On January 9th, Beijing time, let's pay attention to the new trends in the domestic football world and discuss the changes in the sports circle. In this cold winter, Shandong Taishan team has taken the lead. They completed their assembly in Jinan on January 6th and flew to Shanghai on the 8th to officially start the first stage of training for a month. This training session is not only a key step for the team to accumulate strength for the new season, but also a comprehensive test and improvement of tactical arrangements and player status.
Speaking of why Shanghai was chosen as the training location, there are actually many deep meanings behind it. First of all, Shanghai's geographical location is superior, which makes it convenient for national team players to gather smoothly. It also provides convenience for travel to the upcoming two AFC Champions League matches, saving the fatigue and trouble of long-distance travel. Secondly, head coach Cui Kangxi has been living in Shanghai for a long time. This arrangement undoubtedly brings him a lot of convenience in his daily work and life, allowing him to devote himself wholeheartedly to the management of the team while taking care of his family, reflecting the club's humanistic care for the coaching staff. Moreover, last year, foreign aid Zeke, who was introduced at a high price by the Taishan team, suffered a serious injury during training in Haikou. This incident gave the team a profound lesson. Choosing Shanghai as the training location is partly due to considerations of player safety and health, aiming to avoid similar tragedies from happening again.
According to the official information released by the Taishan team, the lineup for this training session is truly star-studded. National-level players such as Liu Yang, Liu Binbin, Liu Guobao, and Wang Tong are all on the list, and they are all well-prepared and full of passion to invest in training. At the same time, several important foreign players such as Crescendo, Zeke, Kaza, and Delgado are also busy arranging their schedules and are expected to join the team soon to prepare for the new season together. However, all gatherings must come to an end. Some members of the team, including doctor Sandro, Tong Lei, Sun Guowen, Ji Xiang, Liao Lisheng, He Xiaoke, and Jia Feifan, may gradually leave the Taishan team due to contract expiration or personal career planning, starting their new careers.
The international football world has also brought news related to the Taishan team. On January 9th, the Samalinda Borneo team from Indonesia announced that Brazilian forward Matheus Pato, who once played for Shandong Taishan, returned to his old club as a free agent after one and a half years. Looking back at Pato's experience with the Taishan team, since joining in 2023 as the top scorer in the Indonesian league, he made 20 appearances and scored 4 goals. However, unfortunately, he was unable to register last summer due to some reasons and eventually left the team after his contract expired. It is worth noting that Pato's high salary during his time with the Taishan team has always been a hot topic of discussion. Foreign fan "British Football Brother" revealed that Pato's weekly salary is as high as 300,000 yuan, with an annual salary close to 15 million yuan, which is second only to Crescendo and far exceeds the salaries of other players in the team, even three times more than Zeke's salary. Considering that his transfer fee was only 400,000 euros, the huge contrast between such a high salary and his actual performance has sparked heated discussions.
Looking back at Pato's transfer experience, it is really sigh-inducing. According to Indonesian media reports, the Taishan team was willing to bear a transfer fee of 400,000 euros and offer such a high annual salary mainly because Cui Kangxi and Pato share the same agent. It may be precisely because of Cui Kangxi's recognition of Pato that the Taishan team so generously introduced this Brazilian forward, but the result did not meet expectations. Not only did it cause economic losses for the club, but it also affected the team's performance and future development to a certain extent. This incident clearly sounded the alarm for the Taishan team, and even the entire Chinese Super League's foreign aid introduction strategy, reminding each club to pay more attention to cost-effectiveness and the actual contributions of players while pursuing results.
This article is original content by the author, aiming to bring in-depth analysis and unique insights into the domestic football field. I sincerely invite readers to leave comments and discuss together, let's explore the future direction of Chinese football. Thank you for your attention and support!