Wuhan Sanzhen, the rising promotion team, has become the center of attention in the Chinese Super League with its powerful foreign players.
Source: Pescadores
What seems to be an unexpected result is actually reasonable. Halfway through the first phase of the Chinese Super League, Wuhan Three Town leads the table with 13 points from four wins and one draw.
Wuhan Sanzhen's performance is reminiscent of Guangzhou Evergrande's 11 years ago - can the promoted team replicate Evergrande's "Kaiserslautern Myth"?
In the Chinese Super League, as long as there are practical foreign aiders and a stable domestic player class, winning the championship seems to be within reach?
Xie Pengfei took the penalty corner and Malcolm headed home as Wuhan Sanzhen showed great attacking power.
Challenge the enemy
Shanghai Seaport faced two strong teams, Guangzhou and Wuhan, in two consecutive rounds.
Guangzhou is no longer as brave as it was back then, and the 0-1 loss is reasonable; while facing Wuhan Sanzhen, whose strength and form are both stable, the test of the seaport is even more severe.
Seaport exposed shortcomings when defending against high balls in the first half and were scored by Malcolm and Renhang respectively.
Stanciu sent a precise cross for Renhang to head home to extend Wuhan Sanzhen's lead.
Coach Lecco made a timely tactical adjustment just before halftime and Harbor pulled a goal back, but ultimately lost 1-2.
Seaport has won 2 and lost 3 of their 5 games at the halfway point, accumulating only 6 points, with a 7-point gap between them and Wuhan Sanzhen.
Wuhan Three Town started the season strongly, thrashing Hebei and Guangzhou 4-0 and 6-0 in the first two rounds of the tournament, and although they drew with Shenhua in the third round, they beat Wuhan Changjiang and Seaport in the following two rounds to get off to the perfect start.
Feng Jin assisted Ndiaye to pull a goal back as Seaport lost despite the defeat.
The Road to the Championship
This match against Seaport is seen as a litmus test for Wuhan's three towns to blow the title out of the water.
Manager Pedro was pleased with the result and felt that the players showed resilience.
Coach Leko acknowledged the poor state of the harbor, but also said the team still has room for improvement.
China Super League (soccer league)
In the standings, Wuhan Three Town leads the way, followed by Evergrande.
Flip-flopping Everest?
Wuhan Sanzhen shares many similarities with Guangzhou Evergrande 11 years ago.
The club has a stable financial base and has signed a number of strong foreign players, including Romanian international Stanciu.
The strength of the local players is not bad, the same as Evergrande's performance in the transfer market that year.
However, it remains to be seen whether Tri-Town coach Pedro's overall level of play will match the demands of a title run.
Coach Pedro directs his team during the game.
It's not impossible for a promoted team to win the title
In the history of international and Chinese soccer, it is extremely rare to see a case like Kaiserslautern winning the championship as a promoted team.
Only Evergrande replicated this myth in 2011 in the Chinese professional league since 1994.
In the first five rounds of the league this season, Wuhan Three Town showed the potential to win the title.
Defending champions Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Seaport are both facing difficulties, which has allowed Wuhan Sanzhen to take advantage of the situation.
Coach Leko said the team will learn from its experience and work to improve.
Coach Pedro, on the other hand, said that winning the championship is not the team's main goal and that playing every game is the key.
With a number of teams facing economic crisis, Wuhan Three Town became the favorite to win the title with the outstanding performance of foreign and local players.
This is both fortunate and unfortunate for Chinese soccer.
