Chinese Super League (CSL) juggernaut Guangzhou unveiled its 35-member first team squad and 30-member reserve team squad today, Xinhua News Agency's Wang Hao Ming newly disclosed. What is particularly striking is that Guangzhou has not reserved a Chinese Super League place for Paulinho and Talisca, and the team will be ready to go to the 2021 season as a full Chinese class to fight in the Chinese Super League and the Asian Championship.
Evergrande Football School delivered 11 players from Guangzhou's 35-man first team roster:
The frontline players include Tan Kai Yuen, Chen Zheng Feng and Wu Jun Hao;
The midfielders are Yang Dejiang, Li Xingxian and Hou Yu;
Defenders are Wang Shilong, Zhang Zhihao, Chen Guanxuan and Luo Junhan;
The goalkeeper, on the other hand, is Guo Jiayu.
Striker Tan Kaiyuan and defender Wang Shilong have already gained valuable experience with Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League, the AFC Cup or the AFC Champions League last season, while the other nine newly promoted up-and-comers are having their first taste of the first team.
Guangzhou has had a net outflow in the off-season, with players such as Xu Xin and Liu Yiming leaving the team without bringing in any internal or external reinforcements. Xu Zhicang's idea of an "all Chinese class" and his commitment to "youth training" will be put into practice in an unexpected way in the 2021 Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League seasons.
However, conceptions and promises are conceptions and promises after all. The foundation of Guangzhou's eight titles in ten years lies in its first-class foreign aid lineup and outstanding local players. Although the "All Chinese Class" still looks strong, but from the point of view of offensive and defensive balance and characteristics, I am afraid that it is difficult to regain the title of the Chinese Super League, and even difficult to be among the top three.
At that time, Guangzhou had 6 naturalized players, Jiang Guangtai, Ekerson, Alan, Gaolat, Fernando and Luo Guofu (TBD), of which Jiang Guangtai and Ekerson have been converted to domestic players, while the remaining 4 are still foreigners. Theoretically, the Guangzhou team with 6 foreign aiders may be more powerful than Shanghai Harbor, Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Shenhua and Shandong Taishan, but the actual fighting power is far from 1+6=6, and may even be less than 5.
First, of the other 5 players besides Jiang Guangtai, there are 4 forwards and a #10 (position). Wei Shihao will lock down the winger position if he stays healthy; Gaolat should be positioned at the heart of the attack; the center forward position will be rotated by Ackerson and Allan; and the right side will be rotated by Fernando and Lok Kwok Fu.
This lineup is a luxury, but in addition to Gallagher, the trio of Aixon, Fernando, and Luo Guofu have seen their form decline by at least 40% since they were naturalized; Allan's performance in last season's Guanan was okay, but still a gap compared to his peak.
The decline of Ackerson, Lok Kwok Fu, and Allan is related to ageing, but not the whole reason. Fernando is in his prime, but his past dominance and prowess is gone, and it feels like he's not as good as Wei Shihao.
Secondly, the striker line is hoarding too many attackers, leading to a big gap in Guangzhou's midfield. In the eyes of 99% of the fans, Guangzhou's indispensable player is Paulinho, because the local players can not support the operation of the midfield (not to mention that Paulinho also has to carry the banner of the attack, which is equivalent to one shoulder to carry three).
Zheng Zhi is about to enter the age of 41, can maintain a high level of half a game has been fortunate; Huang Bowen experience, skills, awareness still exists, but the physical strength is a big problem; Zhang Xiuwei has the potential, but sometimes play unstable; Liao Lixiang status is difficult to judge; He Chao, Yan Dinghao, remember last season Evergrande game, did not feel their excellent and potential.
In short, this group of young players is the epitome of the lack of talent in Chinese soccer as a whole. They can play in the main force, not like the initial Zhou Haibin, Zhao Xu Ri, Cui Peng, Huang Bowen, Wang Dong, Du Zhenyu and so on that outstanding, but because only will be.
In addition to the hidden problems in the midfield, Guangzhou's backline is also a cause for concern. Jiang Guangtai and Zhang Linpeng's ability to stay healthy is doubtful, and Gao Zhunyi may have to play as a wingback, so there could be new faces in the starting center backs at the beginning of the season, whether it's Wang Shilong or a newly promoted youngster.
No matter how you analyze it, the Guangzhou team that lacks Paulinho is difficult to compete with other giants in terms of both paper strength and staffing. Therefore, I boldly predict that if Paulinho can't return in the second or third stage, Guangzhou will be difficult to be among the top four at the end of this season's Chinese Super League!
