Despite its financial woes, Beijing Guoan has been determined to invest more this season in an attempt to secure strong reinforcements. In the two transfer periods, the club has signed a total of four strong foreign players and five local elites.
The move by the National Security Club is aimed at pushing the team to achieve good results in the league and in turn ignite the Beijing soccer market. Despite their early exit from the league title race, National Security's determination to compete for a spot in next season's AFC Champions League has not wavered.
However, the road to reality is bumpy. Guoan are currently fifth in the league table, with only three points separating them from third-placed Shanghai Shenhua and fourth-placed Zhejiang. The schedule is extremely unfavorable for them, and they must take all three points before competing for the Champions League.
In the last three rounds of the league, Guoan will face Shanghai Port on the road, Chengdu Rongcheng at home, and then challenge Shenzhen on the road in the final round. The match against Shenzhen is not expected to be a big problem, while the chances of winning at home against Chengdu Rongcheng are relatively high.
The difficulty of the match against Shanghai Port is self-evident, and the outcome of the match will have a direct bearing on whether or not the Ports can lock up the Super League title two rounds ahead of schedule.
As a team rooted in Beijing, Guoan is known for its "fight to the end" spirit. However, the team's bloodlust seems to be fading since Zhonghe joined the team.
Looking back at the AA era, Guoan had a home win over Liaoning in 1999, relying on substitute Gao Leilei's long-range equalizer to make Liaoning miss out on the league title and help Shandong Taishan win the double.
Entering the CSL era, Guoan had also managed to stop Guangzhou Evergrande that year. in the 2014 season, Guoan relied on a free kick from veteran Shao Jiayi to beat Evergrande 1-0 on the road, crushing the rival's dream of winning the title early.
Now, Guoan is once again the "champion blocker", challenging Shanghai Harbor on the road. The result of this match will not only determine whether Harbor will win the championship early, but also whether Guoan will qualify for the AFC Champions League next season.
On paper, Guoan seems to be slightly inferior. However, the port team is not as strong as expected, with international players such as Yan Junling, Zhang Linlian, Xu Xin and Wu Lei not performing well. Fans are more aware of their true strength in the league and the national team.
In fact, the real strength of the Harbor team lies in the foreign aid, with Oscar, Vargas, Joao and Caron all having good strength. After the departure of Ademi and De Sousa, Guoan has only three foreign aiders left, although the ability is not bad, but the depth of the lineup is still insufficient.
In addition, Zhang Xizhe, the core of Guoan's midfield, was banned for seven matches by the Football Association for improper allegations, and his season was relegated to an early retirement, which has dealt a major blow to Guoan's overall strength.
The harbor team is not having a good time either, after losing consecutively to Henan, Batun United and Chengdu Rongcheng. Therefore, Guoan is not without the possibility of grabbing points on the road. In order to qualify for the next season's AFC Champions League and the team's honor, Guoan's players will have to start a life-and-death battle with their opponents.
If they can beat Shanghai Seaport on the road and take advantage of Shenhua's or Zhejiang's mistakes in the last three rounds of the league, Guoan will see their hopes of reaching the AFC Champions League. Shandong Taishan are likely to win the FA Cup, and as long as Guoan can finish in the top four of the Chinese Super League, they are expected to qualify for the AFC Champions League play-offs next season.
