Last season, Shandong Taishan finished second in the Chinese Super League on goal difference only. This year, several key players were unable to continue on the pitch due to personal issues, so the club increased its signings compared to the past. After signing players such as Sun Guowen, Tong Lei and Li Yuan, the German transfer market webmaster confirmed on April 7 that two former Guangzhou players officially joined Shandong Taishan, Fernando and Liu Shibo.
Fernando is a naturalized player formerly known as Fernando, nicknamed "Little Motorcycle". Born in March 1993 and originally from Brazil, he is 1.74 meters tall and plays as a winger on the pitch, making his debut for Brazilian giants Flamengo. After landing in the Chinese Super League in 2015, Fernando played for Chongqing Lifan, Hebei Huaxia Happiness and Guangzhou Evergrande. During this time, he excelled. He took Chinese citizenship in October 2019 and was named to the national soccer training roster, but has yet to play an official match.
Fernando specializes in speed, incredible explosiveness, and a certain amount of footwork, and often puts on thousands of miles of solo rides on the pitch. His addition to the team could make up for the loss of personnel on the road for Shandong Taishan, and become the new "fast horse" for head coach Hao Wei. However, Fernando hasn't played professionally in over a year, and it's still questionable whether he can regain his competitive form, and he had disciplinary problems at his old club, all of which are hidden dangers.
Liu Shibo was the main goalkeeper for Guangzhou last season, making 21 appearances in the Chinese Super League. He was born in May 1997, lives in Shenyang, Liaoning, and is 1.89 meters tall. He was selected for the national youth team and the Olympics, and was selected for the national soccer training team at the age of 19. Liu Shibo broke into the Guangzhou first team in the 2016 season before being loaned out to Inner Mongolia Secondary School at training level, making his CSL debut in the 2019 season.
Liu Shibo is a young goalkeeper with solid fundamentals. Although it's hard to be a mainstay of the Shandong Taishan team with Wang Dalei and Han Soltse in a short period of time, he's still a good reserve of goalkeepers. I hope Liu Shibo can train well in Shandong Taishan. After all, the opportunity is reserved for the prepared people.
