Facing the challenge of the Chinese Super League teams in the AFC Champions League in the coming years, this topic is undoubtedly challenging, but those teams striving for league and cup laurels must face up to the reality of the choice. Take this year's Shandong Taishan team for example, when they suffered a setback in the Champions League, they resolutely "gave up" the league and shifted their focus to the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, and have achieved good results in both fronts. However, what cannot be ignored is the strong desire to win that Shandong Taishan have shown in the AFC Champions League, where they often need to give 150% or even 200% of their league effort to compete with the strongest teams in Japan, South Korea and Italy.
Looking back at Shandong Taishan's performance in the AFC Champions League over the past year, the spirit of high-intensity struggle and huge physical exertion were behind every victory. The team has a deep squad, but which team dares to claim that it can dominate the AFC Champions League with a single lineup? There are very few teams in the Chinese Super League that dare to make such a claim. Therefore, it is not for nothing that Chinese Super League teams will have to emphasize team will and game strategy choices in their future AFC Champions League campaigns. Take Yokohama Mariners and Jeonbuk Hyundai, who did well in the AFC Champions League last season, for example. They finished 10th and 10th in the league respectively, but were able to shine in the AFC Champions League.
To quote a Harbour fan, "The AFC Champions League is a litmus test", but in front of that litmus test, we often suffer setbacks.
