Chapter 89: Qualifying for the Asian Champions League
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The result was that as soon as the Oriental team kicked off, the Yokohama players immediately launched a full-court press like mad dogs. However, what Okada Takeshi did not expect was that the Oriental team would then display a passing technique that was in no way inferior to that of the Japanese team, effortlessly dissolving the Yokohama team's frantic pressing into nothingness. As a result, the Yokohama team wasted a large amount of physical strength, and their morale became even more depressed...
Objectively speaking, the current level of "passing and receiving" of the Oriental team is still somewhat different from the smooth passing and cutting combination of Japanese teams, especially in the moment when they suddenly accelerate to launch an attack. At present, the Oriental team still has to rely on Korner's excellent long pass to do well, and once the opponent strictly guards against Korner (although this is not easy), the Oriental team can only rely on the side route to launch an offensive. However, since the Oriental team is currently leading by two goals, they are not in a hurry to attack, but just keep passing the ball back and forth without letting the opponent get it. For these little partners who have been working together for many years, this is naturally not a difficult task, let alone the Japanese team's pressing intensity was never top-notch in Asia...
The demoralized Yokohama F. Marinos team lost another goal in the 67th minute of the second half, Gao Lin received a pass from the side of the penalty area and shot with his left foot, increasing his total goals in this AFC Champions League to 6, leading the scorer list by far. The Eastern team, which had basically secured the victory, began to substitute its main players to conserve their valuable physical strength, but Gao Lin remained on the field to continue intimidating the opponent, although he was no longer as active as before. In the end, the Eastern team won 3-0 again in this crucial match and advanced from the group stage one round ahead of schedule!
The little-known Chinese Super League promoted horse Dongfang team unexpectedly advanced from the AFC Champions League group stage, and also secured the first place in the group ahead of schedule, which made the media, fans and professionals in various Asian countries stunned. However, few people are optimistic about their chances of advancing again, as their first opponent in the knockout stage will be the overwhelmingly powerful defending champion Ittihad team.
As a traverser, Gao Jun knew that before the AFC Champions League knockout stage began, Ittihad would buy two more powerful foreign aids. At that time, Ittihad would have more than half of Saudi Arabia's national team main players and three European top-level super foreign aids, which might not be inferior to Guangzhou Evergrande in its heyday (Note 1). More importantly, they not only had super strength but also the help of the home black whistle that West Asians relied on. This game would be absolutely difficult for the young Dongfang team...
"But those two new players didn't have much time to blend in before our first game, and big-name players like them won't participate in the team's defense either, so it can't be said that there's no chance at all."
But Gao Jun is also very clear that whether this level can be passed, after all, depends on the strength of the Dongfang team itself. At the current level of the Dongfang team, even if it is not further strengthened, the Ittihad team will be difficult to deal with. However, the average age of less than 20 years old has unimaginable growth potential, and before the start of the Asian Champions League knockout stage, the six national youth team members in the Dongfang team still have a chance to participate in the World Youth Championship. If they perform well and boost their confidence, the progress of young players' strength is unimaginable. Therefore, it's not necessarily impossible to win at that time. However, for the current Dongfang team, considering these things is still a bit too early, and the most important thing is to play each game as well as possible...
After advancing to the AFC Champions League group stage, Dongfang can temporarily focus on the CSL matches. Although this year's schedule is tight due to the national team's tasks, Dongfang still has an advantage in terms of recovery speed despite having a young squad with lower physical strength compared to veteran players.
However, in the ninth round of the Chinese Super League away game against Beijing Guoan, the young Dongfang team was not adapted to the crazy home atmosphere of Gongti, especially with tens of thousands of fans on the stands, and the players of Guoan made big fouls under the tolerance of the referee, which not only caused Ribeiro to be injured and leave the field, but also made other players of Dongfang team feel intimidated and affected their performance. As a result, Dongfang team's performance in this game was unprecedentedly poor, and they eventually lost 0-2 away, thus giving up the top spot in the Chinese Super League standings.
It is well known that since the professional league began, the Hua Flower team, as a representative of Shanghai football, has been arch-rivals with Beijing Guoan, with deep-seated animosity between them. Therefore, it was only natural for fans and media in Shanghai who strongly identify with their local team to be extremely dissatisfied with Dongfang's performance, accusing them of losing face for Shanghai football. Even those defending Dongfang mostly did so by citing reasons such as "the players are young, it's normal for them to be inconsistent". Only a small number of fans believed that Dongfang was a newly emerging team and had no need to bear the grudges between Hua Flower and other domestic teams, because their true opponents were Asia's strong teams.
And at this time, the Eastern team's upper and lower levels are more concerned about Ribery's injury. If it is a serious injury that will lead to the end of the season or even say goodbye to football, then it would be bad. Fortunately, Ribery has been playing in the French lower league for many years, where physical confrontations are stronger and the style of play is rougher, so he has developed a strong sense of self-protection. As a result, his injury this time was not as serious as the team doctor initially thought, and it is estimated that he will be fully recovered in about a month...
However, in the subsequent matches, the difference without Ribery was still obvious. In the 10th round of the Chinese Super League, when Dongfang team played against Sichuan Crown at home, due to the absence of Ribery, the main attacking player, Dongfang team's ability to attack and defend in motion was almost completely sealed by the densely defensive opponent. Fortunately, Dongfang team's defensive system had gradually completed its grinding, and in this match, they did not give their opponents any chance to steal the chicken. In the end, Dongfang team relied on a corner kick opportunity, with Zhang Linpeng making a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, winning 1-0 and continuing to closely follow Dalian Shide in the Chinese Super League standings.
Note 1: The strength of Saudi Arabia's main players during their peak period was significantly better than that of China's national team during the dark ages. Foreign aid may be slightly inferior, but overall, the personnel configuration should be comparable. However, the coaching level and team cohesion of Ittihad FC are far from those of Guangzhou Evergrande in its heyday. Nevertheless, considering factors outside the team such as referees, they may not necessarily be easier to deal with than Evergrande.
