Beijing Guoan has already started their winter training in Haikou, which is expected to last for three weeks, with the third stage taking them overseas for further drills. As the only team among the top 5 to change coaches, Guoan faces the daunting task of rebuilding their tactical approach and even their starting lineup from scratch, following the departure of two foreign players, Adebenro and Mamadou, who will need to be replaced. Coach Setien has a heavy responsibility ahead of him, and he is taking his role very seriously, often demonstrating technical moves and training exercises himself to set an example.
On January 9th, national team players such as Zhang Yuning, Lin Liangming, and Yang Liyu will join the national team for a 10-day training camp, leaving Guoan with an incomplete squad for Setien to work with temporarily. Fortunately, Beijing Guoan does not have any AFC Champions League commitments in February, allowing them to make up for lost time. Setien has high tactical demands, having previously coached Barcelona, and he is unlikely to employ long balls or dense defense strategies. Instead, frontcourt possession and control will be the main tactics for Guoan in the new season.
In terms of domestic player recruitment, Guoan has opted for targeted signings, unlike Chengdu Rongcheng, which brought in four national team players. Currently, Guoan has only made contact with Wu Shaocong, a potential first-team level signing. Other positions are well-staffed, with potential foreign signings in midfield, established mid-career players like Zhang Yuan, and veterans like Chi Zhongguo who have renewed their contracts. The winger position is particularly rich in talent. This year, Guoan aims to compete for the championship, which presents the best opportunity, especially before any real dark horses emerge. Their main opponents remain the Shanghai duo.
Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan have a long-standing rivalry, but in recent seasons, Shenhua has had the upper hand, not just in terms of results but also in terms of recruitment. Last season, Guoan's national team player Gao Tianyi, whose contract expired, joined Shanghai Shenhua on a free transfer, making 30 appearances and scoring 3 goals with 5 assists. This year, naturalized player Li Ke's contract has also expired, and he has already arrived in Shanghai, wearing a Shenhua scarf. According to media personality Yang Yi, it is likely that Li Ke will join the Shenhua team for physical testing.
Li Ke's future has become clear, with a strong possibility of joining Shanghai Shenhua. It is a bit of a disappointment for Guoan, who have sent two defensive midfielders to their rivals in consecutive seasons, both on free transfers, thus enhancing the strength of their old adversaries. During his time at Guoan, Li Ke spent most of it recovering from injuries, making 24 appearances last season, scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists. Shenhua's recruitment will not involve significant investments, with only the officially announced Brazilian forward Minero as a foreign signing, while Amadou, Manafa, Teixeira, and Luis will all remain.
In terms of domestic player recruitment, Guoan and Shenhua are quite similar, not engaging in competition with other teams and each having a solid local foundation capable of competing for the title. However, both teams face the challenge of having incomplete squads due to national team players going for training. Shenhua has already arranged four friendly matches in Haikou to test the results of their winter training. The general consensus is not optimistic about Minero's addition, citing injury concerns and a relatively high transfer fee of 900,000 euros, suggesting it would have been better to keep Malele. The overall standard of foreign players in the Chinese Super League has decreased, and Minero's true level can only be assessed on the field. In the post-Golden Football era of the CSL, expectations should not be too high.