With the drums of the AFC Cup beating in October and the second phase of the Chinese Super League resuming in December, Shenhua kicked off their preparations at the end of August. In addition to Zhu Chenjie, Wu Xi, Bassogo and other players with national team responsibilities, as well as Zhu Yue, who is participating in the National Games, the entire first-team squad participated in this stage of training.
For Shenhua, the primary goal after this is undoubtedly the FA Cup. If they can win the cup, it will be an explanation for the loss of the former league. After all, after losing to Guoan, they missed the chance to compete for the title group. Such a result is an unbearable blow for both the team and the fans. The team recruited and invested a lot this season, but due to the system and tactics, the team did not reach the expected goal.
Despite falling into the relegation group, Shenhua still has some advantages. If they were in Guangzhou, they could have been in the Champions League by virtue of their points. However, soccer has its own rules, Shenhua can only participate in the relegation group. The good thing is that the pressure of relegation is relatively low. After all, Shenhua is 15 points ahead of Qingdao, who are at the bottom of the table, 14 points ahead of Henan, who are at the bottom of the table, and 11 points ahead of Wuhan, who are at the bottom of the table.
After dropping into the relegation group in the league, the FA Cup has become Shenhua's most important battlefield this season. They have been doing well in the F.A.C. Cup in recent years, winning it twice in 2017 and 2019. If they can win the title this season, they will equal the number of times they have won it with Guoan, but still less than Taishan (6 times).
Shenhua must face up to their opponents if they want to compete for the title. At present, Taishan, Guoan and Shenzhen Football are all eyeing the AFC Cup. However, affected by the national team training, Taishan and Guoan have a number of international players were called up, and Guoan future only Silva a foreign aid available.
Guangzhou, which has a stronger strength, has been taken out of 8 people, and Harbor has been taken out of 3. Foreign aid Muy may be playing with Australia in the 12-team tournament, and the time of his return to the team is hard to be predicted. Other teams such as Shenzhen Football and Guangzhou City are also affected to varying degrees. In contrast, Yatai is in a better situation, with 3 Brazilian foreign aiders staying in our country to recuperate. Henan and Hebei are also likely to make a difference in the AFC Cup.
Compared with Guangzhou, Guoan, Taishan and other international players, Shenhua's lineup is relatively complete. Currently, only Wu Xi, Zhu Chenjie and Basogo have national team commitments and are absent from this phase of training.
Shenhua has four foreigners in the team, Moreno has long regarded Shanghai as his second hometown, his wife and children are also in Shanghai. Adrian's family is also in Shanghai. Although Dumbya and Jonic's families are not in Shanghai, none of them have asked to leave the country for this holiday.
Despite the fact that the draw for the AFC Cup has not yet been made and the opponents are still unclear, Shenhua has been preparing seriously for the match. It is reported that the team has organized training from Monday to Saturday, with only Sunday off. Starting from the second half of this month, Shenhua will have warm-up matches for players to get back the feeling of the game. The two confirmed warm-up matches are against the Jinmen Tigers on September 26th and 29th respectively.
In the first phase of the Chinese Super League, Shenhua was dominated by veterans. Whether they will give more opportunities to the youngsters in the next is still unknown. This season, Shenhua U23 age players, only Zhu Chenjie and Wen Jiabao maintained a stable rate of appearance, goalkeeper Ma Zhen has played twice, Wang Haijian, Zhu Yue, as well as this year to join the team's three young Xue Qinghao, Wang Yi, He Longhai has not yet played in the official game.
"We can't go from one extreme to the other without a good result this year, but the team's focus does have to change next. In the relegation group, we have the advantage of points from the first 14 rounds, so we will give more chances to the youngsters. But this year's transfer window is closed, and those youngsters on loan can't come back for the time being." Shenhua general manager Zhou Jun said.
