On April 21st, Beijing Guoan head coach Bilic attended the press conference before the first round of the 2021 Chinese Super League. The following day, Guoan will face Shanghai Shenhua directly, a "Beijing-Shanghai duel" will be staged. Bilic said that the strength of the two teams is not far from each other, the game will not be one-sided, he and his teammates are ready to meet the challenge.
Bilic at the launch
Guoan team arrived in Suzhou on the evening of the 19th, the 20th for the first training session, Bilic in the training for the Shenhua team to carry out offensive and defensive tactics drills. Talking about the team's preparation, Bilic said at the conference: "As far as I know, the match between Guoan and Shenhua is equivalent to the National Derby of the Chinese Super League, for which the team has been fully prepared. With such a crucial game in the first round of the new season, I hope the team can play well with positive and active tension and achieve positive results."
Bilic admitted that despite the fact that he has not been coaching in China for a long time, he is getting to know more and more about the players, and the scope of understanding is not limited to the technical and tactical abilities on the field, but also includes off-field personality and preferences, which help the coaching team to make the right personnel arrangements.
Last season, Guoan achieved the third place in the league under the leadership of French manager Genesio, which also made the outside world full of expectations for the performance of Guoan in the new season. To this, Bilic responded: "Indeed, now my work is mainly two parts, one is to let the team maintain the positive aspects that were originally shown on the field, and the second is to make up for some details that I previously observed. This coaching mindset is already bearing fruit in training and teaching matches."
Compared to last season's first five rounds of opponents, this season's Guoan team's schedule is relatively unfavorable. Especially in the midfield core Augusto failed to return to the team, Bieira, Bakambu two foreign aid to return to the team in a relatively short period of time, will have to face in the first two rounds of the league in the season's two favorites to win the title Shenhua and Shanghai Harbour, these are the Bilic coaching ability of a huge test.
In this regard, Bilic said, "From the personnel strength point of view, the gap between the two teams is not big. Shenhua is the Chinese Super League veteran team, coupled with a number of new recruits to join this season, the strength should not be underestimated. This competition will not appear one-sided situation, will certainly play very stalemate, depending on who can better grasp the trend of the game."
He also gave the fans a "precautionary note": "We don't have to expect too much from the first game of the season, the league is a long one and the team won't be able to play at a high level in the first round of the season. But we will work hard towards this goal, make progress in every game, show our own characteristics in the game, and go on bravely."
South Korean center back Kim Min-Ja, who previously suffered a toe injury, has begun practicing with the team since arriving in Suzhou and seems to be recovering well from his injury. However, Bilic did not clearly reveal whether Kim Min-jae will be in the game's roster. "Kim Min Ja, like other foreigners, has been in the team for a short period of time. From the training, it seems that every player is in good shape, and it has even become a happy worry for me about who can play."
Shenhua head coach Cui Kangxi, who arrived at the conference later, said: "Guoan is a team with outstanding attacking organization and midfield strength, and we have made special arrangements for individual positions. This is our first game of the season and the result will affect the overall atmosphere of the team, so I attach great importance to it. The team's overall preparations are going well, and I'm looking forward to winning this game."
Talking about the status of the team's strikers, Choi Kang-hee said, "Kim Shin-wook and Bassogo have shown good physical condition in training, and the other players are in good athletic condition. I will carefully consider what combination to make tactical organization."
