When discussing the type of player that Chinese soccer is most lacking nowadays, the consensus of the fans focuses on the position of the back. Take the national team's No. 10 as an example, who is this former back-end superstar? The answer is Zheng Zhi. Zheng Zhi, the soccer veteran over forty years old, at the age of 41 years old is still active in the Chinese Super League, its diligence and self-discipline can be seen. However, looking at it from another perspective, it is clear that we lack a good back-rower, which leads to a veteran shouldering the burden of starting the whole game, both to defend solidly and to promote the attack.
Nowadays, we can no longer count on Zheng Zhi, as he officially said goodbye to the game with a retirement ceremony before the national team's warm-up match. Nevertheless, he did not say goodbye to soccer, but transformed into a coach. Zheng Zhi's departure has left the national soccer team facing a vacancy in the center of the midfield. In fact, the sluggish performance of the national team in the past two years is closely related to the decline of the midfield strength. No one can like Zheng Zhi that both defensive strength and midfield attack driving force.
With Zheng Zhi's retirement, we had to look for a new back-up, and good local players became the object of competition in the Chinese Super League. Any player with strength becomes the center of attention and all parties compete for them. Recently, an international player unexpectedly lost his job, why is this?
As many fans already know, Dai Weijun has joined Shanghai Shenhua as a free agent and is being touted as the future star of the national soccer team's midfield. The arrival of the newcomer naturally led to someone giving up his place. But while it was expected that Shenhua would give up some underperforming young players, it was not expected that Shenhua would remove 31-year-old international Peng Xinli from the back position.
Peng Xinli, born in 1991, started out for Chengdu Sheffield United, and by the age of 20 had become a mainstay of the team and was selected for the national team, and was once regarded as Zheng Zhi's successor. However, he was highly paid by Evergrande in 2011, but was overlooked due to his embarrassing situation on the league bench. Later, Peng Xinli chose to leave Evergrande and join Chongqing, where he became a starter and performed better and better to return to the national team.
Who doesn't want an international class back? Shanghai Shenhua made a quick move and recruited Peng Xinli, making him the team's main back and making his debut in the AFC Champions League. Subsequently, Wu Xi joined the team and partnered with Peng Xinli. However, Peng Xinli lost his position at the start of the new season. Wu Jingui chose the combination of Wu Xi and foreigner Amadou in the back position, and Peng Xinli was relegated to the bench. Even after Wu Xi's injury, Wu Jingui didn't need Peng Xinli and directly activated young player Wang Haijian, and Dai Weijun even withdrew Peng Xinli's enrollment directly, making him unemployed.
However, a player of Peng Xinli's strength does not lack for a home. If he chooses to leave, numerous teams will be interested in him. Chengdu Rongcheng and Qingdao Hainiu are good choices. Chengdu is the place where his dream started, while Qingdao Hainiu had missed out on Zhang Xiuwei. If Peng Xinli fills the vacancy, this is definitely an excellent choice.
