super League. On the same day, they officially took a vacation and gathered in Sanshui, Foshan, Guangdong for the first training session of the new season. Meanwhile, Cangzhou Lions officially announced their new coach, old acquaintance and former international Zhao Junzhe, after the contract of former coach Sabrić expired.
The reason for the old acquaintance was that Zhao Junzhe became the general manager of Shijiazhuang Yongchang Football Club (predecessor of Cangzhou Lions) in December 2019. However, a year later, in December 2020, Shijiazhuang Yongchang officially announced Zhao Junzhe's resignation.
Now, more than two years later, Zhao Junzhe is back with the team, but now that they have changed their name to the Cangzhou Lions, his position has changed from general manager to head coach. This mirrors the theme of the club's poster when he last joined the club - the dream is once again "Zhao" into reality.
If the general manager is primarily concerned with service management functions such as recruiting, operations, and safety, the head coach will be directly responsible for the team's record. In this scenario, Zhao faces a tough test.
Although Cangzhou Lions finished the 2022 Super League season with 11 wins, 11 draws and 12 losses scoring 47 goals and conceding 51 goals and 44 points, they completed their relegation early and ended up 12th in the table; but as we all know, Cangzhou Lions' road to relegation might not have been necessarily smooth last season if it wasn't for the strong signings made during the summer window, especially the addition of superb foreign striker Kante.
In stark contrast, while there was a squad of around 20 players at the first training session of the new season, the official release of footage from the ground showed that the foreigners were not present. This will give some cause for concern - if the signings are not strong, the Cangzhou Lions could face a very dangerous green march in the new season. Even so, Zhao Junzhe must face everything calmly. As such, this is one of the dire situations he faces.
In terms of ability, Zhao Junzhe is still capable of being a head coach. After all, during his time as a professional player, he captained the national soccer team and has both ability and experience; after retiring from the game, he has never left soccer. in the 2022 season, he also serves as the technical director of Guangzhou Football Club. It can be said that he is very familiar with the Chinese Super League and has trained in several positions with a lot of experience.
It's safe to come. Now, what Zhao Junzhe can do is to familiarize himself with the team as soon as possible, establish a new technical and tactical system, and then grasp the training, check the leaks and make up for the shortcomings, and try to make Cangzhou Lions appear in the new season of the Premier League with a brand new attitude.
