Observation: winning or losing the championship, coaching or dismissal, conflict or easing? Harbor Battle Yatai or Annual Divide

In the September FIFA match day cycle, the Chinese national football team drew with Malaysia and suffered a slight loss to Syria. The physically exhausted players seamlessly switched to the Chinese Super League for preparation the next day. Especially the 8 port national players are facing a crucial battle for the championship.

On September 9th, Chinese player Wu Lei and Malaysian player Kolbin Ong competed in a match. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Hongjing

On September 15th at 19:35, Shanghai Haigang, as the league leader, played at home against Changchun Yatai in the middle of the points table. Due to head coach Xavier's lack of emphasis on rotation and the use of a regular lineup, Shanghai Port team had previously experienced a summer slump, falling into a predicament of 4 games, 1 draw, and 3 losses. They also suffered a humiliating defeat of being eliminated at home for the first time in the AFC Champions League qualifiers.

Although Spanish coach Javier still has the club's trust for the time being, the port team, which has been forced to a dead end, cannot afford to make any mistakes in this game. The Port team is currently leading by 9 points, and if they cannot secure a three-point advantage in this round to consolidate the standings, Javier and the Spanish coaching staff may be relegated.

The national team is exhausted, how to adjust the lineup

For the eight international football players from Shanghai Port, the past 15 days of international competition days have not been a wonderful memory: the two warm-up matches of the Chinese football team were almost a replica of Shanghai Port Club's previous 15 days of four wins. A 3-day game left veteran international players such as Wu Lei and Zhang Linpeng in the 1989-1991 age group extremely exhausted. In the Shanghai Port team, the main players who are exhausted and unable to run can only accept a dismal situation of 4 games, 1 draw, and 3 losses; In the Chinese men's football national team, it is not possible to obtain enough rotation of national players, and they must face the embarrassment of a difficult win.

On September 13th, the second day after the Syrian national football team's warm-up match, Wu Lei, Yan Junling and other harbor national football players returned to Shanghai early from Chengdu and appeared at the team's Century Park training base as soon as possible. While other teammates were practicing together, the seven national football players focused seriously on stretching and jogging to recover. Of course, they understood that the next three days of matches would still be brutal and needed to continue to grit their teeth and persevere.

The warm-up matches of the Chinese national football team have also led to a reduction in the number of players at the port. Left back Li Shuai fell to the ground and lost consciousness for a long time after a fierce header fight, and was taken directly to the hospital by ambulance. According to the MRI examination at the local hospital, the preliminary diagnosis is cerebral concussion, cervical injury, and severe root damage to multiple teeth. Li Shuai, who was brought back to Shanghai by the Haigang Club, is currently recovering from an injury and is likely to miss all matches of the team in September and even October.

On August 12, 2023, in the 22nd round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Haigang team lost 3-4 to Zhejiang team at home. Haishaer photography

The new foreign player Jo ã o, who joined Xia Chuang, represented the Angolan national team in a warm-up match and has not yet returned to the team for training on the 13th. In my opinion, this high school forward is more suitable to play as a substitute in this round.

Due to insufficient physical fitness and lack of coordination, Jo ã o has played 6 games and scored 3 goals for the Port team. Although his personal data is good, from the overall performance of the team, his tactical system for the Port team has been disrupted and the team's form has also fluctuated. Ruo Ang started 5 times, but the Port team only had 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses. Although winning or losing is a matter of the whole team, this high center forward's insufficient personal defensive strength resulted in the inability to play the original tactical system.

On August 22, 2023, in the AFC Champions League playoffs, Haigang lost 2-3 at home to Baton United, marking the first time in history that they missed the AFC Champions League final at home. Haishaer photography

In addition, in the personnel arrangement of head coach Javier, Chongming Island's first season players represented by Wu Lei have an unshakable starting position, even if their physical fitness is exhausted, they must stay on the field. However, in August, they suffered consecutive defeats and returned to the Chinese national football team with great difficulty in completing their training. However, Wu Lei, Jiang Guangtai, Yan Junling, and others played two warm-up matches and their physical strength was basically exhausted. At this point, how to professionally allocate the lineup, especially ensuring that some international players take appropriate rotations, and using foreign players with better form and physical fitness reasonably, tests the wisdom of the coaching staff.

The head coach's ultimate redemption, can we get out of the predicament

After Shanghai Haigang lost to Baton United at home in the AFC Champions League qualifiers, the cry of "Xavier's dismissal" has already echoed over the Pudong football field; At that time, Shanghai Port Club did not make a decision to change the coach, allowing the Spaniard to continue leading the team away to Henan. The 1-3 defeat once again caused many fans of the port who were on an expedition to Zhengzhou to shout "Javier's dismissal". Many media outlets in Shanghai have bluntly stated that Javier's abilities cannot match the Shanghai Port team, especially being eliminated from the AFC Champions League has become a tough injury.

Javier's coaching has raised doubts among fans at the port. Haishaer photography

The Shanghai derby swept Shanghai Shenhua 5-0, putting the relationship between Haigang head coach Xavier and fans into a honeymoon period, despite some fans previously believing that Espanyol's coaching ability was insufficient. Entering the summer campaign, the Port team suddenly lost power due to insufficient physical fitness and rotation. Javier led the team to a series of 3-4 losses to Zhejiang, a 1-1 forced draw with Meizhou Hakka, a humiliating 2-3 defeat to Baton United, and a 1-3 loss to Henan team. The Spaniard once again lost the trust of the Port fans. He faced the Henan team away and even staged a scene of grabbing the ball or even pushing from the caddy, indicating that his mentality had also become imbalanced.

It is reported that the Port Club has also held a meeting to discuss the issue of whether Javier will stay or not, and the decision was to give the Spaniard one last chance. Shanghai Port team's home game against Yatai team may be a personal life or death battle for Xavier: if the team's three armies use their lives to win three points, he will continue to lead the team forward; If the home team encounters an unexpected three game losing streak in the Chinese Super League and loses five rounds in various competitions, Javier may be released from the team. After all, if they cannot score 3 points in this game, the advantage of the Port team's points lead may shrink to 6 points, and the probability of winning the championship will continue to decrease, which may be unacceptable to the club.

Javier's insistence on a consistent lineup and unwillingness to actively rotate were the main reasons for the team's lackluster summer. Haishaer photography

Javier has not completely lost the trust of the locker room, especially the local players, which is also an important factor for the club to adopt a delaying strategy. These local players from the harbor grew up on Chongming Island and are accustomed to Xu Genbao's strict management style. They do not have the "locker room bully" who deliberately causes trouble, and always hold a professional attitude of respect and obedience towards the coaching staff. Although Javier's recent coaching performance has been dismal, it seems that local players have not lost trust in him.

However, it is not the players who decide whether to keep the head coach, but the club, and there is only one criterion for evaluation: athletic performance. Javier's excellent performance leading the team away from home is in stark contrast to his dismal performance at home. It is worth paying attention to whether Xavier can lead the Port team out of the vicious cycle of conceding goals at home and frequently losing at home, and whether he can successfully "renew his life" in this home game against Yatai.

Has the team's fan complex been successfully resolved

The previous sluggish performance of Shanghai Port is closely related to the disharmony in the team atmosphere. In addition to the coaching staff being unable to control the locker room, some foreign players disrespecting the authority of the head coach, and the coaching staff stubbornly using a single lineup without giving young players rotation opportunities, off field factors, especially misunderstandings between some fans and players, have caused great trouble for the Port team.

Fan support for the team is the norm in professional football.

As a key figure in the previous off field controversy, Cai Huikang will once again apologize to the fans in person for the match between the Port team and Yatai team. However, due to the uncertainty of the game results, such a player apologizing to the fans for arranging the game carries certain risks in theory, and may even have a counterproductive effect on bridging the relationship between the fans and the team.

The previous 1-3 away defeat to Henan team made it unacceptable for the away fans of Haigang. After the game, they surrounded the general manager of the club, Zhang Min, and shouted, "Javier is dismissed, Cai Huikang is dismissed.". Earlier, due to midfielder Cai Huikang's comments on social media, which were suspected of questioning a very small number of hitter fans, although it was only private traffic, screenshots of the incident went viral, causing emotional opposition among some Hong Kong fans and players.

The failure of the AFC Champions League qualifiers has caused some fans to shout "Javier's dismissal".

Fans and players should have been a family, but unfortunately, this kind of internal friction is the first time in the history of the team, and it is quietly undermining the team's already declining combat effectiveness. Although Cai Huikang expressed his apologies to the fans at a press conference before the game, some supporters of the harbor are still dissatisfied, and "electrician certificate" and "light bulb repair" have become self deprecating "internet memes" for some hardcore fans.

During the break of the Chinese Super League, Haigang Club punished Cai Huikang for making inappropriate comments on social media after being late for a full 4 days. Cai Huikang also sincerely apologized to the fans on social media and hoped that the fans of the Hong Kong team would return to their home stadium together on September 15th to continue cheering for the team. At that time, he will apologize to the fans in person again.

After the harbor team faces the Yatai team, Cai Huikang will apologize to the fans in person on site.

The performance of Oscar, the core player of the Port Team, is particularly crucial.

From the perspective of public opinion response, in the face of the controversy caused by Cai Huikang's WeChat attack on a small number of fans, Shanghai Haigang Club has been noticeably slow in making every decision, and even the way they choose to handle it is not conducive to the development of the situation. It can be regarded as a classic case of the failure of professional club public opinion response. In this match between Haigang and Yatai at home, as long as the team wins smoothly, Cai Huikang's apology will be natural and heal the wounds; Once the harbor team is unable to obtain a satisfactory score, such a so-called "on-site apology" is likely to be due to the dissatisfaction of the fans with the game result, leading to the situation on site becoming uncontrollable. Both the club and security should have sufficient contingency plans for this.

Overall, the unprofessional and untimely internal management of the Port Club has magnified the conflicts between players and fans, but fortunately, the delayed response in the future has also been patched up. In fact, home harmony is the key to success. In the face of difficulties, teams and fans need to understand each other and think from different perspectives. Only by working together and overcoming difficulties can teams regain their form. At this point, only a victory can help fans unravel their knots and help the team regain their form.