Shandong Taishan: Three times a year, another away miracle?

Reporter Chen Yong reports On December 1, the Taishan team embarked on a journey to Japan, and on the 4th, Shandong Taishan challenged Kawasaki Frontale away. In the 1/8 finals of the AFC Champions League in the 2023/24 season, the Taishan team eliminated Kawasaki Frontale (after losing 2-3 at home, they defeated the opponent 4-2 away and miraculously turned around to advance). When we meet again, most of the previous goal heroes are not in the field, can Taishan win away again?

The most recent meeting between Shandong Taishan and Kawasaki Frontale was in February, and that was the 2023/2024 AFC Champions League 1/8 finals. Tarzan lost 2-3 at home, when Fernando and Judson scored for Tarzan; The away win was 4-2, and the goals for the Taishan team were Cressan (2 goals), Ko Zhunyi and Judson.

Ten months later, the two sides met again, and the personnel of Shandong Taishan had changed greatly - Fernando had been loaned to Shanghai Shenhua; Judson has been injured and he is not on the AFC Champions League classic; Cressan received a yellow card for arguing with the referee in the Taishan team's home match against Johor DT, and will miss the away game against Kawasaki after accumulating yellow cards.

Of course, the Tarzan squad has also been replenished by personnel, and the injured Zeka has returned at the beginning of the season, and Zeka has been in great form recently, scoring or assisting in six consecutive games, including the only goal in the last game between Tarzan and Johor DT.

For the Taishan team, to achieve the desired result away from home, the defense needs to work hard, as for the part from defense to attack, Kazaishvili must show his value, in the last three consecutive games, Kazaishvili's performance is not satisfactory, the AFC Champions League elite league played 5 rounds, in addition to the first round against the Central Coast Mariners scored 2 goals, the last 4 AFC Champions League elite games have not been outstanding. When Cressan is on the field, the distribution of the ball of the Tarzan team is more inclined to Cressan, and if Cressan is absent, the ball distribution of the Tarzan team will be more even, or it will be inclined to Kazaishvili, which is also the best opportunity for Kazaishvili to show his ability.

In the match against Johor DT, Choi Kang-hee made a start that was almost all-Chinese, and then used foreign aid to make a preemptive attack. But away to Kawasaki, the situation will be different, there is a week of rest time from the last AFC Champions League elite league, the physical condition of all the players in the Taishan team should be good, and Choi Kang-hee will most likely use a more normal starting lineup. Judging from the recent form of the players, Zeka, Chen Pu and Xie Wenneng are in good shape, and now the risk is the back position, Huang Zhengyu has been physically overdrawn before, and whether he can play or start in this round is to be determined.

The battle against Kawasaki Frontale is the last game of the 2024 season for the Taishan team. This season, the Taishan team did not play well in the league, only finishing fifth, and although they reached the final of the FA Cup, they did not perform well in the final and lost the championship. The AFC Champions League elite league has played at this stage, Taishan team performance is still good, the previous 5 rounds, Shandong Taishan 3-1 Central Coast Mariners at home, 1-2 Kobe Victory Boat away, 2-2 Yokohama Mariners at home, 2-4 Pohang Steelers Steelers at home, 1-0 Johor DT at home, 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, 7 points, East Asia ranked seventh in the standings, with 7 points There are 5 teams.

The Taishan team attaches great importance to the AFC Champions League, including in the FA Cup final, Cui Kangxi also "hidden" Huang Zhengyu and Xie Wenneng, one of the reasons is to better deal with the AFC Champions League elite league, which also makes Taishan fans quite dissatisfied, and they are not very acceptable to the move of hiding the main players in the game that can fight for the championship. However, judging from the results, the emphasis on the AFC Champions League allowed the Taishan team to defeat the strong Johor DT 1-0 in the subsequent game, and if they cannot win Johor at home, the prospect of the Taishan team qualifying for the AFC Champions League elite league will become very slim.

At present, the competitiveness of the Chinese Super League teams in the AFC Champions League Elite League is in the middle and upper reaches under the configuration of existing foreign aid, and the problems are mainly reflected in two levels: first, the pace of the Chinese Super League is slightly slow, resulting in the Super League teams need time to adapt to the rhythm of the game in the AFC Champions League Elite League; Second, the schedule in the middle and late stages of the Chinese Super League is very intensive, and the international players may face third-tier battles in the team, plus the national team competition, which is a bit overwhelmed and difficult to maintain physical condition.