On September 26, 2023, Beijing time, the first match of the semi-final of the 2023 AFC Cup was played at the home ground of Dalian Ren, and the opposing team was Shandong Taishan. With one player sent off, Shandong Taishan beat Dalian 2-0, not only winning on the road, but also managed to shut out their opponents. Judging from the strong performance of Shandong Taishan in the F.A.C.A. Cup, it seems that they are only one step away from winning the championship after entering the final.
This game can be said to be the beginning of Shandong Taishan's nightmare. Less than 20 minutes into the first half, Shi Ke made a mistake on defense. Jadason was forced to commit a foul as the last defender and was expelled by the referee with a direct red card. Although Shandong Taishan's strength is significantly better than Dalian's, the team's defense has become a serious problem when playing fewer matches on the road.
At the crucial moment, it was Shandong Taishan's veteran defender Zheng Zheng who stood up. In this game, Zheng Zheng contributed to his masterpiece of the season. Not only did he not allow the Dalian people to make up positions back and forth, but he also managed to limit Zhao Jianbo, Yan Xianggong and other major attacking points of the Dalian people in one-on-one defense. Zheng Zheng, as a center back, can be said to have carried the team's backline all by himself in the absence of Jadson.
Throughout the game, Zheng Zheng not only made a huge contribution to the release and replacement, but also had a very high success rate in one-on-one confrontations, which proved that the 34-year-old veteran, in addition to his experience, has maintained his physical condition very well. In fact, Zheng Zheng is not an occasional "super god" this season, he is the most stable link in the backline of Shandong Taishan throughout the season. Now Zheng Zheng has undoubtedly become the "soul" of Shandong Taishan, because Jia Desong often red suspension, Shi Ke ability to serious regression. Being a left back now changed to a center back, Zheng Zheng's performance in the league this season was not even lost to national soccer star Jiang Guangtai, which is quite surprising.
Zheng Zheng has earned a place in Shandong Taishan, a place of rapid youthfulness, for this very reason. The current national team has a serious lack of talent in the center back position, and with Zhang Linpeng's performance continuing to decline, a strong player is needed to take up the role. According to the current trend, Zheng Zheng could be a suitable choice.
