Naturalized players have limited playing time in the top 12 games and currently only contribute one goal
Why the first cycle “naturalization strategy” was frustrated
On November 11th, in the fifth round of the top 12 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the Chinese national men were enough to draw with Oman 1:1.
In the other two games of the same group that day, the Australian team drew with Saudi Arabia 0-0 at home, and the Japanese team defeated Vietnam 1-0 at home. Saudi Arabia currently leads the group standings with 13 points, Australia is second with 10 points, and Japan is close behind with 9 points. The Oman team ranked fourth with 7 points, the Chinese team ranked fifth with 4 points, and the Vietnam team finished in the bottom of the five-game losing group.
Halfway through the Qatar World Preliminary Round 12 in the Asian region, although the Chinese team has not lost hope of qualifying, it is already in a clear disadvantaged position in the group qualifying competition.
On November 16, the Chinese team will face the Australian team in Sharjah.
With a 1-1 draw with Oman at the “home court” in Sharjah, the Chinese team ended the first round of the top 12 tournament. Although the focus of debate after the game was “Is it too early for Li Tie to replace Luo Guofu”, judging from the top 40 and the first half of the top 12 games that have been played, the actual help of the naturalized players to the Chinese team is quite limited. .
In the second half of the match between China and Argentina, Luo Guofu’s gesture of dissatisfaction when he was replaced left a deep impression on people. “The issue of the use of naturalized players” once again triggered controversy in public opinion. The fuse was that just 4 minutes after Luo Guofu’s exit, the Oman team scored an equalizer.
By the end of the first round of the top 12 games, the Chinese team had only a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses, with 5 goals and 10 conceded. It can be said that the performance on both ends of the offense and defense is not satisfactory. Among the five goals, only one was contributed by a naturalized player-the fairy ball scored by Luo Guofu after receiving an assist from Alan in the opening stage of the fourth round of the Saudi Arabian team.
The data shows that among the 4 active-duty naturalization nationals, except for the central defender Jiang Guangtai who has been firmly in the main position, the playing time of the remaining 3 is not fixed. For example, as the first naturalized player recruited by the Chinese team, forward Exon scored 1 goal in the game against Guam from the second half of the top 40 game. In the top 12 games, Exxon played 82 minutes against Australia, played the entire game against Japan, and started 54 minutes against Vietnam. However, in the last two rounds, He all came off the bench, and no results. Everyone around Exon knows that not being able to score a goal is also a torment for him. But it was precisely because of the delay in opening the top 12 goal account, Li Tie had to choose Zhang Yuning, who was in better condition, to act as an arrow.
The personal abilities of Luo Guofu and Alan are reflected in the limited playing time, but there are many reasons behind their limited playing time. In addition to the subjective judgment of coach Li Tie, there are also various objective factors such as physical fitness, stubborn knee injuries, etc. . In the second half of the top 40 match held in late May this year, Alan scored 3 goals, 2 of which were scored against Guam and the other was scored against the Maldives. These two Each opponent is a recognized underdog, and scoring is actually not happy.
It has to be said that the Chinese Football Association and Guangzhou Football Club have invested huge manpower, material resources and financial resources in their “naturalization strategy” in order to help the Chinese team enhance its competitiveness in the World Preliminaries. According to Evergrande, the parent company of Guangzhou Football Club, the company’s “per capita consumption” reached 100 million yuan in order to implement the naturalization of Exxon and others.
Another naturalized player who was once placed high hopes, known as the “little motorcycle” forward Fernando, except for the short-term participation in the top 12 of the National Football Team this summer, has almost no news after his injury. As the second naturalized player recruited by the Chinese team, after representing the national football team in the first half of the top 40 competition, Li Ke failed to represent the national football team for the entire year, and did not even participate in the preparation for the top 12 competition. Chinese football is undoubtedly a high consumption in terms of attracting national players, but in terms of its current contribution to the Chinese team, the price/performance ratio is extremely low.
As the Guangzhou Football Club is in deep economic crisis, the national football team faces greater challenges. Recently, it has been reported that the naturalized Guangzhou forward Gaolat applied to terminate his contract with the club and will return to Brazil. He does not even rule out the possibility of giving up his Chinese nationality. As one of the most helpful naturalized players on the offensive end of the Chinese team recognized by the outside world, Goolat failed to play on behalf of the national football team due to identity rules. This result has constituted a considerable blow to the “naturalization strategy”.
Also plagued by the economic crisis of the Guangzhou club, the current 4 active-duty naturalized internationals are inevitably worried about the future of their careers. Coupled with the long-term closed training and competition in West Asia with the team, their psychology and emotions have more or less developed. fluctuation. This is undoubtedly an adverse effect for the Chinese team, which is still struggling in the top 12 competition. If the four of them do not return to China to participate in the second stage of the Chinese Super League after representing the Chinese team in the Australian team on the 16th of this month, it will be a major blow to the league and the club. Once the relevant issues are handled improperly, the “naturalization strategy” will come to an end.
Post-match release
Li Tie responded to the dispute and substitution:
I feel Alor can’t keep up
In the Qatar World Preliminary Asian Top 12 Group B competition that ended in the early morning of November 12, Beijing time, the Chinese team drew 1-1 with Oman at home with Wu Lei’s goal in Sharjah. In the press conference after the game, the head coach of the Chinese team Li Tie specifically explained the fact that the naturalized player Luo Guofu was replaced during the game.
Li Tie said: “Generally speaking, I have some regrets. I just told the players in the locker room that we should have left with victory. The players performed well. After we are ahead, we should be able to kill the game. But football is like that. A set kick was scored and a set kick was lost. 1 to 1 is acceptable. The players were a little disappointed, and I was the same, but this is the reality. I also told the players that I forgot the game. The next step is to prepare again. Waiting for the next game against the Australian team.”
In response to a question from a live reporter about the 3 substitutions in the national football game, Li Tie replied: “At this stage, the players are actually very difficult. When I say this, many people may think that I emphasize objective difficulties. I just say one thing. In fact, the players today have been (preparing and playing in a closed environment) for nearly 87 to 88 days, but in this case, the players have always maintained a strong desire (to win). In today’s game, they have been fighting, Until the last moment, they did not give up. They hoped to score and win. In fact, our players gave up a lot of things, they have been insisting on playing for the national team. We have also done a lot of work. As for substitutions, I think it is normal Yes, after more than 60 minutes of substitution, I feel that Allor’s physical fitness is a little bit unable to keep up. The opponent’s offensive pressure is relatively high, and there are more crosses from both sides. The replacement of Hao Junmin is to strengthen the control of the midfield. He also did a good job of passing and holding the ball. Wu Xinghan strengthened the team’s defense after he played, and he also did a good job.”
Regarding the severe competitive situation faced by the team after the draw with Oman in this game, Li Tie said: “This game should have taken 3 points, so it is a pity that the tie was tied. But the whole team still has to go down. The country. Every game of the team is not a small game. Next, we will be a strong opponent against the Australian team. I hope we can play this game well.”
Regarding the performance of the Chinese team in the first half of the top 12 games, Li Tie commented: “We have not played in a real home game. From the end of the game, the Japanese, Saudi and Australian teams are very strong teams in this group. , We are almost the same as the Oman team. Previously, we won Vietnam and the two games were at home. If we played at the real home game, the situation would be completely different. We had a chance to take 1 point with the Saudi team in the last round of away games. Go, but very unlucky, we lost the game. From the perspective of the whole game, we are still competitive, and there is a gap with the opponent, but not nothing. If we do better, we may perform better. A lot of things need to be summarized. From the players’ point of view, everyone worked hard and learned a lot.”
Reporter observation
Challenges increase in the second half
On the evening of November 11, local time, thousands of Chinese fans poured into the Sharjah Stadium. The familiar “China team cheer” resounded throughout the stadium, making the Chinese team in it relive the atmosphere at home. Affected by the epidemic, the Chinese team had to return to Sharjah for two rounds of 12 matches this month.
It should be said that in this “blessed place”, the Chinese team started well, and Wu Lei used his personal ability to score in the 20th minute. Head coach Li Tie ranked Alan, Luo Guofu, Wu Lei, and Zhang Yuning in the starting lineup with four players with obvious offensive attributes. His main purpose of playing offensive football is obvious.
But the offensive and defensive balance is gradually broken over time and the players’ physical consumption. The Oman team used their good physical fitness and good counterattacks to create a huge problem for the Chinese team’s defense.
In the 66th minute of the game, Luo Guofu, who was particularly active in the game, was replaced. Before leaving the court, he was muttering words, as if he was still inexplicable. However, it is understood that one of the main reasons the coaching staff replaced him at that time was that Luo Guofu’s offensive side had been repeatedly broken by his opponents, threatening the Chinese team’s defense. The adjustment was mainly to strengthen the side defense.
Unfortunately, the Chinese team lost the ball after Luo Guofu left the field. Three minutes before the score was equalized, “Chongming Connection” almost repeated itself, but it was a pity that Wu Lei missed this kill opportunity. “2 to 0 suddenly becomes 1 to 1, can we not be depressed?” This is a sigh of a national football member after the game.
As of the end of this round, the current top 12 matches have been halfway through. Although there are occasional upsets in the process, overall, the situation and the standings objectively reflect the competitive landscape of the top 12. The strength of the participating teams was compared clearly.
In Group B, the Chinese team temporarily ranked fifth with 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses. Judging from the first half of the game, the Chinese team has been left far behind by the top two Saudi and Australian teams. As for the third place in the group and qualification for the play-offs, it is also extremely difficult for the Chinese team. Because the Chinese team only has two home games left in the second half, and the opponents of these two games are precisely the Saudi and Australian teams with the best record in this group. If it is so difficult to score 4 points in the first three “home” games, then the challenges and difficulties faced by the Chinese team in the second half of the top 12 matches are undoubtedly increasing compared with the first half.
This edition of the article/Reporter Xiao Geng Coordinating/Wang Haozhou
.