In the early morning of April 21st, Beijing
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's coxswain Bilic steps into the 2021 season
China Super League (soccer league)
Media briefing before the first round of the league. On the coming 23rd, a key battle known as the "Beijing-Shanghai Duel" will be staged.
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与
Shanghai Shenhua (soccer team)
The matchup is seen as a battle of equal strength and suspense. Bilic revealed that he is ready for the challenge along with his team.
Bilic at the briefing
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In the evening of the 19th arrived in the Gusu match, and on the 20th launched the first session of training. Bilic carefully deployed the tactical arrangements against Shenhua in the training. Talking about the team's preparation, Bilic said: "As far as I know, this match between Guoan and Shenhua is comparable to the summit of the Chinese Super League, and the team is well prepared for it. With such a crucial game in the first round of the new season, I hope that the team will be able to meet the challenge in a positive state and achieve a positive result."
Bilic admits that even though he has been coaching in China for less than three months, he is getting to know his players better. He not only focuses on the technical and tactical abilities on the pitch, but also on the players' off-field personalities and preferences, which helps the coaching staff make the right personnel arrangements.
Last season, led by French-born coach Genesio
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The team achieved the third place in the league, which also makes the outside world to the new season of Guoan full of expectations. To this, Bilic responded, "Indeed, my work is mainly focused on two aspects, one is to maintain the team's active performance on the pitch, and the other is to make up for some detailed problems I observed before. This coaching mindset has seen results in training and teaching matches."
Compared to last season's opponents in the first five rounds, this season's
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The fixtures appear to be tougher. Especially with the failure of midfielder Augusto to return to the team and the short return of foreigners Bieira and Bakambu, the team will meet title favorites Shenhua and Shanghai Harbour in the first two rounds of the league, which poses a huge challenge to Bilic's coaching ability.
Facing this challenge, Bilic said: "From the personnel strength point of view, the gap between the two teams is not big. Shenhua is a veteran team in the Chinese Super League, and this season there are new recruits to join, the strength should not be underestimated. This game will not appear one-sided situation, will certainly play very stalemate, the key to see who can better grasp the trend of the game."
He also told the fans: "You don't have to expect too much from the first game of the season, the league is a long one and the team won't play at a high level in the first round of the season. But we will work towards this goal, make progress in every game, show our character in the game and be brave."
South Korean center back Kim Min Ja, who previously suffered a toe injury, has started practicing with the team since his arrival in Gusau and seems to be recovering well from his injury. However, Bilic did not clearly reveal whether Kim Min Ja will be in the roster for the game. "Kim Min Ja, like other foreigners, has been in the team for a short period of time. From the training, it seems that every player is in good condition, and it has even become a happy worry for me about who can play."
Shenhua head coach Choi Kang-hee, who arrived at the conference later, said, "
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It's a team with outstanding attacking organization and midfield strength, and we've made special arrangements for individual positions. This is the first game of the season and the result will affect the overall atmosphere of the team, so I take it very seriously. The team's overall preparation is going well now and I'm very much looking forward to winning this game."
Talking about the status of the team's strikers, Choi Kang-hee said, "Kim Shin-wook and Bassogol have shown good physical condition in training, and the other players are in good athletic condition as well. I will carefully consider what combination to make tactical organization."
