Even though he failed to lead the team to a successful comeback and win the Chinese Super League title, Taishan head coach Choi Kang-hee has revolutionized Shandong Taishan since joining the team. He has molded a team that was once languishing at the bottom of the league into a runner-up team, once again demonstrating his outstanding coaching talent and winning the praise of the domestic media and fans. Today, Shandong Taishan is preparing for the AFC Cup final. If they can beat Shanghai Shenhua to win the cup, it will not only bring the season to a successful conclusion, but also directly lock the ticket for next season's AFC Champions League.
The Chinese Super League (CSL) season has come to an end, with some players being called up by their national teams for the World Cup qualifiers, while most players are in vacation mode. The management of each team is working hard to find the players they want to strengthen their teams. Shandong Taishan is expected to realize its first signing in the off-season. Recently, it was reported in the online media that Shandong Taishan had renewed a two-year contract with Cui Kangxi, with a total salary of 60 million RMB. If the news is true, Cui Kangxi will surpass other coaches in the Chinese Super League and become the highest paid coach. At the time of the bursting of the bubble of the gold dollar soccer, Shandong Taishan is still confident in the coaching ability of Cui Kangxi, this contract extension is proof.
Domestic media recently reported that if the national football team performs poorly in the World Cup qualifiers, the Chinese Football Association may consider inviting Cui Kangxi to replace Yang Kovic as the new coach of the national team. However, before Shandong Taishan prepared for the AFC Champions League group stage, Cui Kangxi clearly denied the rumors of coaching the national team at a press conference, expressing his will to stay in Shandong Taishan. In order to retain the Korean coach, the club did not hesitate to offer a high salary, which fully reflects the trust in the coaching ability of Choi Kang-hee.
With the first signing of the offseason about to be finalized, Shandong Taishan fans have reason to expect that under Cui Kangxi's leadership, the team will regain the Chinese Super League title next season. Shandong Taishan will continue to invest more and more, following Cui Kangxi's tactical thinking, and bring in strong reinforcements to solidify the foundation for winning the title. Meanwhile, young talents from Luneng Football School will also get more opportunities to show their talents under his command. These future stars carry the hopes of the national soccer team, and Cui Kangxi is pushing the progress of Chinese soccer in his own way.
