After the bitter draw between Shanghai Harbor and Shandong Taishan, five years have passed by in a hurry. After this long wait, our team finally lifted the Chinese Super League trophy for the second time in history. Several of the team's decorated veterans, who belong to the "Xu Genbao system", finally had their only chance to win the championship in the twilight of their careers.
The "Six Tigers" are still standing on the harbor's defense line, and have contributed to the championship honor.
To this day, there are still six Genbao players in the Harbour team: Wu Lei, Yan Junling, Zhang Linpeng, Cai Huikang, Wang Shenchao and Lu Wenjun. These players, nurtured by Xu Genbao's football academy, played together for Shanghai Dongya, Harbour's predecessor, and climbed from the lower leagues to the top of the Chinese Super League. With the exception of Zhang Linpeng, who briefly moved to Guangzhou, the remaining five have remained steadfast at Seaport, and in the 2018 season, they managed to end Guangzhou Evergrande's long-standing hegemony over the Chinese Super League title, allowing Seaport to claim the title for the first time.
Now, five years later, these six players are still the mainstay of the harbor and have even been selected for the national team. Apart from Wu Lei and Yan Jun Ling, Lu Wenjun also contributed six goals to the team this season. In the crucial showdown against Taishan, Lu stepped up to break the deadlock. As an attacking defender, Stanley Wong plays a key role in Xavier's tactical system. And at the age of 34, Cai Huikang is still the iron starter for Harbour this season.
With young players yet to mature, Harbour is relying on these six veterans to hold up the sky this season. Even though Wu Lei's form is declining and Yan Junling has made some mistakes, Harbor is still sticking to its veteran lineup, which may be its luck or sadness.
On the occasion of winning the Chinese Super League title, "Genbao Six Tigers" will represent the national soccer team for the last time to help the team to the World Cup.
The club career of the "Genbao 6 Tigers" has come to a perfect end after successfully helping the harbor team win the championship for the second time. Their next goal is to play for the national soccer team in the World Cup. Currently, Yan Junling, Zhang Linpeng, Wu Lei and Wang Shenchao have become the core strength of the national team, and are even regarded as indispensable by Jankovic.
However, the seaport meritorious players sparked questions from fans after they unexpectedly lost 2-3 to Batang United in the AFC Champions League play-offs. The Chinese men's soccer team will face Thailand for the first time in the upcoming 36-team tournament. Whether or not Jankovic should continue to trust these players who were defeated in the Thai team is undoubtedly a tricky choice.
Undoubtedly, Wu Lei, Yan Junling and other veterans firmly believe in fighting for their country. After all, this may be their last chance to hit the World Cup.
In any case, may veterans such as Wu Lei, Yan Junling and Zhang Linpeng, after their club careers are over, also complete their national team careers successfully and realize their dreams of playing in the World Cup.
