Strengthen the squad to welcome the AFC Champions League! Rongcheng intends to Shenhua goalkeeper, the two veterans renewed their contracts, and the foreign aid was adjusted by one person

Reporter Lu Mi reports Chengdu Rongcheng made history again in the 2024 season, finishing third in the league and reaching the AFC Champions League elite league play-offs. As a third-year student in the Chinese Super League, it is of course gratifying to be able to have such results, but the imminent question in front of the team is, how to deal with the upcoming AFC Champions League?

Although the team is entering the holidays, the club's preparations for promotion must start as soon as possible. With the expiration of some players' contracts, a new round of personnel recruitment is also underway. In terms of domestic players, each position will be strengthened by corresponding personnel, and in terms of foreign aid, there is only one position left after Palacios leaves, and there is not much room for adjustment.

For Rongcheng, who is making their debut in the AFC Champions League, experience may be the biggest shortcoming, and it is the bottom line in 2025 to stand out in the Asian arena and keep the results of the league. The confidence to solve difficulties must come from the recruitment work at this stage.

Chengdu Rongcheng finally fulfilled their long-cherished dream for three years in the 2024 season and successfully qualified for the AFC Champions League. After the end of the season, head coach Xu Zhengyuan went to Europe and started his annual study tour. During his study tour in Europe, Xu Zhengyuan is also combining the changes and new development trends of world football, rethinking what the team has not done well enough in the past year, the Champions League, the Premier League, the Bundesliga and the Europa League, are all games that Xu Zhengyuan wants to watch.

In the 2024 season just experienced, it is not easy for Chengdu Rongcheng to win the third place. In their first season in the Chinese Super League, they finished fifth, making it look like the team was only one step away from the AFC Champions League. But in fact, this step is not easy. In the 2023 season, although the team played some impressive games in the Chinese Super League, it only finished fourth in the league and missed the AFC Champions League. At the beginning of 2024, the club has increased investment, and the joining of Mesozoic players such as Wei Shihao and Yan Dinghao has strengthened the main squad and enriched the depth of the bench. From debugging the playing style to stabilizing in the 343 formation, Xu Zhengyuan has done a very accurate job from on-the-spot adjustment to tactical and personnel adjustment, which has created the improvement of Chengdu Rongcheng's performance.

However, in the course of the season, the team's win rate against strong teams has declined compared to the past, which may be due to the change in mentality brought about by the improvement of the roster. In the past two seasons, Rongcheng often faced the top five teams as a challenger, and now it has become a strong team sequence, and in the dialogue between the strong and the strong, there is often a lack of mentality and strategy. Fortunately, this team has always been mentally strong throughout the season, defeating Shanghai Port at the end of the season, so that the suspense of the championship is maintained to the end, which is the battle of Chengdu Rongcheng in front of the traditional strong teams of the Chinese Super League.

As a new army, Chengdu Rongcheng went from the first Chinese Super League season to the first Chinese Super League season without a win in eight rounds to break the league unbeaten record set by Guangzhou Evergrande, and it only took half a season of adjustment time. The team has grown at an astonishing rate, and it will be one of the key challenges they will have when they make their debut in Asia in the future.

The team is growing and the management of the club is being upgraded. In response to the news that a reporter on social media broke the news that goalkeeper Zhang Yan did not sign the salary confirmation form, and the club's corporate account had been frozen by the court, Chengdu Rongcheng Club also reacted immediately. On the 30th, an official statement was issued, saying that the player Zhang Yan made bad remarks about personal attacks on fans on his personal social media, which caused an extremely bad social impact and greatly damaged the image of Chinese football and Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club, "At the same time, the player also left the team without permission to go home, did not return to Chengdu with the team, absent from training and other violations of team discipline and team rules." According to the relevant regulations of the Chinese Football Association and Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club and the work contract signed by both parties, Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club will be transferred to the reserve team, which belongs to the club's legal and proper management of the players. ”

This timely response to negative news is a reflection of the club's progress at the management level. The reporter learned that the Rongcheng club also fined the player, and it was precisely because of the fine that Zhang Yan prosecuted the club. At present, the lawsuit is ongoing, and the club said that it is actively communicating with Zhang Yan, and this incident will not affect the club's registration, recruitment finance and other work.

Such a response can be regarded as a reassuring pill for Chengdu fans. However, this matter can actually be avoided at the root, such as strengthening the management of players, and further improving the relevant management regulations and punishment procedures. In addition to the dispute with Zhang Yan, in the past three years of the Chinese Super League, whether it is the inexplicable transfer ban in the transfer window, or the fan controversy caused by the sudden increase in ticket prices in the middle of the season, objectively speaking, it will bring great trouble to the team. The club will have more challenges in the AFC Champions League in the future, and the growth and progress of management will be the most important guarantee for the first team.

The Chengdu Rongcheng first team originally planned to take a holiday on January 3 next year, first to Haikou, and then to West Asia for two phases of training. According to previous news, the 2025 Chinese Super League may start in February, and Chengdu Rongcheng will also choose to directly pull through the training or take a holiday in December according to the actual situation.

During this time, the club has actually entered the preparations for the start of the new season. Seo Jeong-won, who is travelling around Europe, also took to social media to share his thoughts on next season, saying: "I have a lot of AFC Champions League experience, both as a player and as a manager, although we only have 30 league games, but if you play in the league, the AFC Champions League and the FA Cup at the same time, you basically have to play more than 50 games a year, the number of games has almost doubled, the distance you fly is longer, and there will be a lot of midweek games. If the current lineup is used to participate in next year's multi-front battle, there will be a situation that is not pleasing to both ends. The league is not playing well, and the AFC Champions League is not playing well, so it is important to use these players flexibly while strengthening the team's bench depth. ”

From his words, it is not difficult to see that leading the team to the AFC Champions League is a mixed blessing for him personally, on the one hand, he is surprised that he has led this team to make history, and on the other hand, he is worried about whether the personnel situation is enough to support multi-front operations.

Judging from the original personnel structure, after a large number of additional strength personnel at the beginning of this year, Chengdu Rongcheng's lineup is stable, and the depth of substitutes has been strengthened, and the gap between the main force and the substitutes has narrowed compared with the past, but compared with other traditional strong teams, there is still a certain distance. If you want to get decent results in the AFC Champions League, the gap between the main players and the substitutes needs to be further narrowed.

The time entered December, and among the original personnel, there were many players whose contracts expired. Only Palacios has expired, and the remaining four foreign aides have contracts and will stay in the team, so as long as the Chinese Football Association maintains the established standards for the introduction and use of foreign aid,In terms of foreign aid introduction, there is only one place in Rongcheng that will be completed in this winter transfer period.In terms of domestic players, the contracts expire with goalkeepers Geng Xiaofeng and Zhang Yan, defenders Dong Yanfeng, Yang Yiming, Liu Tao, Yang Fan, Tang Xin, Tang Miao, midfielders Maitijiang and Wu Lei, and forwards Tang Chuang.Among these people whose contracts have expired, only Tang Miao and Mai Tijiang are the ones who have made it clear that they will renew their contracts at the board meeting this year, Dong Yanfeng may return to Dalian, and Yang Yiming, Tang Chuang, and Geng Xiaofeng are all in contact with the new club. Because of the previous disputes, Zhang Yan has little hope of staying in the team.Other players are in further communication with the club.

The departure of players whose contracts expire has no impact on the team's main framework, but the reduction of the second squad is relatively large. First of all, the goalkeeper position, the main force continues to be served by Jian Tao, but the second and third goalkeepers have left the team one after another, and the club must replenish personnel.It is understood that the club had previously made an offer to Henan goalkeeper Wang Guoming, but the latter has renewed his contract with Henan club. At the same time, Chengdu also wants to introduce Shenhua goalkeeper Ma Zhen, and the specific results will take time.

Once Tang Chuang leaves the team, there is also the early termination of the contract of the naturalized player Ackerson, which also makes the position of the center of the domestic aid vacant; In the midfield position, Yan Dinghao, who arrived this year, was not reused for tactical reasons, Xu Zhengyuan preferred the older Feng Zhuoyi and Maitijiang as rotations, Feng Zhuoyi will be 36 years old next year, and Maitijiang will also be 34 years old, and it is doubtful whether he can support multi-front operations. On the back line, although a lot of personnel have been added this year, judging from the evaluation of high-level interviews, the efficiency of the defensive line has not reached a satisfactory level.

Therefore, in the winter transfer period, for Chengdu Rongcheng's reinforcement team, it is necessary to dare to challenge and seize the opportunity. Judging from the current situation of player circulation in the domestic market, based on the club's operation and salary stability, players who want to join Chengdu Rongcheng Club are still in an endless stream, but the club wants to attract high-quality reinforcements. There is still a certain degree of difficulty.

First of all, the club needs to have sufficient financial support, the AFC Champions League experience needs to be accumulated from scratch, and it is also necessary to ensure the stability of the results in the multi-front battle. It is foreseeable that after the strict control of the entry threshold this year, the competition in the Chinese Super League next year will become more and more fierce.