On the night of September 6, the 16th round of the Chinese Super League was rekindled, and Beijing Guoan fought Zhejiang to a 2-2 draw at home in Rizhao. After the game, Guoan's new coach Stanley and Zhejiang's head coach Qiao Di appeared in the press conference room.
Jordy spoke highly of Zhejiang's performance, "I want to congratulate my players, they played quite well tonight and overcame a lot of difficulties, such a draw result is acceptable for us."
Talking about the battle of the national team, Stanley said, "I gave the players recognition in the locker room for two reasons: first, the strength of the opponents we faced is not to be underestimated, and the two sides gave a wonderful duel; second, our team showed a tenacious spirit of hard work and fight for every inch of the ground, which is quite outstanding."
"In the first half, we had some problems controlling the midfield, and there were leakages from time to time. The opponent's midfield used the rotating and switching tactics, which brought us a lot of trouble. If we can control the opponent's midfield better, I believe we can still create more scoring opportunities. Our opponent's midfield passed the ball accurately and with good quality, so they scored the first goal. But we equalized quickly, and in the second half we played even better and put more energy into the attacking end, and almost broke through again."
"In the second half, our midfield control gradually improved. The players understood that they had to fight for every ball and we managed to take the lead. However, I do think the penalty call was a bit slight and unfortunately we let the other team have the penalty for that slight foul. Even though we controlled the midfield, they only had one chance and I was able to accept the 2-2 scoreline."
"I emphasized the fundamentals of the game, including what everyone must do, especially the details that should be taken care of with and without the ball. Our team is not suited to playing long passes, so possession is vital. The other team did a good job of rotating the midfield, so we also need to be flexible, improve communication between teammates, and be clear about who we are targeting. I think we still need to make some adjustments to control the game better. Overall, we did pretty well."
"I make sure to dictate to the substitutes when they come on. At that time, there were a lot of 2 on 2 opportunities in the opponent's midfield, so I especially explained where he would come on. In addition, I have to remind the players not to focus on the ball without thinking about the people, these are all small details. I hope they can do better. In soccer, everything we do is for the fans. I know the fans in Beijing come from far and wide to support us, and with their support, I feel my job is full of meaning.
