The most devastating defeat in the team's history, Guoan and Setién share a humiliating record

Special contributor / Song Ci On the night of August 31, the 23rd round of the Chinese Super League saw the Beijing-Shandong derby once again. What was anticipated to be a nail-biting duel unexpectedly became a 6-0 rout of Guoan by Shandong Taishan. This was the biggest defeat ever suffered by Guoan in their professional league history, and coach Setién equaled his personal worst loss as a manager. This night is destined to be a shameful chapter in Guoan’s history.

This season, Guoan has consistently used a three-center-back formation. As the league progressed, opponents gradually figured out this tactic, with many teams finding ways to break down Guoan’s system by applying high pressing upfront and attacking behind their defense—a strategy that proved almost foolproof. As a result, coach Setién faced strong criticism from fans and media alike.

After consecutive defeats to Shenhua and Rongcheng, the team switched to a four-defender setup and abandoned ineffective possession football, opting instead for a straightforward attacking style with diagonal balls at 45 degrees, which surprisingly yielded good results. However, following four consecutive wins in both the league and FA Cup, including recent dominant 7-0 and 4-0 victories, Setién reverted to the three-center-back formation, deploying the recently recovered center-back Ngadeu in this crucial match against Shandong.

In fact, in several tough matches earlier, Guoan relied heavily on domestic defenders, including using a four-back formation for better balance between offense and defense. Yet, when facing a Shandong side of equal strength away from home, Guoan stuck to their own style and pressed aggressively. Despite trailing 0-4 at halftime, they maintained 56% possession, falling right into the opponent’s trap.

This match again saw Guoan engage in ineffective passing in their midfield and defense, allowing Shandong to launch counterattacks. Additionally, Kazayishvili was in outstanding form, scoring nearly every time he shot. Guoan could only lament their poor performance while acknowledging their opponent’s near-supernatural display.

Previously, Guoan’s worst league defeat was a 0-5 loss to Guangzhou City in the 17th round of the 2021 Chinese Super League. Unexpectedly, five years later, this humiliating scoreline was surpassed with a 0-6 defeat against Shandong Taishan.

This match was not only a disgrace for Guoan but also a catastrophic event in coach Setién’s career. Besides this 0-6 loss to Shandong, Setién had suffered a similar defeat in February 2014 when his Segunda División team Lugo lost 0-6 away to Girona. Many Guoan fans were reminded of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal when Setién’s Barcelona was crushed 2-8 by Bayern Munich.

In truth, almost every Guoan player was off their game, especially after Shandong scored repeatedly in the first half, causing Guoan to become visibly anxious. Yet, even after falling 0-2 behind, Setién made no tactical changes. When asked post-match about this, Setién admitted, “If you only look at today’s performance, everyone should have been substituted, including me. But football is like this—sometimes when you make adjustments, you don’t know if the outcome will be good or bad.”

Perhaps this is Setién’s stubbornness. As a renowned Spanish coach, he holds absolute authority in the squad, emphasizing building attacks from the back, even if it means the goalkeeper and center-backs take great risks with short passes. However, such inflexibility can sometimes lead to severe consequences.

Regarding the remaining seven matches, Setién stated, “Football is like this; there are wins and losses. The most important thing now is not to give up. We are two points behind the top, and we must perform well in the upcoming matches. There are seven crucial games left. What we can do now is focus on these seven games. The match is over, and after such a painful defeat, we must keep moving forward and remember today’s disgrace.”

The most heartbroken by this humiliating defeat were the Guoan players. After the match, veteran Zhang Xizhe openly said in an interview, “I don’t want to look at the scoreboard. Both the gameplay and the result were completely outmatched.” Indeed, for the Guoan players, this result was unbearable, and their frustration simmered within. Sometimes, when players feel extreme pressure, even a small trigger can cause an outburst.

After the match, as the Guoan players returned to their hotel, they were already inside the elevator when they heard some fans’ voices. Wang Gang, Zhang Yuning, and others became very agitated and rushed out of the elevator to confront the fans. Fortunately, other staff intervened before the situation escalated further.

“Celebrate together when winning, endure together when losing” is a difficult ideal to achieve. Especially as fans, it’s natural to express dissatisfaction and anger when their team suffers a heavy defeat. However, in today’s Chinese Super League, fan reactions often become extreme, and “players being scolded by fans after a loss” has become commonplace. In reality, no one wants to win more than the players themselves. The impact of verbally abusing players versus supporting them through actions can be vastly different.

Of course, players should remain calm after a loss, as arguing with fans serves no purpose. For both Guoan players and supporters, with seven league matches and an FA Cup final ahead, what is needed is unity and determination to overcome difficulties and perform well in the remaining games.

In the early hours of September 1, Guoan Club issued an official apology statement on Weibo: “We deeply regret the performance and result in the away match against Shandong Taishan. The entire club sincerely apologizes to everyone who cares for and supports the team. After such a heavy defeat, we feel ashamed and sleepless just like every devoted Beijing Guoan fan. The club and team will thoroughly reflect and promptly adjust our state. There are still seven tough matches left in the league, and we will fight for every single one. Our season goals remain unchanged! Our determination to strive for first place will never waver! We will fight until the very last moment!”