With the AFC Cup in early October and the second phase of the Chinese Super League restarting in December approaching, the Shenhua team has started a full-scale assembly and preparation at the end of August. In addition to Zhu Chenjie, Wu Xi and Bassogo, who are on national team duty, as well as Zhu Yue, who is participating in the National Games, the rest of the first-team players have participated in this stage of training.
For Shenhua, the primary goal at the moment is undoubtedly the FA Cup. If they can win the title, it will be an explanation for their past league losses. After all, after losing to Guoan in the league, Shenhua failed to enter the group of title contenders, which is a heavy blow to the team and fans. Despite the huge investment of the team this season, the team did not reach the expected goal due to the system and tactics.
In the relegation group, Shenhua still occupies a favorable position. In fact, if Shenhua were in Guangzhou, they could have entered the championship group with their current points. But soccer has no assumptions, the rules are the rules, they can only participate in the relegation group. The good thing is that the relegation pressure is relatively small. After all, Shenhua is 15 points ahead of Qingdao, who are at the bottom of the table, 14 points ahead of Henan, who are at the bottom of the table, and 11 points ahead of Wuhan, who are at the bottom of the table.
After dropping into the relegation group in the league, the FA Cup has become a key battleground for Shenhua this season. In recent years, their performance in the F.A.C. Cup has been impressive, with two wins in 2017 and 2019. In total, Shenhua have only won the F.A.C. Cup three times in its history, and if they win the title this season, they will equal the number of times they have won it with Guoan, but still less than Taishan (six times).
Shenhua must face their opponents squarely if they want to win the title. At present, Taishan, Guoan and Shenzhen Football are all eyeing the AFC Cup, but due to the national team training, Taishan and Guoan have a number of international players have been called up, and Guoan has only one foreigner available in the future, Silva.
Strong Guangzhou was taken out of 8 people, they can only rely on the team players; seaport was also taken out of 3 people, foreign aid Muy may be with Australia to play in the 12 strong match, the time of return is not determined; other teams such as Shenzhen Football, Guangzhou City, Yatai, Henan and Hebei, etc., are also expected to have a chance to make a difference in the AFC Cup.
Compared with Guangzhou, Guoan, Taishan and other international players, Shenhua lineup is relatively complete, only Wu Xi, Zhu Chenjie and Bassogo are currently absent from training due to national team duties.
Shenhua team has four foreign aiders, Moreno has regarded Shanghai as his second home, his family is in Shanghai; Adrian is the same; Dumbya and Jonic, although his family is not in Shanghai, but this vacation, they have not made the request to leave our country.
Despite the fact that the draw for the AFC Cup has not yet been made and the opponents are unknown, Shenhua has been training seriously. It is reported that the team organizes training from Monday to Saturday and rests on Sunday, with two practices a day on Tuesday and Friday. Later this month, Shenhua will conduct warm-up matches to find the feeling of the game. The two warm-up matches have been determined respectively against the Jinmen Tigers, scheduled for September 26th and 29th.
The first phase of the Chinese Super League, Shenhua to veterans, the next, whether they will give more opportunities to young people, is still unknown. This season, Shenhua U23 age players, only Zhu Chenjie and Wen Jiabao to maintain a stable rate of appearance, goalkeeper Ma Zhen has been twice the field, Wang Haijian, Zhu Yue, Xue Qinghao, Wang Yi, He Longhai and other juniors have not yet on behalf of the team to debut in the official game.
"We can't go from one extreme to the other without a good result this year, but the team's focus does have to change next. In the relegation group, we have the advantage of points from the first 14 rounds, so we will give more chances to the youngsters. But this year's transfer window is closed, and the youngsters on loan will not be able to return for the time being." Shenhua general manager Zhou Jun said.
