Shandong Taishan is aiming for a double title this coming year, with the glory of the Chinese Super League and the Football Association Cup seemingly within reach. However, the strong rise of the Shanghai duo has left Shandong Taishan in second place in this season's title race, which has undoubtedly galvanized the team's fighting spirit. They have been quick to bring in two powerful foreigners this season, but the process of attracting reinforcements has hit a bottleneck lately, and the question of funding is still unresolved.
Looking back at the glorious years of Shandong Taishan team, the Luneng era has written many chapters for Shandong soccer. Nowadays, Shandong Taishan team behind the national grid to become its solid backing, funding has never been a problem. However, after the shareholding restructuring, Jinan Wentian took over 40% of the shares, but did not see the injection of funds, making the team in the financial chain in trouble.
Shandong Taishan could only sign players whose contracts were about to expire last season when money was tight. For the new season, rumors abound about potential gold owners, but none of them have been confirmed. The team desperately needs an injection of money to bring in new blood, but the situation doesn't seem promising.
One of the reasons behind the uncertainty of the team's third foreign aid is that the team has yet to finalize the retention of two foreign aiders. Leonardo failed to win Choi Kang-hee's favor despite his strength, while Pato suffered frequent injuries after adapting to the Chinese Super League, making it difficult for him to meet the team's requirements. Nevertheless, Pato has chosen to stick to his contract and is looking forward to proving himself.
At present, Shandong Taishan team has six foreign aiders, the quota is full. The team urgently needs to introduce strong foreign aid in the back position, but Cui Kangxi is facing the problem of foreign aid to stay or go, and the process of attracting foreign aid is blocked. Hopefully, Shandong Taishan will step up the pace and realize the team's upgrade.
