In the stormy weather of October 14, Shanghai media News Morning Post disclosed that the Shenhua team will gather again at the Kangqiao base to prepare their troops for the upcoming Chinese Super League (CSL) and the Football Association Cup (F.A.C.A. Cup) matches.
The report revealed that the day after the match against Shenzhen, Shenhua's main force immediately left for Shanghai, while some players and staff embarked on their respective vacations. The coaching team gave the players a four-day vacation, and today's reunion at the Kangqiao base marks the end of the team's last mini vacation of the year. Under normal circumstances, it will be difficult to find another break in the next two months or so.
Due to the epidemic and other factors, it is indeed difficult for the Chinese Super League to finish the season as scheduled. Nevertheless, Chinese Super League officials are still trying to compress the remaining 14 rounds of matches to the end of December. However, with the arrival of November and December, the northern part of the country is already frozen and snow-locked, the outdoor soccer matches are facing difficulties, and the risk of player injuries is also climbing. It is reported that both Shenhua and Harbor, who will have their home stadiums in Dalian, would like to move their home stadiums south to the warmth of Foshan, Guangdong Province. However, in the current situation, the possibility of Shenhua's home stadium moving south is very slim. At least, the team is still preparing for the game according to the plan of "foreign home" Dalian Jinzhou Stadium, and plans to fly to Dalian on October 23rd, face Guangzhou City on October 25th, and face Cangzhou Lions on 29th.
The expanded Chinese Super League has a total of 34 rounds, with 20 rounds played so far. If the next stage of the league restarted on October 25, to end the season by the end of December, all Super League teams must complete 14 rounds of league matches and at least one AFC Cup match in more than 60 days, which means that the next two months will usher in a "week of double matches" regular.
Therefore, this training session at Kangqiao Base is crucial for Shenhua. The team needs to reserve physical strength for the intensive matches in the next two months. At the same time, players such as Cao Yunding, who was injured in the previous phase, will also use this time to undergo rehabilitation to ensure that the team has enough manpower to rotate the lineup in the intensive fixtures. Head coach Wu Jingui said: "20 games we harvested 40 points, an average of 2 points per game, which has basically met or even exceeded expectations, which is the result of the joint efforts of our entire team. This is the result of the joint efforts of our whole team. Next, we still need to work together to play the next game well. This offseason, we will further strengthen the physical training."
