As you can see, Chinese soccer is a mess. But on a positive note, the just-concluded 2022 Chinese Super League was quite a novelty. Especially against the backdrop of China's men's World Cup qualifiers, it's not easy for the Chinese Super League to stay warm enough after just a few baptisms.
Why describe it like this? From Wuhan Sports Center to Phoenix Hill in Chengdu, you can see that behind the hot live atmosphere, it is the two promoted horses who are always staging suspenseful dramas for us as they fight for the title or rush to the Third Avenue. There is no doubt that suspense is the only signboard you can get in the 2022 Chinese Super League season. Even on the last day of 2022, the battle for the top three spots in the standings is still intense.
Compared with last season, when Shandong threw away the harbour early, and 2019, when Guangzhou dominated early, the battle for the 2022 Chinese Super League title was unprecedentedly fierce, so much so that in the penultimate round after the war, it was still a double-dragon play, and the end result was the first time in the history of the Chinese Super League that the promotion of Ma Wuhan three towns overwhelmed the defending champion Shandong Taishan by virtue of their goal difference to become the tenth champion of the top tier of professional soccer in China, with goal difference The goal difference was the difference between the two teams and the champion, and the competition was fierce.
The title race was full of suspense and the relegation battle was protracted. Except for Hebei, who accepted their fate early and sank into China A, Guangzhou Duo and Wuhan Changjiang fought almost to the last minute as this cliffside dance came to an end. Of course, the sad fates of Guangzhou and Hebei attracted sighs and groans from both inside and outside the circle. But fans are not fools; they want to reinvent the Chinese Super League. For these, the "dead man" must have a break.
It's good to have suspense, of course, but it doesn't mean that the overall technical and tactical level of the Chinese Super League is starting to take much of a leap forward. However, under the careful training of a group of Chinese and foreign coaches, the team's performance is still remarkable. For example, after the league ended, one of the biggest topics of debate inside and outside the circle was who was more deserving of the title of best coach? Was it the champion team coach Pedro, the passionate young coach Xie Hui, or the technical stream representative Jody, and the hard-hitting coach Xu Jung-won? All in all, while the aristocrats of the 18-way lords are getting fewer and fewer, the rise of grassroots schools has become a trend. For example, at the beginning of the season, who would have thought of Class 3 and Class 5?
In fact, it is because of the rise of these newcomers that the suspense in the Chinese Super League can be endless. In contrast, Shanghai, Lujing four strong (Shenhua, harbor, Taishan, Guoan) constitute a league of disappointment. Looking back to the beginning of the season, people are looking forward to Taishan seaport hegemony drama staged a sequel, but the result is the loss of elegance, the family has a difficult experience.
Let's look at the port first. For years, it has been widely rumored that Boss Koo is interested in soccer. However, in 2022, Port was the most popular team in the transfer market. But in the end, high investment turned into low output. If we just throw the pot on Leko, I'm afraid it still raises a lot of questions. Crosstown brothers Shenhua are ice and fire. For years, they have been unable to win the league. However, at the beginning of this season, Shenhua, which is in deep financial crisis, once rushed very high, and even became the first team to score in the three towns of Wuhan.
As for the poorly defended Shandong Taishan, they still can't break the spell. In fact, the Hao family army has been very close to puncture this windowpaper, but at the critical moment, the core aid outside, national suspension, many people sick, almost dragged down the defending champion of all the luck. Perhaps this is the main reason why Taishan lost the Vulcan Cup, but a deeper question at the same time in front of us: why Shandong Taishan has been difficult to continue to win the title? Is it a psychological problem or a competition problem? Championship second year syndrome, this kind of heart disease always needs to be solved.
For Guoan, this is the alternative to the 2022 Chinese Super League. At the beginning of the season, it was thought that they would be like Shenzhen and Guangzhou. "Broken" However, after the coaching change, Guoan has made great progress. Even if they can play a few more rounds, they still have hopes of hitting the top four. People say this is due to Stanley, but we should also realize that a stubbornness is quietly breaking out in this veteran team. The biggest surprise Guoan has brought to the outside world is gradually getting rid of the dependence on foreign aid. When Adebenelo and Dabrow failed at times, it was discovered that, like Gao Tianyi and Wang Ziming, they could actually be punished at local time. Of course, Zhang Yuning was the most eye-catching star of all.In the 2022 season, he scored 19 goals and became a top-three overall scorer, even a new-era super.
By comparison, most of the Nationals' starters have been weak or collectively on injured reserve pretty much all season. As for the newcomers, there are plenty of bright spots. If Liu Zhurun and Efirdin are already making a name for themselves in the national brand, newcomers such as Hu Huotao, Gao Tianyi and Ablikimu Abdulshalamu are more in line with the concept of a first-year freshman. In particular, Chengdu's Hu, who just turned 19, was working as a ball boy at the FA Cup final a year ago and was even ready to pack his bags and apply to university. However, they were almost decisive figures in the sub show at Phoenix Hill, influencing their own championship.
The Chinese Super League is still in turmoil, and there must be lords in turmoil.Where will the 2023 season lead? I'm afraid we'll have to face more difficulties and obstacles as it coincides with the Asian Games, Asian Cup, Olympic and World Preliminaries to revitalize the CSL.
Hopefully, the long overdue suspenseful clumping of 2022 will not be a flashback for the Super League.
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This article originally appeared on the Sports Plus app
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