With the footsteps of April 19th, Beijing Guoan team embarked on a journey towards Gusu, officially kicking off the curtain of the 2021 Chinese Super League season. According to the established schedule, Guoan will usher in the first match of the new season on the 23rd of this month, against the familiar old rival Shanghai Shenhua.
After four stages of preparation in Kunming, Haikou, Shanghai and Beijing, the Guoan team's nearly three months of training finally came to an end. 19, the team departed from Beijing to Gusu, the venue of the new season of the Chinese Super League, for the upcoming first round of the final sprint. This will be the Croatian coach Bilic coaching Guoan team debut in the Chinese Super League.
Bilic (right) directs practice, courtesy of the National Salon
During the training in Beijing, Bilic has initially determined the main framework of the team. In the offensive line, returned to the team later Bakambu and Bieira will continue to serve as a heavy responsibility, Zhang Xizhe, Cao Yongjing and other domestic players will also assume more organization and tandem task, and Zhang Yuning and Prince Ming two domestic center have the strength to start, will also become the Bilic "sweet trouble"; in the defensive end, due to the South Korean defender Kim Min Ja injury Not yet healed, Yu Yang, Yu Dabao, Li Lei, Wang Gang four international players is the most trusted players Bilic, in front of them there are defensive forward Ji Zhongguo, the same position on the new aid Lucas Sosa is also actively integrated into the team.
After more than two months of coaching, Bilic knows the characteristics of the personnel of the national team like the back of his hand. He followed the team's offensive system from last season, focusing on ground passing. In defense, he asked the players to be more aggressive, including the defense of the positioning ball, but also to give the opponent more pressure. In terms of the use of young players, Bilic is not soft, the new team Gao Tianyi, He Weiyu, Park Yang, plus Li Boshi, Xie Longfei and other reserve team juniors, have the opportunity to compete for the team's U23 starting position.
After he coached the team, Guoan team played a total of 8 warm-up games, with a record of 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, scored 15 goals, conceded 5 goals, the overall performance is good. This also makes the outside world look forward to the performance of Guoan team in the new season of the Chinese Super League.
However, it is also necessary for Guoan to face the unfavorable situation of foreign players not being able to arrive at the beginning of the season. Augusto, who is stranded in his hometown in Brazil, is not yet scheduled to return, and Kim Min Ja's injury may make him miss the first few rounds of the league. Bakambu and Bieira returned to the team in less than two weeks, and their athletic status is still in the adjustment stage. These are all topics that Bilic and his coaching staff need to solve.
After Bilic arrived at the team, he asked the club staff about the "mortal enemies" of Guoan in the league. This time, Guoan team's two opponents in the opening stage of Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai Harbor, can be said to be the team's "mortal enemy". Especially the first opponent Shenhua, and Guoan team in more than 20 years of the league has a good relationship, the two sides of each face-off is full of sparks.
Shenhua's manager Cui Kangxi said before the match that his team will give their best to face the powerful Guoan team and try to get a good result in this duel. For Guoan, this game is undoubtedly a test, they need to play under the leadership of Bilic, to play their level, to provide a wonderful game for the fans.
