From June 22 to 25, 2023, the third round of the CFA Cup took place in Guangzhou, where Shanghai Seaports played as the visiting team against their former old rivals Guangzhou. In the end, Shanghai Harbour Team won 3-1 and successfully advanced to the next round. In this match, Zhang Linpeng was undoubtedly the focus of the day. As a former player of Guangzhou, his return was warmly welcomed by Guangzhou fans.
After the game, Zhang Linpeng, who did not participate in this game, took his son around the stadium to show his appreciation to the Guangzhou fans. After the match, Zhang Linlian was interviewed by the media. He said, "Today, when I returned to Yuexiushan Stadium, I saw so many fans still cheering for this young Guangzhou team. I felt very touched. I have a strong feeling of going home. I miss them very much."
For the current situation of the Guangzhou team, Zhang Linpeng frankly said: I did not expect the Guangzhou team to become like this today. I have been following the Guangzhou team's situation. Last year, just after the transfer to Shanghai Port, Zhi led the team to participate in the competition. This year, Zhi decided not to be the head coach and Zhiyu took over as the head coach. The whole process includes all the matches. I have been following it and watching it when I have time. From a subjective point of view, the team's current performance may be unimaginable to the average person, and being at this stage may have a lot to do with personnel issues.
This is because the team is now largely made up of young players, and many of them are former soccer academy players. They still lack some experience to cope with the current professional league and the mental element of the game. We can't blame them for their current performance. All we can say is that we hope they can catch up after seeing what they have seen so far and help the team return to the top flight. Surely, if they are able to achieve that one day, it would certainly add a lot of confidence and motivation to their careers. That's how I feel.
Zhang Linpeng is confident about Guangzhou's relegation prospects in the Central League. He said that the team has gained some experience in the matches that have been played and that the players already have a clear understanding of their position and inner expectations. He believes that none of the players will think that we will be relegated, and everyone will definitely do their best to help Guangzhou relegate and realize our goal. Therefore, in this case, our minds have reached an agreement, and with everyone working together again, I believe we will be able to succeed in relegation!
