Still in the early stages of the season, Guangzhou has already suffered two consecutive losses, which is undoubtedly their worst start since they returned to the Chinese Super League in 2011. For Guangzhou and their fans, who have been accustomed to winning, such a start is certainly hard to accept.
The most significant change in Guangzhou's current formation compared to last season is that Golat and Allan have replaced the "Pagoda combination" of Paulinho and Talisca. On the surface, the change is not big, but in fact, it is hurtful.
Paulinho has been the tactical core of Guangzhou's team for the past two seasons, with offensive and defensive tactics revolving around him, while Talisca is also a scoring weapon that manager Carnavaro relies on. Golat and Alan in the field position, technical characteristics, playing style and other aspects are very different from the "Paulista combination", replacing them is actually equal to rebuild the tactical system of the Guangzhou team.
This reconstruction will take time, and more importantly, it will need to be tested and honed in the real world. At the moment, the rebuilding does not seem to be going well. Guangzhou's substantial threat is very limited in the two matches despite their obvious possession advantage.
If it is the player replacement that affects the technical and tactical level, then the decline in the position of the first team after the shift of Evergrande Group's soccer strategy has had a non-negligible impact on the psychological level of the team, which may be a deeper impact.
When Evergrande Group first entered the soccer world, the goal of winning the championship was announced in a high profile every season. Powerful reinforcement guarantee, strong overall strength, high-level coaching team, professional and efficient logistical support, execution in place, so that the Guangzhou team invincible, "three years to win the Chinese Super League" "five years to win the Asian Championship" ambitions have been realized in advance.
With the importance attached by the top management of the group, sufficient financial guarantee and outstanding strength of the team, the "Evergrande Dynasty" has risen rapidly in a short period of time. At that time in the Chinese Super League, all the opponents would be timid before meeting Guangzhou Evergrande, and the Evergrande team possessed an absolute psychological advantage.
However, this psychological advantage has gradually disappeared as Guangzhou's reinforcements for two consecutive seasons "only out, not in". In terms of strength, Guangzhou is no longer the number one favorite to win the Chinese Super League.
Prior to the start of this year's league, major rivals such as Shanghai Harbour, Shanghai Shenhua and Shenzhen held grand galas, attended by top executives from the parent companies of these clubs, to cheer their teams on in their quest for a new season.
The "Chinese Super League eight champions" Guangzhou team is particularly low-key, not only no longer mention the goal of winning the championship, head coach Cannavaro even admitted for the first time is no longer the favorite to win the championship, the championship is not the goal of this year.
The impact of such psychological explicit or implicit on the team cannot be ignored. The players certainly do not want to give up, but the impact on their mentality, morale and determination is inevitable, and the resulting difficulties are greater than expected.
Today's shutout by Shandong Taishan will not be the last. However, the Guangzhou team is, after all, the insight of the "eight champions of the Chinese Super League", low profile, accelerate the integration, still have the ability and strength to give back to the opponents of the kill.
