The greatest significance is to pick up defense and regain confidence. Quick review: "Ten thousand year substitute" hits Javier? The harbor refused three consecutive defeats

On September 15th, in the 25th round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Haigang team defeated Changchun Yatai team 2-0 at home, refusing to fall into a three game losing streak. There are only 5 rounds left in the league, and the leading Shanghai Port team still leads with a 9-point advantage.

Vargas broke the deadlock with a long-range shot, and defender Wei Zhen inserted a header to score - in the past 24 rounds of the league, these two "perennial substitutes" under head coach Xavier have each scored precious goals, saving the shaky Xavier and helping the Port team out of their slump.

The greatest significance of winning this game is not only to get the long-awaited three points, but also to revive the team's overall defense, regain confidence in winning, and revitalize teamwork.

Active rotation, Javier achieves self redemption

The harbor team faced the Yatai team at home, which was a decisive match with no retreat. It is reported that the bottom line of Haigang Club is that if they fail to score three points in this game, head coach Xavier will go underground, and local assistant coaching teams such as Xi Zhikang and Sun Xiang will temporarily put out the fire. Driven to the brink of despair, Javier finally decided to "follow the flow of good": take the initiative to rotate.

Vargas relied on his personal abilities to score brilliant long-range shots.

Previously, substitute center back Wei Zhen scored a header in a set kick attack.

In the summer August campaign, the Port team faced a dense schedule of 15 days and 4 matches, but Javier's lineup was exhausted. Several 34 year old veterans, including Zhang Linpeng, Cai Huikang, Lv Wenjun, and Wang Shenchao, started consecutively, including core Oscar and Wu Lei, who were unable to rest. The rest of the substitute players sat on the bench, determined to kill the enemy but unable to recover.

In the end, the team's physical fitness was severely lacking, the team's vitality was severely lacking, and the main players lacked perseverance and fighting spirit. Under the guidance of Xavier, the Haigang team lost 3-4 to Zhejiang, narrowly drew 1-1 with Meizhou Hakka, suffered a humiliating 2-3 defeat to Thailand's Batun United, and lost 1-3 to Henan team. Angry harbor fans repeatedly shouted in the stands, "Javier's class is over.".

Captain Oscar of the harbor contributed two assists in this game, showcasing his core style.

After a nearly two-week break in the Chinese Super League, Javier realized that his position was not guaranteed and finally decided to rotate. Eight international players have just represented the Chinese national team and played two high-intensity warm-up matches, which has also given Javier a reason for extensive rotation. Previously, starting players such as Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng, and Xu Xin, who remained steadfast, served as substitutes in this game. The original super substitutes Wei Zhen, Yang Shiyuan, Li Shenglong, as well as foreign aid Vargas, were given the opportunity to start.

In the end, Vargas, who had previously had conflicts with Javier due to dissatisfaction with playing as a substitute, scored with a stunning long-range shot, pulling Javier back from the brink of dismissal; Previously, in order to ensure the "Evergrande defender combination" of Zhang Linpeng and Jiang Guangtai, the younger Wei Zhen had no choice but to switch to playing as a defensive midfielder, while the younger He habitually had to leave the team on loan.

Rotating players such as Yang Shiyuan and Li Shenglong have brought the team a long lost level of hardness, fighting, and defense.

In this game, Jiang Guangtai was suspended and Zhang Linpeng came on as a substitute. In the 100th game, young defender Wei Zhen not only remained impeccable on the defensive end, but also scored a header on the offensive end, locking the score at 2-0. In addition, Yang Shiyuan, who has an unremarkable style of playing, did too much dirty and tiring work on the defensive end in this game, exerting his ability to "wash dirty balls" to the extreme.

It must be acknowledged that the local substitute players of the Port Team are very professional. As substitutes, they work diligently without any complaints; Leading the way, they put in all their efforts to showcase their talents. Taking Li Shenglong, who started this game, as an example, although he did not score a goal, he always stepped forward to suppress the ball and win valuable time for the team to retreat from defense when the team needed to slow down the opponent's speed when attacking and defending. In the author's opinion, rotation players such as Li Shenglong and Yang Shiyuan, who focus on running, fighting, and defense, are the "driving force" for the team to achieve valuable zero goals.

Reduce age, coaching staff needs to activate substitutes

It must be admitted that the starting lineup of the Port team was really a bit too old in the hot summer and dense schedule. The Haigang team suffered a humiliating defeat and was eliminated in the AFC Champions League qualifiers. The starting 11 man lineup is indeed a bit too old: the average age of the starting 11 men is as high as 31.6 years old, and the youngest Xu Xin, Jiang Guangtai, and foreign striker Lucas Joang are also 29 years old.

This victory has put the Port team back on the winning track.

During the match between Haigang and Yatai, Cai Huikang apologized to the fans for her inappropriate comments on her WeChat Moments before the match.

If it's just a one game game intensity, this elderly team with an average age of 31.6 years old also has its own advantages: excellent skills, superior consciousness, and skilled coordination. Especially Lv Wenjun, Cai Huikang, Wang Shenchao, Zhang Linpeng, Wu Lei, and Yan Junling, the "Six Tigers of Chongming Island", have been training and competing together since childhood, and have an unparalleled understanding.

However, football is still a sport for young people, especially during high-intensity physical confrontations and intense summer battles. Veterans such as Lv Wenjun, Cai Huikang, and Zhang Linpeng do have a bit of empty fuel tanks.

In the Battle of Haigang and Yatai, Javier rotated and lowered the average age of the Haigang team to 30.45 years old. Despite this, several 34 year old veterans still experience physical exhaustion. Lv Wenjun, who did not have a national team mission, suffered a slight strain in the second half and was replaced; Cai Huikang's physical fitness continued to decline around 60 minutes, and he was replaced and left the field; Wang Shenchao, who played the entire game for the national team three days ago, suffered from physical exhaustion and cramps before the end of the game; Zhang Linpeng, who started continuously in the Chinese national football team, came on as a substitute but had better results; Wu Lei, who had almost no rest in the national team, also had a good performance as a substitute in this game.

Vargas had a conflict with head coach Xavier over playing as a substitute, and his goal at a crucial moment prevented Xavier from being fired.

The whole team defended collectively, helping the Port team achieve a long lost zero goal in this game.

In the author's opinion, the veteran players represented by the "Chongming Island Phase I" of the Haigang team are a valuable asset to the team, but this does not mean that they must always be the starting force of the team. On the contrary, under the baton of prioritizing team interests, these veteran players of the Port team still deserve to play the role of backbone and pillar. However, the coaching staff needs to equip them with younger, more energetic, and more energetic young players, with complementary characteristics, and work together to move forward. The reasonable way for the harbor coaching team to use force is to lead the new with the old, promote the old with the new, engage in healthy competition, and collaborate as a team.

At present, this harbor team's cute knights have gathered three National Games champion teams from the Genbao Base and even Shanghai Youth Training: the 1989-1991 age group led by Wu Lei and Yan Junling, the 1993-1994 age group represented by Li Shenglong, He Ci, and Yang Shiyuan, and the 1997-1998 age group represented by Wei Zhen and Li Shenyuan.

Wu Lei, who played twice in a row in the national team, came on as a substitute in this game.

Javier has temporarily escaped the crisis of dismissal, but he still needs to prove himself.

Although the strength of disciples such as Wu Lei and Yan Junling from the first phase of Chongming Island is indeed more outstanding, football has always been a competitive sport based on physical fitness and with running as the core. The scientific law that the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves before is unchangeable. At this point, the harbor coaching staff needs to revitalize younger substitute players, using the physical strength and running of rotating players and role players, coupled with the awareness, experience, and cooperation of veteran players, using a baton of whoever is in good form and who is good at defense, to stimulate a team atmosphere of healthy competition and moving forward hand in hand.