In the 2024 season, Beijing Guoan finished 3 points behind Chengdu Rongcheng to secure fourth place in the league and earned a spot in the AFC Champions League second-tier competition!
Facing the challenges of a three-front campaign in the new season, Beijing Guoan must not only change coaches but also strengthen their squad. Changing coaches has become a staple for Beijing Guoan at the end of each season in recent years. Suarez's tenure in the first half of the 2024 season was unsuccessful, but he gradually gave fans hope later on. However, after the season ended, Beijing Guoan did not choose to renew his contract.
After Suarez's departure, none of the rumored coaches reported by the media arrived; instead, they chose Spanish coach Quique Setien. Setien's previous coaching record is nothing special, even somewhat lacking. Since the Guoan club chose him, there must be a reason for their choice. Setien is a coach who emphasizes midfield play and advocates ground-based attacking football, which may be why Beijing Guoan chose him, or perhaps Setien can prove himself at Beijing Guoan!
Setien will arrive in Beijing on January 3rd, and new signing Serginho is already on a plane to Beijing. Changchun Yatai probably didn't expect that after playing for the club for 5 years, Serginho would end up wearing the Beijing Guoan jersey. On January 24th, Serginho will officially meet the conditions for naturalization.
Since joining Changchun Yatai from Kashima Antlers on a free transfer on January 24, 2020, Serginho has been playing for Changchun Yatai. Serginho is an all-round player capable of both attack and defense, with high football intelligence and not sticky on the ball. His only shortcoming is being somewhat fragile, as fans call him a "glass man." After joining Beijing Guoan, Serginho will represent the team as a naturalized player without occupying a foreign player quota.
With Setien and Serginho arriving in Beijing on the 3rd, Guoan is set to take off and become one of the favorites to win the league title in the 2025 season. Although the new season has yet to begin, analyzing the current situation of the Chinese Super League, the teams that can become title contenders in the 2025 season are none other than the Shanghai duo, Chengdu Rongcheng, and Beijing Guoan. Shandong Taishan wants to win the title unless Choi Kang-hee stops tanking.
It will be very challenging for Shanghai Port to defend their title, starting with the departure of their star player Oscar. With Oscar gone, Shanghai Port's midfield is directly disjointed. Besides Oscar, Balagas also left, dealing a double blow to the team. Without these two key midfielders, Wu Lei's offensive efficiency will undoubtedly be greatly reduced. Of course, Shanghai Port should look for suitable foreign players during the offseason. Additionally, there has been no official announcement about Oscar's situation, so there might still be a twist!