On the stage of the AFC Cup, Chang'an Athletic and Shanghai Seaport met again, and the ending was like a reincarnation, and this time the loss was even more sobering.
The beacon of the World Cup qualifiers attracted the attention of many fans, and the attention of this year's AFC Cup has decreased compared to the past, but for Chang'an Athletic and Shaanxi fans, it is undoubtedly a valuable exercise opportunity to play against the Super League powerhouses.
Looking back three and a half years ago, Chang'an Athletic had a narrow encounter with Shanghai SIPG (now known as Shanghai Seaport) in the AFC Cup. At that time, Wu Lei had not yet traveled far, and the opponents were a team with a lot of strength, and SIPG with many international players seemed unstoppable.
Facing Hong Kong, Chang'an Athletic has been through a lot of tests, the first round of the penalty shootout to beat Hebei Elite, goalkeeper Song Zhenyu performance heroics; the second round of the match against the Central League of Zhejiang Greentown, was still in the Central League of A, Chang'an Athletic once again staged a reversal of the drama, Du Junpeng for two consecutive games of free kicks to break through the goal.
When they met Shanghai SIPG in the third round, the provincial stadium was packed to the rafters with 40,000 fans cheering on Chang'an Athletic. Despite failing to advance by a single goal, Chang'an Athletic put in an impressive performance, and Shanghai Hong Kong relied on Wu Lei's goal to get them through.
The reason I remember it so vividly is because I was there for all three of those matches. The spring before I graduated from university, I witnessed Chang'an Athletic's strong performance in the FA Cup at the provincial stadium. Now, three and a half years later, the epidemic and my work have prevented me from watching the matches live for a short period of time, and I can't help but feel a sense of sadness.
However, the performance of Chang'an Athletic is still gratifying. After two years of facing their old rivals again, the team's lineup is not what it used to be. Now Chang'an Athletic has been playing in the Central League for two seasons, and Shanghai Seaport has changed its name to Shanghai Harbor. Facing the opponent with an incomplete lineup, Chang'an Athletic was not inferior on the field.
Shanghai Seaport took the lead in the first half with a brilliant goal by foreigner Paulinho, but Chang'an Athletic then launched an effective counter-attack and threatened the opponent's goal several times.
Substitute Tambu equalized for his team, and despite the fact that the opponents eventually went back in front again with penalties, Chang'an Athletic's last-minute attack continued to satisfy the fans.
After the game, the two CCTV commentators said, "Chang'an Athletic's team framework has been quite complete, and Shanghai Seaport won very hard." Only those who have experienced the struggle of Chang'an Athletic can realize such comments. Still, we hope that one day Chang'an Athletic will be able to stand on the highest stage of Chinese soccer.
