At the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Chinese Super League (CSL) has set off another boom, and Nantong Zhiyun Football Club made its debut on February 1, releasing a series of photos of the team's preparations and training in a "nine-panel grid", with the theme of "New Year, New Journey", implying a new starting point and new challenges.
Through the lens of the training ground, the preparation of Nantong Zhiyun, the new army of the 2023 Chinese Super League season, is clear. The team has changed into the new Chinese Super League equipment, yellow training uniforms and blue team logo, especially eye-catching. Players were engaged in intense group matches in training, with undershirts in different colors - blue, red and white - while the whole team wore black training undershirts for recording data. The number "20" on the training undershirt of former international player Wang Song, who has joined the team, signals that he may debut the new season with the No. 20 jersey.
Looking back at Wang Song's past seasons, the 39-year-old "young player" has scored uninterrupted goals in a remarkable 21 seasons since his professional debut in 2000, and in the 2020 season he set a new record of 417 appearances in China's top professional soccer league, playing alongside the (now defunct) Jiangsu team in the Chinese Super League. He has also played in the Chinese Super League. Now, Wang Song has returned to Nantong Zhiyun and is expected to continue to write brilliantly on a new stage.
Wang Song's self-discipline has allowed him to maintain his excellent competitive form. Last season, he played 32 matches for Shijiazhuang in the Central League, starting all of them, contributing 2 goals and 13 assists, and powering his team to a fourth-place ranking with 20 wins, 6 draws, and 8 losses, scoring 50 goals and conceding 31, with 66 points.
With Nantong Zhiyun and Kunshan joining the Chinese Super League, Jiangsu soccer is expected to return to the top league. Wang Song will take on a new mission to add another touch of green to Jiangsu soccer.
In addition to Wang Song, newcomer Cao Kang also joined Nantong Zhiyun. Cao Kang used to play for Heilongjiang Bingcheng and helped the team jump from B grade to A grade, and is the core midfielder of the team. He has many labels, such as "B Canter", "King of Full Attendance", "King of Steals" and so on. In the new season, Cao Kang will help Nantong Zhiyun to strengthen their defense.
New coach David Patricio and veteran captain Liu Wei also showed up at the training ground, as Nantong Zhiyun is ready to take on the challenges of the new season.
