You were the team's starting goalkeeper this season, what are some of the games that stick out in your mind?
Chen Zhao:I must have made a mistake this season. I really wanted to dig a hole at that time. The away game at Heilongjiang Bingcheng was not a good one. We didn't score a goal until the second half. It felt so good at the time. It's another win, it's a sure thing. Maybe that pride got to me. One of my mistakes led to the team conceding a goal and being equalized. What would I do if the team couldn't go beyond that because of those 2 points? But as a goalkeeper, I should adjust quickly. If I keep shrinking, I think I'll make more mistakes on the pitch. If you fail, you should show your best side and try to avoid failure.
You also suffered a coaching drop and a drop in the rankings this season. How did you get out of the slump after Jankovic took over?
Chen Zhao:Our team's goal of overtaking has not changed or wavered. Jankovic has brought us tactical changes. Our previous tactics were more conservative, mainly defensive counterattack. After Jankovic came, our tactics became more open and we started to play soccer on the pitch. In the second half of the league, I think we had the meaning of a strong team. As the game progressed, our results gradually improved and our self-confidence was restored.
Your team is an example of grassroots soccer in China. After a few years of baptism, a community soccer team will become a Chinese Super League team next season. What do you think of this phenomenon?
Chen Zhao:In fact, this phenomenon is not only in our Qingdao West Coast, but also in Wuhan Three Towns and Chengdu Rongcheng. Chinese soccer has this phenomenon. I think a lot of people have mixed reviews, but as one of them, I'm very proud to be an experienced person. Our team, everyone knows it very well. We started off playing amateur soccer in Qingdao, then we worked our way up and slowly came up and started to get our own identity. I think the big Chinese Super League clubs are like Guoan and Shenhua. They have their own background. A club like us also has its own background. We are a more grounded team. Our Tian Yong Tian team, 36 years old.
