In the golden summer of 2023, the weekend of June 22nd to 25th saw Guangzhou host a fierce third round of the Chinese Football Association Cup. Shanghai Seaports took on former arch-rivals Guangzhou on the road, and a 3-1 victory saw the Seaports advance to the next round. In this marquee match, Zhang Linpeng's performance was undoubtedly the brightest star of the match. Not only was he a former Guangzhou player, but he also returned as a guest player and won the wild applause from Guangzhou fans.
After the match, Zhang Linpeng, who was not able to play, strolled around the stadium with his son to express his sincere gratitude to the enthusiastic Guangzhou fans. Facing the camera, Zhang Linpeng expressed his feelings: "When I stepped into Yuexiu Mountain and saw the fans cheering for the young Guangzhou team, I felt an unspeakable emotion in my heart. Here are my memories, my emotions, and I feel an unspeakable sense of belonging. I really miss them."
Talking about the status quo of Guangzhou team, Zhang Linpeng was overwhelmed with emotion: "I didn't expect Guangzhou team to come to this point today. I have been following the team since the beginning. After I moved to Shanghai Port last year, Zhi led the team in the battle. This year, Zhi let go and Zhiyu took over the baton, I witnessed the growth of the team. I have been following it, whenever I have time. From my perspective, the team's current performance may be beyond the imagination of the average person, but it may also have a lot to do with personnel adjustments.
The teams nowadays are almost all young players, many of whom are the best in the soccer schools. They are inexperienced and we should not be overly critical in the face of the fierce competition and psychological pressure of the professional league. We expect them to learn from their experience and help the team return to the top league. If they can achieve this, it will certainly inject more confidence and motivation into their careers. This is what I firmly believe."
Zhang Linpeng is confident about Guangzhou's relegation situation in the Central League. He believes that the team has accumulated experience from the matches and the players have a clear understanding of their positioning and goals. He firmly believes that no player will talk lightly about relegation and everyone will do their best to help Guangzhou to succeed in relegation. In this united atmosphere, he believes that the team will be able to achieve the relegation goal!
