Late in the evening, Cai Zonglin reports that after a history-making Guangzhou derby, the Guangzhou team is non-stop preparing for another tough battle at the Galaxy Stadium on the evening of the 27th - against the top powerhouse of the division, Shandong Taishan.
Cannavaro made it clear that the next three consecutive contests against Guangzhou City, Shandong Taishan and Shenzhen will be the biggest challenge facing the eight champions. In particular, the match against Taishan will be the first big game of the tournament and is highly anticipated. In the first round match between the two sides, Guangzhou came close to being shut out by Fellaini's second-reading header.
Derby, "Egidio" is back.
The Guangzhou derby ended in a 3-3 draw, and judging from the proceedings, it was undoubtedly one of the highest quality matches since the re-launch of the Chinese Super League. However, in terms of results, Guangzhou dropped two points, widening the gap to three points with Shandong Taishan, the top team in the division. Especially after referee Shen Yinhao canceled Luo Guofu's killer header after watching the replay at a crucial moment, leaving the Italian coach with nothing but a bitter smile at the post-match conference, "Congratulations to all the players, they finished a great game for all the fans, but some, they don't have the level that the game deserved".
Despite failing to get the points they deserved, the eight champions were not without their gains. Cannavaro finally waited for the resurgence of Ackerson and Luo Guofu, the return of the two naturalized players will undoubtedly be a great benefit for Guangzhou and even the national team.
The departure of the "Pagoda combination" has left Guangzhou with no choice but to enter the era of the "All Chinese Class". The manager Cannavaro can only maximize the use of the existing lineup, try to tap the potential, to maintain competitiveness. In Guangzhou's existing lineup, the naturalized army, which took a lot of effort to collect, must assume greater responsibility.
During this period, Ickerson's recent return to form has been particularly noticeable. Previously, Ickerson played with the national team in the Top 40, helping the national team to advance to the Top 12. Back in Guangzhou, Ickerson's confidence grew so much that in the 5th round of byes before the Chinese Super League restarted, the eight champions, who had a mediocre performance throughout the game, could only end up with a 1-1 draw against Henan Songshan Longmen, with the only highlight being Ickerson, who scored a goal and ran all over the field.
After entering the Devil's game, in addition to the rest against Chongqing, thanks to the change of Cannavaro to 343 formation, Eckerson was fully activated, against Qingdao and Guangzhou City, Eckerson scored three more goals, which against Guangzhou City's second goal, it is more people screaming, with the ball even past a few people after the left-footed shot, in that moment as if to see the 2014 season that took the Golden Boot of the Chinese super! "The second goal against Guangzhou City was even better.
Skinny Bison is as fierce as a tiger
Guangzhou's resurgent naturalized players aren't the only ones in the game, but also Luo Guofu, who managed to lose 20 pounds.
As the most controversial naturalized player, the aging Luo Guofu didn't get much of a chance to play for Guangzhou in the past year, and the outside world could only see the injury-plagued Bison staying in the stands. However, in the 2021 season, Luo Guofu, who has been able to go through a full preparation period with the team, is determined to change this situation with his brute strength.
After the off-season to fully recuperate from his injuries, Cannavaro set up a slimming program for him to lose 20 pounds, the reason being that with Luo Guofu's age coming up to 33 years old, weight loss was the only option if he wanted to maintain the impact of the Bison. In the end, Luo Guofu really reached this unimaginable goal in the mouth of Carnavaro, with a new posture in front of people.
After Luo Guofu got back to his best physical condition, Cannavaro gradually adapted him to the rhythm of the game, from the 6th round of the Super League against Chongqing, where he only got 22 minutes of action after the win was confirmed, to the 8th round against Guangzhou City, where he was sent on at the start of the second half in the hope of changing the game. And Luo Guofu didn't disappoint, from scoring his first goal against Qingdao, to scoring a penalty in the Guangzhou derby, Luo Guofu pulled out a fast and furious positive line.
More importantly, Luo Guofu has recovered his former bison-like impact power, his full-speed running and ferocious pressing on the field are the characteristics that all other international players do not have nowadays. As long as Luo Guofu continues to maintain this form, I believe that both Cannavaro and Li Tie will benefit from it, and this is the result of the naturalization strategy.
Activate the front line. The defense is in danger again.
On the evening of 27th (Tuesday), Guangzhou will welcome the challenge of Shandong Taishan in the most familiar Galaxy Stadium. This is the first battle of the Guangzhou region, the current difference between the two teams is 3 points, if you can beat the opponent, Guangzhou will be expected to occupy the top of the region, if you lose, the points were completely left behind, and then want to catch up almost no chance, so this will be a real "6-point battle".
Looking back at the first round match between the two sides, in terms of offensive performance, Guangzhou only had 5 shots on goal in the 90 minutes of that match, although they had the better ball possession, while Shandong Taishan had 16 shots on goal. From the result, that was the only defeat Guangzhou had so far in this season's Chinese Super League, and from that 0-1 loss, we can see that Guangzhou, who lacked Paulinho at the time, only had a stagnant offense and no good strategy to break through the goal.
Through the adjustment during the break, Cannavaro gave his solution, which is to change to the 343 formation, by reducing the number of defenders and increasing the number of midfielders to enhance the team's attacking power. The effect of this change is remarkable, the last three rounds of competition, Guangzhou team scored a total of 12 goals, completely activated all the players on the offensive line.
However, after changing to a three-guard, Guangzhou's backline stability actually dropped quite a bit. Previously, Chongqing and Qingdao's offensive lines were not strong enough to threaten the eight champions, and Guangzhou City's counter-attacks were effective when they came to the Guangzhou Derby. This time, against the strong Shandong Taishan (8 games, 13 goals scored and 4 goals conceded), and the opposing manager Hao Wei has worked in Evergrande, understand the formula of Cannavaro, so the Guangzhou team's defense will certainly be a greater test.
With the dissipation of Typhoon Chapaka, the weather in Guangzhou is back to barbecue mode. For reasons of ensuring the team's fitness and avoiding injuries, Cannavaro will also continue his rotation scheme in this game, with the likes of Zhong Yi Hao and He Chao, who were off in the last game, expected to return to the starting lineup, while Fernando is also close to the tipping point for a comeback. However, even if Moto is able to play, he'll be on the bench for now, and Luo Guofu is expected to be brought up to the starting lineup to take on his old team.
