Shandong Taishan FC Completes Five Foreign Players! Two Squads for the CSL, Aiming to Win the Championship Next Season
January 13th, Beijing time, according to multiple media reports, Shandong Taishan FC has signed two Brazilian foreign players, Madruga and Lucas Gazal. Madruga plays as a midfielder in the holding position, while Lucas Gazal will replace Marcelo as the team's new foreign central defender. With this, the five foreign players for Taishan FC's new season have all been finalized, including forwards Zeke, Crescencio, Kazai, midfielder Madruga, and central defender Lucas Gazal.
In addition to the foreign players, Taishan FC is also trialing 29-year-old tall striker Tang Chuang. This domestic tall striker who scored twice against Shanghai Port last season is likely to stay with Taishan FC next season. With this, the new season's recruitment work of Taishan FC will basically come to an end. Madruga, Lucas Gazal, and Tang Chuang are the main reinforcement players for Taishan FC next season.
Last season, Taishan FC only ranked 5th in the Chinese Super League (CSL) and failed to qualify for the AFC Champions League. The team's performance decline was mainly due to two reasons: one was the tight schedule and fatigue from frequent matches; the other was the incomplete lineup, unable to gather five foreign players. In such a situation, Taishan FC suffered greatly in the CSL matches, leading to a continuous decline in results. Now, Taishan FC does not need to worry about the AFC Champions League in the new season, and the team has also gathered five foreign players, making the new season's performance worth looking forward to.
With the arrival of the five foreign players, the starting lineup of Taishan FC in the new season has also emerged. In the goalkeeper position, Wang Dalei will be the undisputed starter. In the central defender position, Zheng Zheng partners with new recruit Lucas Gazal, with Liu Yang on the left back and Gao Zhunyi on the right back. In the midfield, Li Yuanyi partners with Madruga as the double holding midfielders, with Kazai and Xie Weneng on both flanks. Zeke is at the No. 9 position, with Crescencio behind him to link up the offense.
On the bench, Taishan FC also has a young squad capable of competing in the CSL. There is Yu Jinyong in the goalkeeper position, Zhao Jianfei and Yang Ruiqi in the central defender position, Wu Xinghan on the right back, and Yusuf can be used on the left back, who was just promoted to the first team. In the midfield, Huang Zhengyu, Peng Xinli, and Rou Sulie serve as substitutes, Chen Pu, Mai Wulang, and Liu Binbin play as midfielders, and Delgado, Tang Chuang, and Lu Yongtao compete for the substitute center forward position.
Through analysis, it can be found that compared to the championship contenders in the league, such as Shanghai Shenhua, Shanghai Port, and Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan FC's lineup is not inferior. Next season, if head coach Choi Kang-hee can sort out the team's player rotation order, Taishan FC is fully capable of winning their fifth CSL championship trophy in team history.