It is the root treasure base edge of Shenhua and Haigang!, Behind the championship battle, the 22nd Chinese Super League Shanghai Bundesliga kicked off tonight with a local victory | Player | Shenhua
On July 29th, at the Shanghai Stadium, the 22nd ever Chinese Super League derby at Shanghai Bundesliga will kick off. This side is currently the second ranked home team, Shanghai Shenhua team; That side is the leading team of the Chinese Super League away from home, Shanghai Haigang.
In fact, whether it is the outstanding local players of the home team Shanghai Shenhua, such as Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Shenglong, Xu Haoyang, or the core backbone of the visiting team Shanghai Haigang, such as Wu Lei and Yan Junling, they are all "Chongming disciples" trained by Genbao.
In my opinion, this Shanghai Bund Derby is more like a "Genbao Base Senior Brother and Junior Brother Derby" or a "Genbao Disciple Reporting Performance". Now, after 21 years, two Shanghai teams are once again competing for the championship derby, which is actually a history of struggle that Genbao Base and even Shanghai have always valued in youth training.
Senior Brother, both teams are disciples of the foundation stones of Genbao
Looking ahead to the 22nd Chinese Super League Shanghai Derby, we cannot do without the topic of Xu Genbao and Genbao's base. On July 7, 2023, Chongming Island Genbao Football Base celebrated its 23rd birthday. Here, several Shanghai seaport international players such as Wu Lei and Yan Junling have been cultivated successively; Here, we also transport a group of Shanghai Shenhua National Olympic team members, including Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong.
On July 14th, Gu Jiqing, Chairman of Shanghai Shenhua Club, and Wu Jingui, Head Coach, made a special visit to Shanghai Shenhua's first head coach, Xu Genbao, and expressed special gratitude: "The outstanding talents in the 1999-2000 age group who were transported from the Genbao base to Shanghai Shenhua have performed excellently. In the future, they will not only be reserve talents of Shanghai, but also of national brands.".
At present, Shanghai Shenhua team ranks second in the points table. In addition to foreign players Ma Lailai and veteran players who have performed well in the Chinese Super League, a group of young players from Chongming Island are gradually picking up the big beam, which makes fans feel more pleased. As the chairman of Shanghai Shenhua Club, Gu Jiqing once bluntly stated during a visit to Genbao on Chongming Island, "If it weren't for the excellent players in the 1999-2000 age group trained and delivered by Xu, we might have really run out of talent. Now, these players are not only the cornerstone of Shenhua's development for the next 5 to 8 years, many of whom are members of the Chinese Olympic team, but also the future reserves of national talents."
If Zhu Chenjie and others were transported by the Genbao base and still considered "junior brothers", then Wu Lei, Yan Junling and others who played for Shanghai Port can indeed be considered "senior brothers". As the visiting team of Shanghai Port, the local player base is still the first generation of "Old East Asia" players trained by Genbao Base since 2000. Even Wu Lei, Yan Junling, and others are still the core backbone of the Chinese national team, undertaking the important task of competing for the 2026 US Canada Mexico World Cup.
The author asked Xu Genbao, the mentor of the backbone local players of the two teams, whether he would observe the 22nd Chinese Super League Shanghai derby on site? The palm and back of the hand are all flesh, and the coach said, "I won't go to the scene, but I wish both teams excellent performance, style and level."
With a calm mind, the coach's argument is not about drawing swords and crossbows
In the 2023 season, Shenhua entered the era of long-term success, and the team showed a bright new face. The youthfulness of the lineup, standardization of recruitment, and proper management have helped Shenhua, who does not have a significant advantage in strength, to occupy the second position in the points table for a long time. The Chinese Football Association Cup has also entered the quarter finals.
Under the guidance of head coach Wu Jingui, the Shanghai Shenhua team has resolutely promoted the rejuvenation of the lineup, fully giving Genbao Base the opportunity to produce new stars as starting players. These players in the 1999-2000 age group are also champions of the National Games. Whether it's Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong in the defensive line, or Xu Haoyang in the center and front, they all demonstrate their youthful strength. Since the beginning of the league, the Shenhua Youth Army, with their team as the base, has a tough and disciplined style of play, a tight and strong overall defense, and demonstrated a good mental outlook.
In the 2023 season, Shenhua entered the era of long-term success, and the team showed a bright new face. The youthfulness of the lineup, standardization of signings, and proper management have helped Shanghai Shenhua, who do not have a significant advantage in strength, still retain their hope of winning the championship.
Compared to the past when some managers of Shanghai Shenhua deliberately hyped up the hatred of the derby, the current head coach of Shenhua, Wu Jingui, actively called on fans from both sides to have a calm mind before the game: "From ticket sales, it's hard to get tickets for the Shanghai derby, it's very lively. It's an honor for us to have such a good derby atmosphere, and we hope that fans and players from both sides can view the game with a calm mind. We will do our best to contribute to the exciting game, demonstrate our technical and tactical skills, and both sides should work together to make the Chinese Super League better. As long as the game is exciting, any result can be accepted."
Heroes have similar opinions. Haigang head coach Xavier also viewed this derby from the perspective of the overall level of Shanghai football. He believes, "This will be a top-level game, with both sides dedicating an exciting match, which is very good for the city of Shanghai. Currently, we are at the top of the table and our opponents are in second place, which also indirectly demonstrates the level of professional football in Shanghai. We need to play very well in order to win, and the team is very focused on the league."
Interwoven emotions, one stadium leads two teams by fate
In the 2023 season, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai Port respectively welcomed new home stadiums: Shanghai Shenhua bid farewell to Hongkou and arrived at the Shanghai Stadium, nicknamed "80000 People". This has been the home stadium of Shanghai Port team for the past ten seasons; Shanghai Haigang will head to the newly constructed SAIC Pudong Football Stadium, which is also the first professional football stadium in China built strictly in accordance with FIFA standards.
The 22nd Chinese Super League Shanghai Derby allowed Wu Lei and his teammates to return to the familiar Shanghai Stadium as away players for the first time. "Coming here feels very cozy, and after the exterior and interior decoration of the stadium, it feels even more shocking. However, after walking into the hallway, it still feels like returning home." Returning to the "80000 people" reminds Wu Lei of his beautiful memories. "I played at this stadium for 10 seasons, and most of my goals were completed here. There are also many wonderful memories with the team. Here, we won our first league championship, and it can be said that everyone is very looking forward to the game."
Wu Lei's feeling of Shanghai Derby's return from madness to rationality is the most profound. In 2013, Shanghai Bund once again had three Chinese Super League teams. As a "junior" team, the Shanghai SIPG team ventured into the Shanghai Bund derby world with a very low-key attitude. However, amidst the widespread insults at the Hongkou Football Stadium, Wu Lei was sent off due to his lack of experience and being ambushed by veteran Dai Lin for taking two consecutive yellows. The slightly immature "Young Guards" began to experience the unique taste of the Shanghai derby.
In 2015, Xu Genbao completely transferred the team that had played in the Chinese Super League for two seasons to its original sponsor, Shanghai SIPG Group. The newly upgraded, increased investment, and introduced strong reinforcements of the Shanghai Port team have ushered in a new era of Shanghai Derby. As the big brother, Shenhua has also been continuously upgrading and upgrading since entering the era of green space in 2014.
In the 2015 season, the strong and strong Shanghai Hong Kong team swept Shanghai Shenhua team 5-0, sparking a prelude to the feud between the fans of the two teams in the derby. In that game, the referee Ma Ning presented a total of 3 red cards and 9 yellow cards. What makes Shanghai Shenhua fans heartbroken is that all three red cards in this game were given to the side of Shenhua. Lv Zheng and Bai Jiajun were sent off in the first half, while Li Jianbin dyed red in the second half. After the game, the then spokesperson of Shenhua Club even said, "This is a shame for Shanghai football"
Red and yellow cards were flying everywhere, once becoming the main theme of the Shanghai Derby after deviating. In the four seasons from 2013 to 2016, there were surprisingly 57 yellow cards and 8 red cards in the 10 consecutive Shanghai Bundesliga matches, which left people stunned. Unconsciously, the Shanghai Bundesliga became the most brutal match in the Chinese Super League.
With the entry of new investors, Shenhua is now showing more righteousness. Regarding this, Wu Lei also expressed, "Regarding the Shanghai derby, we have played many matches. Not only us, but also Shenhua have slowly focused on the field, rarely being disturbed by the outside world. Everyone has become more mature, and we have played many exciting games together. No matter what the result is tomorrow, we hope everyone can contribute to the fans' exciting matches together."
In fact, most Shanghai fans have always hoped that this championship level Shanghai derby stems from the two teams always focusing on the game itself, rather than selling anxiety and hatred. People are looking forward to Shenhua and Haigang continuing to demonstrate their strength, staging "leading derbies" or even "championship derbies" in every round of matches, jointly polishing the urban cultural brand of Shanghai derbies, and showcasing the soft power of Shanghai's professional sports and the city to national fans.
