Zhang Xizhe and Zhang Yuning in preparation for the match. Source: ic photo
Beijing Guoan will face Hebei in the 5th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) bye tomorrow at 19:30, the New Beijing News reports. The match marks the beginning of a "devilish schedule" of 10 intensive matches for Guoan in the next 28 days. In today's pre-match press conference, Guoan head coach Bilic emphasized: "The key is how we can achieve effective recovery in the gap between matches."
Facing an intensive schedule, Beijing Guoan will rely more on the performance of domestic players. Bilic reiterated what he said at the beginning of the year, "As I predicted before, this season is likely to be a league dominated by local players. The epidemic has brought considerable challenges to all teams, both in terms of fixtures and finances."
Currently, only one foreigner, Lucas Sousa, remains in the Guoan team. Bilic said, "Unfortunately, Bieira is absent due to injury, Augusto and Fernando can't return for the time being due to immunization issues, and Bakambu and Kim Min Ja have not been able to participate with the team for their own reasons. Due to the absence of these outstanding players, we need to make up for it with team spirit."
Guoan's team is now down to just one foreigner, Sosa. Source: ic photo
Fortunately, the plight of single foreign aid won't last long, Bakambu will go to the tournament tomorrow to meet the team. What's more, Bilic is confident in his local players: "I believe in my Chinese players, they are capable and experienced, and in a difficult season, we still stick to our goal of fighting for victory in every game."
In response to the physical challenges of an intensive schedule, the quantity and quality of players are equally critical. Guoan entered the Suzhou tournament with a total of 24 players, but in Bilic's opinion, there is a shortage in the number of players: "We tried to find new players, and we also got back Jiang Tao. We will continue to try and if we are lucky, more players may join us. We not only need to use the period between matches to recover well, but also rationalize the time so that the players can master the rhythm of the game and reasonably distribute physical energy in order to make the situation better."
