17:45, September 5, the 16th round of the 2022 Chinese Super League season, Beijing Guoan team and Zhejiang team, a key matchup is about to be staged. At the Rizhao International Football Center Stadium, the pre-match press conference of the two teams was officially opened. Stanley, the new head coach of Guoan, began by saying, "Unity is the core of our team work." Zhejiang's head coach Jordy also said, "We will play to our strengths and try to avoid exposing our weaknesses. As we have said before, we will give our best in every game and fight for three points."
Speaking about the Guoan team's preparations, Stanley revealed, "I arrived in Beijing last Sunday and started training with the team on Monday. In the past week, we had several meetings and had in-depth exchanges with the players. I can't make too many changes to the team in a short period of time, and the key is for the whole team to be united and move forward together. I have provided a lot of information to the players over the past week and hopefully they will absorb and digest it and look forward to them playing well in tomorrow's game."
"Having just arrived in the team, if you bring in too many new things, it takes time for the players to get used to it, and there will be ups and downs in the process, so it's not possible to absorb it all right away. For a week's time, I can't make too many changes to the team either, but I do try to improve the team. The important thing is that the players and I need to understand each other and reach a consensus. Changing managers in the middle of the season requires a process of mutual adaptation and I believe we will do well."
In the past week, Stanley has not only paid attention to the training of the first team, but also the development of the U21 team. At the conference, he shared his thoughts on the growth of the young players, "I have brought in some young players but haven't seen them for two years, I have heard that they have improved but I need to watch them further."
"I think it's vital to get young players on the pitch at the right moment because it's about how they present themselves and that opportunity is vital. The moment you get youngsters on the pitch, they have to have enough confidence and that's how important the opportunity is. At the same time, they need to be well prepared and we as coaches need to help them. It's not just me but the whole team that has to assist the young players to grow."
"I can give you an example that in Europe, like Ajax, it is usually when the game is going well, like 4-0 up against the opponent, that young players are brought in to work out. If the team is struggling, it may not be in their favor to switch to young players. Our whole team holds this view, so we need to wait until the team achieves good results, when it is a good time to give young players a chance, provided of course that they are all ready."
Commenting on the preparation for the game, player Zhang Yuning said, "It's been a while since our last game, we've recovered well and we've welcomed a new coach. We have shown good form in the last 3 games and hope to continue that tomorrow and welcome our new coach with a win, as well as bring confidence to ourselves."
Talking about facing his hometown team Zhejiang, Zhang Yuning said: "First of all, I'm very happy to see Zhejiang finally return to the Chinese Super League stage after so many years of hibernation, congratulations to them. I've been following them for a long time, including abroad. I hope both sides can give a great game tomorrow, and we will also pay high attention to this opponent."
Introducing Zhejiang's preparation for the game, Jordy said, "Hello everyone, tomorrow's opponent is a team with a long and strong history, they have many good players and play a similar style to ours, we are very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of this style of play, and will play to our strengths and try to avoid exposing our weaknesses. As we have said before, we have to give our best in every game and fight for three points."
On the media mentioning the change of manager in the rival team, Jodi added, "A new coach arriving in the team usually breathes new life into the team and we won't be focusing on the past matches and will be fully focused on tomorrow's match."
Dong Yu said, "Beijing Guoan is a strong opponent and we will finish this game as our head coach has set up."
