On August 14th, the Chinese Super League (CSL) Suzhou Region welcomed a bye for the 8th round, and the highlight was the match between Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua. In a tense pre-match conference, Guoan manager Bilic unleashed his war spirit, comparing the Shenhua match to a final, but also emphasizing the need to face it with a normal mind.
Talking about the match against Shenhua, Bilic said, "We performed well in the last round of matches, showing the team's resilience and team strength, and the whole team has high morale and is eager to prove its strength. I believe that as long as we maintain this state, the next game will also usher in a good result. We are facing an equally strong team, and as long as we are confident enough to fight as hard as we did in the last game, victory is in sight."
Ji Zhongguo, who was present at the conference alongside Yilić, also said, "Tomorrow's game is crucial and we need to keep our normal mindset and meet the challenge in the best possible frame of mind. Expect tomorrow to be a great game."
Facing Shenhua, Guoan must win to take the lead. Talking about whether he will continue to insist on attacking soccer, Bilic responded, "From the first game of the first phase to the last game, our team's mentality has always been the same. Tomorrow's game, we should do the same as before, no need to change. We see this game as a key battle, but handle it like a normal game and just do our part."
Ji Zhongguo said of his form in the last two days, "Rested well, the last round of suspension was also due to my personal reasons, emotional outbursts on the field. I hope everything goes well in tomorrow's game."
Talking about how to encourage the team, Bilic said, "This is a ball game that we all know is important, but it also needs to be seen as a normal game. It's like a final, so there's no need to mobilize too much, the players know exactly what to do. As a manager, I need to find a balance between keeping the players motivated and at the same time keeping a normal mindset so that they don't get overstimulated by the special nature of the game. Just like our last round against Yatai, the players adjusted positively and finally achieved a good result."
Regarding Ji Zhongguo's comeback, Bilic said, "The return of Ji Zhongguo in this match is a great addition to our team, he is one of our best players. Unfortunately, Gao Tianyi is suspended for this game and we will look for solutions in the use of U23 players."
