On March 15, Shandong Taishan's AFC Champions League journey came to an end, and on March 31, they will usher in their home battle in the Chinese Super League against Shenhua. Soccer Daily pointed out that the Taishan team from the AFC Champions League to the Chinese Super League, need to adjust the three aspects.
First of all, the layout of the foreign aid adjustment should not be delayed. Although the Asian Championship has come to an end, the journey of the Chinese Super League has just begun. If Taishan wants to win the championship in the local field, it can not rely only on a foreign aid support. The strengthening of the summer transfer window is the urgent need of the Taishan team, and the reserve attraction funds is more urgent.
Secondly, the summary of the defensive end is indispensable. In the six games with Japan, Taishan conceded a total of twelve goals, which fully demonstrates the instability of Taishan's defense against high-level teams. In the new season of the Chinese Super League, teams are generally equipped with four foreign aiders in the midfield and the front, or even form an attacking trident, which poses a new challenge to the Taishan team that conceded the fewest goals last season.
Furthermore, the use of substitutes needs to be more detailed. In the two rounds of the AFC Champions League Quarter-Finals, Taishan suffered from the situation of conceding a goal after the substitutes came on the field, reflecting the incongruity between the new players and the players present in terms of their mentality, game tempo, and status. Coach Cui may need to consider the adaptability of Chinese players in different positions, with a higher tolerance for positional adjustments of the front players, while the back players need to be moved more cautiously.
Nonetheless, there are still things that remain the same for Taishan: firstly, the team should continue to maintain the mentality of a strong player, not self-depreciating, and dare to go head-to-head with their opponents, which is one of the major gains for Taishan during the AFC Champions League; secondly, Taishan should continue to insist on high-pressure robbery tactics. In the Chinese Super League, Taishan should seamlessly combine high-level robbery with fast counterattack; in addition, the control of the game tempo is equally important, including the intensity of the game. The only way to put more pressure on the opponent is to play against a fast-paced game.
