From "Champion Derby" to "Memory Derby" in the Port Battle of Evergrande?, Observation: Wu Lei is on rotation, but all five foreign players are out of season | Evergrande | Champion
In the era of Jin Yuan football, Guangdong netizens and Evergrande fans had a catchphrase: Who would still watch the Chinese Super League without Evergrande? In the 2023 season, the Chinese Super League remains lively after the epidemic, but Guangzhou Evergrande, once the eight time champion of the Chinese Super League, can only dedicate itself to the Chinese Super League and fight hard to avoid relegation.
Since Shanghai Port Group invested in football in 2015, the strong dialogue between Shanghai Port and Guangzhou Evergrande represents the top-level level of the Chinese Super League, and has even been dubbed the "national derby" by fans. Especially in the 2017 season, the two teams staged a series of "super six matches" in the Chinese Super League, FA Cup, and AFC Champions League, becoming the pinnacle of the Chinese Super League that is difficult to surpass.
On June 24th, Haigang and Evergrande will meet again in the Chinese Football Association Cup. However, due to the tight cash flow of investors, the glory of Guangzhou Evergrande, the former Chinese Super League champion, has long been lost, leaving only the loyal Guangzhou fans still waiting patiently at Yuexiu Mountain. In the past, Shanghai Port, which was once a small generation, can only feel the passage of time and the change of people when encountering Guangzhou Evergrande, the big brother of the past.
Born to burn money, trapped in poverty
This is a heartbreaking reality - in the 2023 season, Guangzhou Evergrande will no longer be in the Chinese Super League. They, who were relegated last season, can only play in the Chinese League One this year and are now struggling to avoid relegation.
Due to the tight cash flow of the parent company, the training base of Guangzhou Evergrande Football Team in Panyu has been announced by the Cultural, Radio, Television, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Panyu District, Guangzhou, stating that the venue will be reclaimed due to unpaid rent. It is hard to imagine that the current economic situation of Guangzhou Evergrande, which was once wealthy, is so bleak.
Thirty years in the east and thirty years in the west. Guangzhou Evergrande, which used to have no shortage of money, has now become the "poorest" destitute powerhouse, and was relegated due to insufficient funds last season. Watching him rise high, entertaining guests, and collapsing - in the 2023 season, after a year of struggle, Guangzhou Evergrande, more precisely, Guangzhou team, finally achieved liberation in the Chinese Super League and competed in the second level of China League One.
Illustrated: Compared to the dazzling luxury lineup of the past, Guangzhou Evergrande team is now letting go of training young players, and the loss of former football stars is almost non-existent.
Since its acquisition of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical in 2010, Evergrande's golden yuan football policy has changed the course of Chinese football. Over the past 13 years, Guangzhou Evergrande has been renowned and shining brightly. After China Football launched its anti gambling campaign against organized crime in 2009, they resolutely took the bottom line and pursued high output through high investment, becoming the creators, leaders, and winners of the golden era of Chinese football. Having won 8 Chinese Super League championships and 2 AFC Champions League championships, Xu Jiayin and Evergrande Group, although owed countless payments to homebuyers and investors, have invested over 20 billion yuan in football, showing everyone the color of the championship representing success.
The emergence of Guangzhou Hengda team has indeed increased the attention of the Chinese Super League, greatly improving the salary and benefits of Chinese Super League employees, and the management methods of real estate enterprises are also unique. But with many imitators of Evergrande and intensified competition in the league, Guangzhou Evergrande itself has continuously fallen into the "quagmire" of national training teams, non blood related naturalization, and the exorbitant annual salary of Chinese Football Association head coach Lippi, and the like. Guangzhou Evergrande's former starting advantage is no longer. At the same time, the Chinese Super League has a strong habit of burning money recklessly with money. With the passage of time and policy changes, it is difficult to sustain investment in football, and corruption in the football world continues to breed, bringing the golden yuan football to an end.
Guangzhou Evergrande has brought many beautiful memories to Chinese football, and Xu Jiayin and Evergrande Group are also regarded as the saviors of Chinese football. However, Chinese football is already deeply mired in trouble, and Xu Jiayin is also troubled by his own business troubles. After 13 years of dreaming, the prosperity has come to an end. Not only should Guangzhou Evergrande team wake up from their dreams and start from valuing youth training; Chinese football also needs to regain its rationality, see the truth behind Guangzhou Evergrande's false prosperity, and embark on a new journey.
Meeting again, the grand occasion is no longer
When Shanghai Port encounters Guangzhou Evergrande, who dares to hide the main players? In the 2023 season, an incredible scene happened: due to the physical exhaustion of Wu Lei, Wang Shenchao, Xu Xin, and Jiang Guangtai after playing two consecutive warm-up matches in the Chinese Football Association, these four Hong Kong international players stayed in Shanghai and did not go to Guangzhou.
However, the Shanghai Port team still respects the former Chinese Super League champions: when the Chinese Super League team faced a Chinese League One team in the FA Cup, they could only play with two foreign players, but Oscar, Vargas, Pink, Caron, and Paulinho all played with five foreign players. Yan Junling, Wei Zhen, Zhang Linpeng and other three international players still arrived in Guangzhou. Previously, young players Liu Zhurun and Abrahan, who had been representing the Chinese Olympic team in Croatia for a long time, have finally returned and made their first appearance for the club this season.
For Shanghai Port team, the Chinese Super League and the future AFC Champions League are the top priorities, while the Chinese Football Association Cup is more of a platform for training the team. Before the match, coach Javier made it clear that he would rotate the team. "We also need to consider that there will be three matches in the next five months. After the Football Association Cup, there will also be two important leagues in Beijing Guoan and Mount Taishan in Shandong. We should be more cautious and intelligent in the use of players."
The last encounter between Guangzhou Evergrande team and Haigang team was in the final round of the 2021 Chinese Super League. At that time, Zhang Linpeng missed a penalty, and Guangzhou team lost to Haigang team and finally finished third. Two years later, former Evergrande players such as Zhang Linpeng and Jiang Guangtai, dressed in the Shanghai Port jersey, turned out to be the dominant team in the Chinese Super League into a relegation team in China League One. The key players of Shanghai Port also entered the later stage of their professional careers. This cannot be changed: the Chinese Football Association Cup, where Evergrande once again meets the harbor, has now become an ordinary game without any gimmicks. The reunion of the former Chinese football giants cannot stir up too many waves in Chinese football.
The Chinese Football Association Cup is a hotbed of underdogs. In this round, the Chinese Super League team Chengdu Rongcheng was unexpectedly eliminated by the Chinese League Two team Chongqing Tongliang Dragon, and the Shanghai Shanghai team Shanghai Shenhua only won the final minute against the Chinese League Two team Kunming Yukun. Many harbor players have always maintained a clear mind. Veteran Yu Hai said, "The Guangzhou team is currently facing some difficulties, but their history deserves everyone's respect. We attach great importance to this game and hope to achieve good results. We believe that everyone will give their all."
