With the fourth round of this season's Chinese Super League in the books, there are still four teams that have yet to taste the sweetness of victory: Group A's Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic is struggling with financial woes, while the renamed Henan Dragons have yet to regain their footing; Group B's Tsimshatsui Tigers are struggling to maintain their team's viability, and Wuhan, who have just gone through a change of manager, are struggling to keep their footing.
In the upcoming fifth round of the league, the Tianjin Tigers will face Wuhan, a matchup that has been described by some as a "battle of the underdogs" before the game even starts. However, due to the backgrounds of the two teams' managers, the matchup seems to have taken on a bit of a tragic tone in advance.
Li Xiaopeng, the winner of the Chinese Super League Coach of the Year for two consecutive seasons, has had a rough time of it in Wuhan. With two draws and two losses in four matches, and only two points, they seem to be only slightly better than the Jinmen Tigers.
Yu Genwei, the legendary player who helped China's men's soccer team go from Asia to the world with a single goal, is now doing his best to save the struggling Jinmen Tigers.
These two were not only teammates during their time on the national team, but also worked together as a double captain. in late 2002, when Shen Xiangfu temporarily acted as the national football team's head coach, he announced that Yu Genwei and Li Xiaopeng would be the captains, which was the first time in the history of the national team that there was a double captain.
However, in the circumstances, double captaincy often meant not playing at the same time in the same game. This delicate and complex relationship seems to have set the stage for the league nearly 20 years later.
Despite their good relationship, they still need to face each other in competitions. Just like the current Zall and Jinmen Tigers, they both desperately need three points to save their lives.
Li Xiaopeng has been in a lot of trouble lately, and the local coach has begun to hear the sound of his dismissal. Despite the support of the top management, but the pressure is obvious - the first four rounds of the face Shenhua and Guoan such a strong opponent, Li Xiaopeng's loss is still understandable. This time against the Jinmen Tigers, Li Xiaopeng has no reason not to easily take this seemingly must-win game.
Yu Genwei's situation is equally tricky, with only one point from four matches, the fewest goals scored and the second-most conceded. These problems are not going to be solved anytime soon, as the team's personnel reserves and level of preparedness are limited - while other teams have been training all winter, they have only three weeks to prepare for the match in a hurry. This puts the Jinmen Tigers on the verge of an imminent collapse.
In this context, the "underdog encounter" has not yet begun, Li Xiaopeng seems to have the upper hand. What's more, he knows the Jinmen Tiger center back "Yida combination" of Li Songyi and Kadar like the back of his hand.
