After 11 rounds of fierce battles in the Chinese Super League, Chengdu Rongcheng FC stood out and became the focus of everyone's attention. Under the wise leadership of Xu Zhengyuan, the team realized a magnificent turnaround and became the second strongest team in the Chinese Super League, winning all 11 rounds of matches and accumulating 23 points with only 6 wins and 5 draws, close to the leader Shanghai Port, with a gap of only 3 points. Especially in the direct confrontation with Shanghai Port, with a record of 1-0 victory, highlighting the strong strength of the second place.
In terms of strength and lineup, Chengdu Rongcheng is like a dark horse in the Chinese Super League. At the beginning of the season, the team was valued at less than 8 million euros, which is far from the favorites such as Shanghai Harbor, Wuhan Sanzhen, Shandong Taishan, Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua. In addition, the team's lineup is incomplete, with two young starters from last season, Hu Hetao and Mutalifu, missing a large number of matches due to national team games and training.
The twin stars of Chengdu Rongcheng, Mutalifu and Hu Huotao, have grown to become the National Youth Golden Boot scorers and top players. 19-year-old Mutalifu scored two goals and contributed one assist in four matches at the Asian Youth Championships, helping the team to reach the last eight. His price tag of 325,000 euros is one of the highest among young players, second only to Hu Huotao. Hu Hu Huotao, also 19 years old, has outstanding physical quality, strong strength in both offense and defense, energetic and strong will to play, and his "German transfer" value is as high as 450,000 euros.
With exceptional individual ability and form, Mutalifu and Hu Huotao were in the spotlight early in the season. At the beginning of the year, they trained with the National Youth Team for the Asian Youth Championships and were then promoted to the Olympics (U22 National Football Team) to play alongside the team in Europe. However, both young players have been unable to represent their clubs for long periods of time due to injuries and national team fixtures. Chengdu Rongcheng is under immense pressure in an intensive Chinese Super League campaign, especially as injuries to the team have increased as the schedule deepens, and there is an urgent need for young starters such as Hu Huotao and Mutalifu to support the team.
In the 11th round of the Chinese Super League, Chengdu Rongcheng's foreign aid Romulo was injured and Feng Zhuoyi received another red card, which damaged the strength of the lineup. On June 6, Beijing time, Mutalifu and Hu Huotao finally returned. Mutalifu updated social media, saying, "Finally back home. Jet lag and recovery training are synchronized. A golden nest is not as good as your own nest." It can be seen that Mutalifu is going all out for the next round of the Chinese Super League. According to the schedule, Chengdu Rongcheng will welcome the 12th round of the Chinese Super League on June 8 against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, who also remain undefeated.
Unfortunately, Mutalifu and Hu Huotao will travel to the Olympics after participating in the Chinese Super League. Domestic well-known media "Sports Weekly" reporter Ma Dexing revealed that the Olympic Games on June 4, the end of about three months of European training, back to China for a short break, followed by two warm-up games on June 15 and 19, the opponent locked for Uzbekistan. It is understood that the Olympic Games will go to Beijing on June 8 to train, Mutalifu, Hu Huotao and other young international players playing in the Chinese Super League, is expected to return to the Olympic Games quickly after the end of the 12th round.
Currently, the Olympic Games have a heavy training schedule. Coach Ching Yiu Tung will usher in the first phase of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, the U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers, in September. The Olympics are in a competitive group with the UAE, Maldives and India.
