After a two-week break, the Shanghai Shenhua soccer team reassembled at Kangqiao Base this afternoon. In addition to Wu Xi and Zhu Chenjie, who are away in Doha fighting for the 12th round of the competition, and Bassogo, who is in Africa with the Cameroonian national team preparing for the World Cup, other players such as Moreno, Adrian, Jonic, Dumbya and other foreigners are expected to return. The team's training will focus on recovery, under the direction of acting head coach Mao Yijun, in preparation for the AFC Cup in October and the second phase of the Chinese Super League in December. Currently, Shenhua has no plans to hire a new coach, the original leader Mao Yijun will continue to lead the team to complete the training and games. On the day of the assembly, offensive coach Kim Hyun Min, defensive coach Cui Chengyong, goalkeeper coach Cui Eun Sung, physical fitness coach Wilk and technical analyst Zheng Zaisan and other members of the coaching team also returned. They have completed the first stage of the game, and after communicating with the club, they decided to stay on to assist Mao Yijun in securing the team's training and games.
Talking about Shenhua's selection, general manager Zhou Jun had said, "If not for the loss against Beijing Guoan at the time, we would have wanted to give more opportunities to Mao and Shenhua's internal coaches to continue leading the team." Despite Shenhua's eventual failure to beat Guoan, the club is currently still favoring Mao Yijun to lead the team. Zhou Jun explained that, on the one hand, it is difficult for foreign coaches to enter China during the epidemic; on the other hand, the new coach has accumulated insufficient knowledge of the team. Therefore, Shenhua is not considering hiring a new coach for the time being. Among the existing five foreigners, Bassogo left China due to the call-up of Cameroon's national team, while the other four foreigners Moreno, Adrian, Jonic and Dumbya did not leave China during the vacation period, and need not be quarantined and can return to the team immediately. Cameroon's national team will play two World Qualifying matches in September, against Malawi and Cote d'Ivoire. Should Cameroon qualify, they will then play a double-header against the top of the other nine groups for the five spots to reach the World Cup in Qatar. As a result, Basogo's return is uncertain and could miss the AFC Cup in October. Shenhua FC will maintain communication with the Cameroon national team. As for domestic players, Wu Xi and Zhu Chenjie will represent the national soccer team in the 12th round of the tournament. Doha local time tomorrow, the national football team will play the first match against Australia, Wu Xi as the captain is expected to start the game, Zhu Chenjie is expected to enter the 23-man list. According to the existing plan, the whole national football team may be in West Asia for a long time, so Wu Xi and Zhu Chenjie will miss the AFC Cup. With Shenhua falling into the relegation group, the original target of the league's top four or even the championship has been labeled as "failure" in advance this season. Regardless of the performance in the F.A.C.A. Cup, or the final position in the relegation group, can not make up for the team's poor performance in the first stage. After the team regroups, the club will deploy strategies and future plans for the next phase.
