Shuffling Continues! The first departure in 2025 is officially announced, sidelining Choi Kang-hee, and the World Cup captain lands at Mount Tai. Why did Pato leave? How was Choi Kang-hee "sidelined"? With the addition of the World Cup captain, can this Shandong Taishan team return to its former glory? At the beginning of 2025, Shandong Taishan has been exposed to big news one after another. First, Pato announced his departure, then the power of head coach Choi Kang-hee was weakened, and the addition of World Cup star Aboubakar reignited fans' hopes. On one side is the team's reorganization drama, and on the other side is the management game behind it. Taishan's winter looks more exciting than the matches. At the beginning of 2025, Pato released a retirement statement through his personal Weibo, thanking the club and fans in the article, but it can be seen from the lines that this journey was not smooth. This superstar who once dominated the European arena has been lukewarm since joining Taishan, far from meeting external expectations. Pato's departure is actually not surprising. Data doesn't lie: throughout the 2024 season, his goal count was meager, and he often disappeared in key moments. Even though his personal ability is still there, he never integrated into Taishan's tactical system. He is a technical player who needs the whole team to revolve around him, but Taishan's past tactical core was obviously not like this. Some say this is a problem of "incompatibility"; others think that Taishan relies too much on foreign aid without considering the players' personalities…

On January 6th, Beijing time, a focus match in Serie A concluded. In the Rome derby, the home team Roma defeated their local rivals Lazio 2-0, with goals from Pellegrini and Saelemaekers, while Lazio forward Castellanos was sent off with a red card in the final moments. Roma has recently been doing well, and they need to thank Milan for the gift they sent. AC Milan missed the mark! They misplaced their trust in Fonseca and let go of the winged defender: now he has made 6 goals in 7 games, shining in Serie A. The Rome derby is always intense, and in this match, Roma committed 12 fouls and received 4 yellow cards, while Lazio players committed 18 fouls, resulting in 5 yellows and 1 red. The two teams clashed at the end of the game, with Castellanos receiving a red card for a malicious foul. In this tense match, Roma player Saelemaekers became the key player, contributing one assist and one goal to help Roma win. Just 10 minutes into the game, Saelemaekers delivered a wonderful pass from the right flank to find captain Pellegrini, who then curled a shot into the net to give Roma the lead. In the 18th minute, Saelemaekers had two consecutive shots in the penalty area, with his initial shot being saved before he followed up to score, extending Roma's lead. Ultimately, thanks to Saelemaekers' MVP performance of creating 2 goals, Roma won the derby. Roma had previously gone through a period of 2 draws and 4 losses, remaining winless in 6 consecutive…

After the introduction of Mbappe, Real Madrid's strength did not significantly increase, but as the season progressed, several star players in the front line of the Galacticos, whose valuations all exceeded 100 million euros, also delivered their expected performances; after winning the previous round of make-up matches, Real Madrid became the leader of La Liga for the first time this season. On the early morning of January 7th, Beijing time, in the third round of the King's Cup, Real Madrid played away against Minera Sports, with Balvede, valued at 130 million euros, contributing a pass and a shot, and the 19-year-old Gulailer scoring twice, leading Real Madrid to a big win with 5 goals. Minera Sports comes from the Xieyi B League, and has never participated in La Liga or the second division in its history; because the opponent is not strong, Courtois and Rudiger did not enter the squad, and Ancelotti also let Mbappe, Bellingham, and Vinicius sit on the bench. Endrick, Gulailer, and Diaz partnered in the attack; Modric, Balvede, and Camavinga anchored the midfield; Fran Garcia, Diego Aguado, Asensio, and another Aguado formed a defensive line trained by Real Madrid, with Lunin as the goalkeeper. After the start of the game, Real Madrid achieved a dream start. In the 2nd minute, Endrick made a pass, and Gulailer's shot was saved by Martinez; in the 4th minute, Gulailer passed straight through, and Endrick's counter-offside shot was saved by the onrushing Martinez; in the 5th minute, Diaz crossed, and Minera Sports made an error in clearing the ball, Balvede…

It is well-known that the failure to register Olmo dealt a heavy blow to Barcelona, resulting in not only significant financial losses but also turmoil within the club's management. According to "Mundo Deportivo," due to the poor handling of the registration issues involving Olmo and Paul Victor, Laporta's opponents are demanding his resignation, threatening to initiate a vote of no confidence among Barcelona members if he does not step down. The groups calling for Laporta's resignation include eight Barcelona supporter organizations led by Fonte, Campello, and others. However, Laporta has firmly rejected the calls to resign, insisting that there is still hope for resolving the registration issues concerning Olmo and Paul Victor. Barcelona has appealed to the Spanish High Sports Council (CSD), with a decision expected on January 8th. Laporta's team is urging unity within the club to prevent further internal conflicts. Barcelona is facing external pressure as well. It is reported that due to Olmo's failed registration and inability to play, certain easily achievable floating clauses in his transfer contract will not be triggered, leading to Leipzig seeking compensation of 10 million euros from Barcelona. Every action has its cause and effect. While the Barcelona management bears responsibility for the chaos, Sevilla's fanning the flames cannot be overlooked. As reported by "Sport," Sevilla's pressure on La Liga regarding the Olmo registration issue escalated the conflict between the two clubs. Now, the relationship between Barcelona and Sevilla has completely broken down, with Barcelona deciding to sever ties and halt all transfer transactions with the other party. Barcelona has explicitly stated…

Liverpool's perfect Champions League group stage campaign concluded with six victories in six matches, accumulating a full 18 points and securing the top spot in their group with ease. It was like an extravagant appetizer that left fans thoroughly satisfied. Despite this being the final round of the group stage, Liverpool's performance had already guaranteed them a place in the Round of 16, as if they had determined their own fate even before the competition began. Their offense was as fierce as a storm, while their defense remained as stable as Mount Tai. Liverpool truly treated the group stage as their training ground, leaving their opponents far behind one by one. In contrast, teams like Leipzig, Bratislava, and Young Boys Bern appeared somewhat flustered. They failed to secure a single victory in the group stage, losing all six matches and accumulating zero points, thus being eliminated early from the competition. It was akin to a bakery owner finding stale bread. Each match seemed to be fought with great effort, yet the outcome was always the same: an early farewell. Why couldn't these teams break through the bottleneck of the group stage? This could be due to some tactical confusion or perhaps a gap in team strength. Regardless, their hopes at the beginning of the season were shattered into pieces. Moving on to Barcelona's situation, although they ranked second in their group with five wins and one loss, accumulating 15 points, their qualification was not as smooth as it seemed. Why? Because the difference between Barcelona and the third-placed team was…

In the Premier League's double red derby, Diallo saved Manchester United. In the away match against Liverpool, Lima scored first for Manchester United, but later De Ligt made a mistake and conceded a penalty, followed by Gakpo and Salah scoring consecutively to reverse the score for the Red Devils. In the 80th minute, Diallo stepped up to help Manchester United draw 2-2 with Liverpool. Diallo is the biggest surprise of Manchester United this season, but on the other hand, Manchester United suffered a great loss! They sold a versatile forward for 26 million pounds: now he has created 13 goals in 17 games, outshining Diallo. After drawing with Liverpool, Manchester United ended their four-game losing streak, but they are still ranked 13th in the Premier League, only 7 points more than Ipswich, who are third from the bottom, making Manchester United a relegation team in the Premier League. The 22-year-old Diallo has played 28 times for Manchester United this season, starting 18 times, with 6 goals and 7 assists. He has repeatedly saved the team, and without Diallo's miraculous performance, it would have been even harder for Manchester United. Diallo is one of the few outstanding players for Manchester United this season, providing some comfort to the fans. Diallo is very talented and is now a key player in Manchester United's attack. Unfortunately, the stronger Greenwood was sold by Manchester United this summer. On the day of the match between Manchester United and Liverpool, Greenwood's French giants Marseille defeated Le Havre 5-1, with Greenwood setting up the fourth goal for…

This morning, the double red derby ended in a 2-2 draw, thus concluding the 20th round of the Premier League where Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal all drew their matches, while Manchester City secured two consecutive victories with a 4-1 win over West Ham. The collective underperformance of the top teams has provided an opportunity for Manchester City to catch up, despite only winning three out of their last eleven games, including a record of one win, two draws, and six losses from the tenth to the eighteenth round. However, they are only two points away from the top four. The general manager of Lorient has confirmed that their defender, Huseynov, who is a target for Manchester City during the winter transfer window, will be leaving the club. Manchester City's signing of Lorient defender Huseynov is nearing completion, as the team seeks to strengthen their defense and midfield protection, which have been abstract this season. Despite a 4-1 victory over West Ham, City only had nine shots compared to their opponent's seventeen. The defensive issues can only be resolved through new signings, but unfortunately, City's winter transfer activity has been more noise than substance so far. Currently, there has been no significant progress in Manchester City's pursuit of targets such as Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Wirtz, and Musiala. The rumored transfer of Marmoush to City has also been debunked by Sky Sports and Bild reporter Eric Peters. The only confirmed interest and ongoing negotiation by City is for Lorient defender Huseynov. Both the "Manchester Evening News" and Fabrizio Romano have confirmed that the…

For Real Madrid, after achieving a record of 4 wins and 1 draw in the last 5 matches across various competitions, they have undoubtedly regained their form. On the La Liga leaderboard, they have also returned to the top spot that they had been away from for a long time. Currently, apart from the two long-term injured players Militao and Carvajal, all other injured players have recovered and returned to the team. At the same time, after the opening of this transfer window, Florentino has actively operated several good transfers targeting the shortcomings in the squad. Ancelotti is expected to have a more competitive lineup in the second half of the season. The "Twin Stars" are expected to sign a package deal Objectively speaking, since last season, due to serious injuries suffered by players like Alaba, the defense has become the weakest position for Real Madrid. Therefore, before the start of this season, Real Madrid prioritized the recruitment of central defenders, with Jolo once being just one step away from playing at the Bernabeu. After this transfer was intercepted, Florentino did not choose to bring in other replacements, which also laid hidden dangers for this season. When the season started, Alaba's return was repeatedly delayed, Militao suffered another serious injury, and Ancelotti faced a more severe situation on the defensive line than last season. In addition, Joanameni's performance after retreating to the backline this season was not ideal, and most of the time it was Rudiger who relied on his personal ability to hold on. Moreover, on the left-back position,…

This season's second Premier League "Double Red Club" did not present a one-sided trend like the first leg. Manchester United took the lead in the second half and quickly turned the score around with two goals from Liverpool. Diawara "saved the day" again, and both sides had to settle for a draw, each taking a point from Anfield. For Manchester United, this was a very important game. Prior to this, they had suffered three consecutive defeats in the Premier League without scoring a single goal. Statistics show that if Manchester United were still unable to score and lost to Liverpool, it would be the first time in over a hundred years of team history that they experienced four consecutive defeats without scoring, with the last such occurrence happening a year before Old Trafford, the Theater of Dreams, was even completed. Unsurprisingly, Rashford did not appear on the squad list, with Amorim citing "injury" as the reason, although everyone knew the real deal. Similarly, the controversial Garnacho did not start but came on as a substitute for Menu in the second half, with his positive performance seemingly reassuring everyone that Garnacho had not yet become another Rashford. Continuing to bench the top scorer of the league this season, Amorim made it clear to the outside world that he had decisively made his choice, sending a clear signal that Rashford could not stay! Although Rashford has been out for some time, Manchester United's performance has been quite poor, but they were able to turn the tide against Manchester City, draw with Liverpool,…

61-year-old Mourinho exploded in anger once again at a post-match press conference, directly attacking the entire Turkish Super League and the referees for their unfair treatment of his team, Fenerbahçe. This is something he has never witnessed in his 35-year football career, leaving him feeling "heartbroken" and powerless. The reason for his frustration stems from the recently concluded 18th round of the Turkish Super League, where Fenerbahçe won 2-1 at home against Hatayspor, securing all three points. However, they still trail the league leaders, Galatasaray, by a significant margin of 8 points. Given the stability and undefeated record of the reigning champions this season, it is proving to be an arduous task for Mourinho to help his team claim the Turkish Super League title. After the match, Mourinho engaged in a tirade during an interview with journalists, lambasting the Turkish Super League system, referees, and reporters: "My team played brilliantly, completely controlling the game and creating numerous opportunities, but the result was only 2-1. Under normal circumstances, we could have scored between 5 to 7 goals. Although we ultimately won the match, what can I say about the refereeing?" He then suggested that if Hatayspor were not playing against Fenerbahçe, perhaps only eight players would have been on the field for the away team. Everyone knows how to target us and how to play against us; this is a toxic league. In this match, the referee penalized Hatayspor seven times, resulting in only three yellow cards. However, in Mourinho's view: "At least three of their players should have been sent…