In two consecutive seasons of the league campaign, Beijing Guoan's performance is like being stuck in a quagmire, the team's aging problem is becoming more and more prominent, the middle-generation players are not fully trusted, and the growth of the young team is hindered, and all of these problems seem to be related to the coaching team's lack of strategy.
Looking back to the period when Xie Feng and Stanley first took charge of Guoan, the team once showed eye-catching momentum. However, as the season progressed, Guoan's tactical layout was recognized by the opponents, the original shortcomings were difficult to fill, and the team's status also fluctuated. The arrival of new head coach Ricardo Soares in the summer did not win the general recognition of the fans. Although he has rich coaching experience in the Portuguese Super League, most of the time is fighting for relegation, he is good at the tactics of defensive counterattack. For Guoan, who are used to controlling the midfield, Suarez's tactical innovation means giving up the traditional advantages and seeking breakthroughs directly from the backfield, a shift that has become the focus of criticism from fans. However, Suarez is not a complete failure, after his arrival, he has successfully stimulated the potential of many young players, Fang Hao, Nai Bijiang and Jiang Wenhao become the team's important rotation, Yan Yu and Duan Dezhi also got a lot of opportunities to play. With the rise of the younger generation, some veterans have gradually withdrawn from the starting lineup, and veteran captain Yu Dabao is one of the representatives. Since joining Guoan in 2014, Yu Dabao has played in the team for nearly ten seasons, scoring 25 goals and assisting 18 times, and was the favorite of the national football team, breaking the enemy's door repeatedly in the Asian Cup and World Cup preliminaries. Even at relegated Dalian Albin, he turned down an offer from Evergrande coach Lippi and chose to stay at Guoan. In his nine seasons at Guoan, Yu Dabao has always been the mainstay of the team. Even when he was physically exhausted, he was able to play a key role in the center back position. However, this season, the 35-year-old's performance in the forward line failed to meet Suarez's expectations, with Wang Ziming becoming the starting striker and Fabio's addition to the team causing Yu Dabao to lose his place in the team. Starting from the 17th round of the league against Wuhan Sanzhen, Yu Dabao has not been given a chance to play for five consecutive rounds and was abandoned by Suarez. Despite having more than a year left on his contract with Guoan, Yu's future with the team doesn't look promising. Perhaps returning to his hometown and joining Qingdao Hainiu is a sensible decision for him.
