On September 5, the Shenzhen soccer team was ready to go, actively preparing for the upcoming AFC Cup and the second stage of the 2021 Chinese Super League season. The return date of the foreign supporters has also been finalized, and the Shenzhen football team will be able to show its strength in the Super League title fight that will start in December with the help of the four foreign supporters.
[Return of Foreign Aid] Four Foreign Aiders Gathered Together
On August 11, the 14th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) Guangzhou tournament came to an end, and the Shamrocks club decided, after much deliberation, to agree to the return of Jintro, Wakaso, and Achimpen, who had been tasked with the World Cup qualifiers, to their respective national teams.
This decision is quite challenging for the Chinese Super League clubs, despite the break of up to three months, but in view of the international epidemic situation, the road of foreign aid to return to China is not smooth. SZF has already planned ahead and started to solve the problem of foreign aid returning to the team as early as possible.
According to the reporter, Achim Peng is the first confirmed return to China of the deep football foreign aid. At present, he has arrived in Shanghai and entered the isolation period. If all goes well, he will end his isolation in early October, when he will be in time for the AFC Cup, which will start in mid-October.
Achimpen had a steady performance in the first 14 rounds of this season's Chinese Super League, with 12 starts and 2 substitutes for a total of 1,063 minutes, making him the most appearances for Shamrocks other than goalkeeper Zhang Lu. This season, he contributed 3 goals for SZFC, second only to Caldecott as the second scorer in the team. He is dedicated and known as a model for the team. He is eager to return to the team for every game, and actively cooperates with SZFC to make the road back to the team smooth.
As for Quintero, he is the core of Shenzhen's midfield, and in the 14 matches of the first phase of the Chinese Super League (CSL), he made 11 starts and 3 substitutions, contributing 6 assists, making him the team's assist leader and ranked 2nd in the CSL, just behind Oscar in the harbor. On his performance, Quintero said, "I feel good, happy, and quite satisfied. Thanks to my teammates, with everyone's help, I was able to give out so many assists." On the Chinese Super League, Quintero commented, "The level of the Chinese Super League is very high and not as simple as the outside world thinks. There are many high level players here and of course there are strong teams, the Chinese Super League is not simple." Talking about the team's goal, Quintero aimed at the AFC Championship: "We will do our best to try to qualify for the AFC Championship next season."
After Quintero returned to Colombia, South American media reported that he might leave the Chinese Super League in January next year and return to play in South America. After this news came out, Quintero quickly communicated with Shenzhen Football Club to dispel the rumors.
In the process of communicating with Jintero, the club also determined the specific time of its return to China. According to the arrangement of the Shenzhen Football Club, Jintero is scheduled to arrive in China around October 20, after the necessary isolation observation period, the isolation will be lifted in the middle of November, when there will still be enough time to prepare for the second phase of the Chinese Super League in December.
The other foreigner, Vaccaro, has also set a date with SZF to return to China. He is scheduled to return to China in early November, and if all goes well, he will be released from quarantine at the end of November and can make it to the second phase of the Chinese Super League (CSL).
It is reported that Quintero and Vaccaro have given up playing in some of the national team matches in order to catch the Shamrocks in the Chinese Super League in December.
With his family in China, Caldecott stayed in China during the break and returned in time to practice with his teammates after the team began training on September 5th.
This means that when the Chinese Super League restarts in December, all four of SZF's foreigners will be available to play, except for Praliganji, who is out due to injury.
[Low-key preparation] Step by step.
On September 5, SZF assembled at the Shenzhen Football Base to begin this phase of training. The next day, the team traveled to Kunming Ridge Base for plateau training. Head coach Carlos arranged two weeks for the plateau training period, aiming to improve the team's physical condition.
Kunming training is an excellent opportunity for Shamrocks to strengthen their form. This season, with the gradual enhancement of the strength of internal and external reinforcements, the overall strength of the team has improved significantly. However, in order to play the real competitiveness of the team, a better physical condition is needed as a foundation.
From the point of view of the staffing of the three lines of the deep football, the center front field is the most intense competition. If there is no injury in the front field foreign aid trident, all will start. Domestic players need to work harder to get a chance to play. In addition to Gao Lin, who has locked up an attacking position in the midfield, Zheng Dalun, Dai Weijun, Li Yuanyi, Wang Yongpei, and Zhang Yuan will all have to participate in the fierce competition.
It will be crucial to find more and better ways of combining midfielders in this training session. Carlos will use this training to find the right combination of personnel to utilize the substitution policy of replacing five men throughout the game during the intensive schedule in December.
Chen Xiangyu, a youngster who just won the bronze medal in soccer with Guangdong U18 team at the Shaanxi National Games, returned to the team. During the Games, Chen Xiangyu performed well and showed good potential. He is also a contender in the team's midfield.
The FA Cup in mid-October is a good opportunity for Shamrocks to test the results of their training. At that time, the team's foreigners Caldecott and Achimpen are in the team, which also provides head coach Carlos with more opportunities to use a combination of domestic players.
[Layout for the future] Compacting the foundation to build the future
The 2021 season of the Chinese Super League presents many new situations, and a number of Chinese Super League clubs are facing different crises. From the point of view of the various professional clubs' "crises", it is still unknown whether a stable league team structure can be guaranteed. In fact, from the situation of the Chinese Championship, Chinese B and even Chinese A, after the end of this season, the four levels of the league are not easy.
Before JIAOYE took over SZFC, the Shenzhen team had also suffered a crisis and faced disbandment at any time. After JIAZHAOYE took over SZFC, the shareholders' stable investment over the years brought new opportunities for the development of this brand-new Shenzhen team.
Playing in the championship group this year, Shamrocks have a certain degree of competitiveness. In both the league and the FA Cup, SZF can make an impact on the best rankings. Captains Gao Lin, Zheng Dalun and Zhang Lu have expressed their hope to bring a trophy to SZFC.
The spirit of the first team was renewed, and 35-year-old Gao Lin set a record for a veteran by playing in all 9 matches from round 6 to round 14. This shows that Gao Lin has put in a lot of hard work in the winter training preparation for this season's Chinese Super League.
In addition to building a good first-team, Shamrocks have done a lot of work in consolidating their internal strength.
It is worth mentioning that in the final of the 14th National Games Men's U18 Football Team, Chongqing U18 team was defeated by the host team Shaanxi 7-8 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the regular game time, and came in second place. However, this result still creates the best record of Chongqing soccer in the Games. Looking at the composition of the Chongqing U18 soccer team, all the players in this team, except for four overage players, are from Chongqing Fu Ren High School. This team is called Fu Ren Middle School 03 ladder team, is a team built by Chongqing Football Association and Fu Ren Middle School.
Chongqing men's soccer won the silver medal in the National Games and the Chongqing Municipal Football Association over the years to focus on building the local youth training system is inextricably linked. The deep football in March this year completed the cooperation with the elite youth training base of Chongqing Fu Ren Middle School, to further promote the layout of youth training at the national level.
SZFC and Fu Ren High School cooperate to build the elite team of U10-U13 age group, exploring the mode of combining sports and education, and cultivating high-level soccer players with all-round development of morality, intelligence and physical fitness. Later on, the team will also be expanded to build other age groups, and SZFC will send the elite team coaches, including the head coach, assistant coaches, goalkeeper coaches and team doctors. Strive to improve the strength of the players through a long period of professional training. Elite team members will participate in the league, cup and exchange matches of the national U-series ladder teams, the secondary school league organized by the education department and high-level invitational matches. When the time is ripe, SZF will organize players to go abroad to participate in exchange matches to accumulate more high-quality game experience.
Shen Xiangfu, the youth training director of Shamu FC, is stationed in the youth training base of Chongqing Furen Middle School on a daily basis to excavate and cultivate elite reserve players of Shamu FC. From the point of view of the investment of the Shenzhen Football Club, it has really taken out a considerable proportion of money to invest in youth training. Including the SZFC Huizhou Youth Training Base led by Chen Tao in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, which provides a quality training environment and a broad space for growth.
From the overall layout of professional soccer to youth training, Shamrock has already prepared for the future.
