This is a match that allows no room for error! On the surface, both sides were courteous and humble, but in reality, they were in a turbulent state inside, vowing to defeat their opponents!
The much-anticipated matchup is the upcoming Chinese Super League summit: Shandong Taishan versus Shanghai Harbor, a showdown between two traditional powerhouses.
Shandong Taishan has the advantage of a home field, occupying the right place and time, and avoiding the hard work of long-distance traveling. Recently, the team is in good shape. After Cui Kangxi's appointment, the team has achieved 5 wins and 2 draws in various matches, including a big win over Changchun Yatai in the last round, which has made the team's morale and technical and tactical levels soar. At least for now, it seems that Shandong Taishan has basically got rid of the slump at the beginning of the season and is moving towards a higher goal.
For Shandong Taishan, winning the championship may be hopeless, but the charm of soccer lies in the fact that everything is possible. Just like last season, they were once behind Wuhan Sanzhen, with a huge difference in points, but eventually realized a comeback. Not to mention the fact that the league is less than halfway through this season. As long as we work hard to catch up, the miracle is not out of reach.
However, if you want to create a miracle, you have to win this round against Shanghai Harbor! There are only two matches in a season. Facing the huge gap in points, Taishan has no other choice but to fight for the win.
The goal of this game was simple and clear. No matter how tough the process is, just getting the three points would be a huge win for the team. I hope the fans can understand this. (Not to seek three points, but to suppress the opponent with all our might. Shanghai Harbor is not an easy team to play against.)
For Shanghai Seaport, Shandong Taishan is the rival they must conquer if they want to fully rise! The reason is self-evident. Taishan is one of the few perennial kings of the league over the years. They have a chance to get three points in Taishan's home field. Nothing more needs to be said.
What's more, if Shanghai beat Shandong Taishan, they will win the halfway title in the early round! (This is the 14th round, and Shenhua is currently second in Hong Kong.) Not only do they win the match, they also win the halfway title. This temptation is undoubtedly huge for Shanghai Harbor.
For Shandong Taishan, the defeat means the end of the season and the shattering of the championship dream, which is so simple and straightforward that it hurts.
However, Shanghai Seaport's morale is also high after beating Beijing Guoan in the last round. In addition, with the return of Zhang Linwei, the core of the defense, Shanghai Seaport's lineup has reached its strongest state in both offense and defense. Therefore, in the interview, many players of Shanghai Seaport said that they will continue to work hard in the next game and do their best to beat Shandong Taishan!
In addition, the comments of Oscar, the core of Shanghai Harbor, have also triggered strong dissatisfaction among fans. Recently, a reporter interviewed Oscar and asked him about his views on Saudi Arabia's golden dollar soccer. Oscar bluntly said: this practice of Saudi Arabia will promote the development of their soccer, the Chinese Super League has operated this way before, and the level of players has been greatly improved.
Faced with such comments, fans have expressed their dissatisfaction: you just make money, that's all. Saying that Chinese players have improved a lot, don't you feel vain? In order to please the fans, please don't say such words against your heart. If you don't like the comments, you can choose to be silent.
The reason why I asked Oscar this question is because he has almost witnessed the rise and fall of the Chinese Super League's golden dollar soccer, so he should have a deep understanding of the impact of golden dollar soccer. Obviously, Oscar's statement this time is too radical, not only failed to please the fans, but also be spat on.
In the era of gold dollar soccer, the level of the Chinese Super League has indeed been greatly improved, such as competitiveness, influence, spectatorship, and so on, and even made an unprecedented breakthrough in the Asian level. All of this is due to the joining of many international superstars, making the Chinese Super League once prosperous.
But all this has little to do with the domestic players, who at that time, let alone progressing, were already having a hard time keeping up their form.
We can prove this in two ways!
First up is the FA Cup: when a Chinese Super League team faces a Chinese B-level or grassroots team, the strength of the domestic players is readily apparent because they cannot use foreign aid and can only play with a full Chinese squad! Do you remember the game when Shanghai Seaport was almost eliminated by Suzhou Dongwu, a Chinese B-level team? At that time, Shanghai Seaport sent out many international players such as Wu Lei, Lu Wenjun, Yan Junling and Wang Shenchao. And in the last 15 minutes of the game, Suzhou Dongwu only had 10 men fighting!
On the other hand, while the clubs' results have flourished, the national soccer team's results have continued to decline, plummeting! The national football team, which had achieved exciting results time and time again against recognized weak teams such as Hong Kong, China and the Philippines, is now relying on the Maldives and Guam to keep up appearances. The national soccer team has fallen from second-rate to third- or fourth-rate in Asia, and has even been angrily labeled by fans as "not good enough" to be abandoned by world soccer.
All of this is the result of the evils of golden dollar soccer!
The reason? Because of the arrival of big-name players, the sense of responsibility of domestic players is obviously weakened, and there is only one player on the court to play soy sauce. The first reaction after getting the ball is not to solve the problem, but to think about how to quickly pass the ball to the foreign aid, so that they can decide to win! Lack of sense of responsibility, lack of problem-solving ability, even if selected for the national football team, no foreign aid support scenario, what is the difference between the national football team and grassroots players?
