Since the 2011 season, the Chinese Super League title has rotated between Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Port, Jiangsu Suning, Shandong Taishan and Wuhan. Although Jiangsu Suning has been disbanded, a significant difference has emerged: Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Port and Wuhan won the title with a similar strategy, while Shandong Taishan is unique.
Exploring these differences, we find that Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Port and Wuhan Three Town mainly constructed their top lineups quickly through the strategy of "crazy purchase" and achieved glory. Shandong Taishan, on the other hand, did not introduce foreign aid on a large scale, but insisted on self-reinforcement, and won the championship with a steady posture, a style also reflected in the "Luneng Dynasty" in the 2006-2010 season.
The rapid growth of the team's strength in a short period of time has given Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Port and Wuhan a taste of their own medicine. So why doesn't Shandong Taishan follow this model? Is it a matter of funding or other challenges? First of all, large capital investments require a cumbersome approval process. As we all know, Shandong Taishan is backed by state-owned enterprises, very different from the other three teams. Therefore, every expenditure needs to go through strict scrutiny and instructions. And once huge expenditures are involved, such as the introduction of large-scale foreign aid, more detailed decisions and discussions are required. Taishan may appear to be rich, but the flexibility behind the capital is far less than the other three teams. For example, Xu Jiayin's attitude towards Evergrande's signings and Shanghai Port's courage in constantly bringing in foreign aid such as Hulk, Oscar and Arnautovic reveal this. Secondly, behind Shandong Taishan's reluctance to spend huge sums of money on players is the insistence on youth training. Shandong Taishan has the best youth training base in Chinese soccer, with players all over the Chinese Super League, Chinese First Division and Chinese Second Division teams. The team insists on youth training and does not want to destroy this good image. In addition, Shandong Taishan's domestic players are not bad, which is why they do not want to follow the other three teams. Despite the shortcomings in the midfield position, domestic players such as Wu Xinghan, Liu Binbin, Jin Jingdao, etc. have international backgrounds and do not need to be purchased additionally. Ultimately, every team has its own philosophy of survival and there is no absolute right or wrong. Shandong Taishan is based on youth training and focuses on the development of local players, a mindset that is more in line with the future direction of Chinese soccer.
