Special correspondent Gan Hui reports On February 22, Chinese professional football focused on Shanghai Tang. The opening ceremony and opening match of the 2025 Chinese Super League season, Shenhua's match against Yatai, will be played at the Shanghai Stadium.

This match against Changchun Yatai is the opening game of the league, but it is not the first game of the 2025 season for Shenhua, who have already played one Super Cup and two AFC Champions League elite league games. In the middle of this week, Shenhua won the key three points with a home victory over Japan's Kobe Victory Ship, and finally ranked seventh in the East Asian zone with a record of 8 games, 3 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses and 10 points, achieving the goal of qualifying, which should help Shenhua to welcome the arrival of the new Chinese Super League in a better state.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, head coach Slutsky said: "We've played three competitive games before the league starts, so our season has started early and we're ready to put our best foot forward in the first game of the league. Chen Jinyi, who has performed very well after the start of the season, also expressed his hope for a good start to the season, "The first game of the league is about to come, and I think our team and fans are ready." With Changchun Yatai, we hope to get off to a good start to the season. ”

In the match against the Kobe Victory Boat, Teixeira, the core of Shenhua's midfield, did not play due to physical reasons, and his place was replaced by 18-year-old teenager Yang Haoyu. After a few days of rest and adjustment, Teixeira's body has basically recovered. Teixeira participated in the final practice session before the game on February 21, which means that he will most likely start the opening game. Another general, who missed the race against Vissel Kobe due to a slight muscle strain, did not participate in the joint training and had little hope of playing in the opening match.

Last season, Shenhua achieved a double kill against Changchun Yatai, but it was not easy to win the home and away games, especially the away game, Shenhua did not score the killer goal by Teixeira until injury time, so Slutsky is also ready to face difficulties, "I still remember the two games against Changchun last year, and it is true that the game process is very difficult. However, at present, there have been some changes in the personnel and formation of the Changchun Yatai team, and our lineup has not changed much, so I think the old experience may not be relevant to the new game now. After all, tomorrow is the opening game, and we will definitely be ready for the most difficult ones. ”

Judging from the three games that have been played, Shenhua's form is steadily improving. In the midweek match against Vissel Kobe, new foreign player Mineiro scored his first goal after joining Shenhua, and also scored a "hat trick", which should help him unload his burden in the subsequent games, travel lightly, and better play his own strength and level. Mineiro said: "I'm very happy to score at home for the first time and score a hat-trick, so it will definitely help me and hopefully I can help the team more, get three more points and achieve my goals this year." ”

Compared with last season, through the intensive training of winter training, Shenhua has improved the scoring rate of set-pieces. The three goals in the Super Cup and Harbour came from set-pieces. In the battle with the Kobe Victory Ship, Shenhua also opened the door to victory through set-pieces. However, having conceded a total of 5 goals in 3 games, with goals conceded in each of them, the consistency of Shenhua's defense needs to be strengthened.

The match between Shenhua and Changchun Yatai is scheduled to start at 8 o'clock, and half an hour before the start of the opening match, that is, at 7:30 a.m., the opening ceremony of the 2025 Chinese Super League season will be played at Shanghai Stadium. It is understood that as in previous years, the opening ceremony of the 2025 season still adheres to the principle of "everything is simple" and does not invite big-name entertainment stars, but this will not affect the excitement of the opening ceremony.

The renovated Shanghai Stadium has a 360-degree circular canopy of nearly 10,000 square meters, and the screen is designed along the contours of the building. Every match day, with sound and light to create a first-class audio-visual feast, so that the fans on the scene are addicted. At the opening ceremony on the 22nd, the organizers will use the circular canopy to create a beautiful light and shadow show through the cooperation of light and shadow.

This year, the organizers invited four Tibetan football teenagers from Dingrizhen District, Shigatse City, Tibet to pass the Vulcan Cup, and these four Tibetan football teenagers have gone to Jiushi Kangqiao Sports Base on the 21st to interact with Shenhua players.

More than a month ago, when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County, Shigatse City, Tibet, the Shenhua Club immediately recorded a blessing video for the children in Senga Village, Changsuo Township, Dingri County, with the help of the Shanghai Tibet Aid Group, encouraging them to work together to rebuild a beautiful home. The invitation to Shigatse football teenagers to deliver the Vulcan Cup is undoubtedly a public welfare measure for the earthquake area on the football field.