Shanghai Port: To create new brilliance, it is indispensable to expect the AFC Champions League

Reporter Cheng Shan reported Having won the championship in the league and FA Cup, Shanghai Port's 2024 season has been quite successful in the domestic arena. Harbour will host Gwangju FC on 3 December for their final game of the year, and they will certainly be hoping to get the results they want in Asia to end 2024.

In the last round, Shanghai Port defeated Ulsan HD away, and the port reached 7 points and is currently ranked eighth in the East Asian region. Harbour have three rounds left against Gwangju FC, Vissel Kobe and Yokohama Marinos, who are just the top three teams in the East Asian region after five rounds.

On December 3, Harbour will host Gwangju FC. "In the previous AFC Champions League elite league, it was true that our performance was not consistent and lacked consistency. There are still a few games left at this stage of the AFC Champions League this season, and we have a chance to move forward. I hope that in the next games, we can start to perform consistently. "Ahead of the last round away to Ulsan HD, Harbour head coach Muscat made it clear that his team would be fully committed to the AFC Champions League.

What is certain is that Wu Lei will still be absent from this crucial battle, and the good news is that Yusa, who was previously suspended, will return. In October, Yusa was sent off for a deliberate collision with Pohang Steelers Steelers, and the AFC later announced the penalty and he was banned for three games. Judging from the performance of the Chinese Super League this season, Yusa has helped the team a lot. "It's always the best feeling to finish the season with a title, but next year we'll try to chase more goals and hopefully reach even higher heights. We have a very good team with all the qualities and we can fight for the AFC Champions League. Yusa said.

Recently, Harbour has been actively training at the base, and the last round of matches was just after the FA Cup was heading to the away stadium, and the travel was a lot of exhaustion, and after a few days of recovery, the players were full of energy. Head coach Muscat wanted to try a "new twist" in the last game, but he had to make a conservative choice due to the sudden red card, and in this game, maybe the fans "can see something new". Facing a strong opponent at home, Muscat said that the most important thing is to maintain his style of play and not be disturbed by any opponent.

After South Korea scored the crucial three points and returned home, the Harbour Club held the "2024 Season Summary Meeting" on November 28, with players, coaches and team staff all appearing to share the joy with the fans. After praising the achievements of the club throughout the year, Gu Jinshan, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of SIPG Group, specially mentioned that the group will continue to vigorously support the development of the club and hope to work together with all walks of life to create a new glory for the Harbour Club. In this "brilliance", in addition to the domestic achievements, of course, the expectations for the Asian arena are indispensable.

Harbour's performance in the first four rounds of this year's AFC Champions League elite league has been questioned somewhat, and looking back, in fact, Harbour's journey in the pre-AFC Champions League has been somewhat constrained by the lineup, and in the first four group games, Harbour has never used the strongest and most complete starter. The Harbour coaching team also admits that for the sake of domestic league and cup results, they have to consider making certain rotation options when playing in the third line, and such preparation is not a temporary decision.

The 2024 AFC Champions League Elite League has changed the schedule and participation rules, not only in terms of the number of rounds, but also in the New Year's Eve format, which no longer completely overlaps with the Super League schedule. At the critical moment of the group stage in East Asia, the Chinese Super League is nearing the end or even finishing, so although Muscat said that "the palms and backs of the hands are meat", the harbor coaching team and senior management have long agreed that the first stage is to ensure the results of the Chinese Super League and the Cup, and the later stage to sprint to the AFC Champions League, "There may be a certain risk, but in the case of limited energy, a reasonable layout is the key." Team insiders revealed.

Under the "big league" system of the AFC Champions League elite league, how to seize the timing may also be a problem that Chinese Super League teams need to think about in the AFC Champions League in the future.

The AFC Champions League has relaxed restrictions on the number of foreign players, and foreign players are playing an increasingly important role in the competition. At present, the Harbour team, including Oscar and Vargas, has encountered the problem of "contract expiration". Oscar's contract renewal has attracted the most attention from the outside world, as the current captain of the harbor, Oscar's form is still hot, and he is an indispensable role for the harbor. Oscar will be in the lineup for this match against Gwangju FC in December, and whether this will be Oscar's last game at Harbour will soon be answered.

Vargas's contract is also until the end of 2024, and Vargas, who has worked very happily in Shanghai this year, has expressed a strong desire to "stay".

For Harbour, how far the AFC Champions League can go, and how much space there is for the Asian stage in the future, every choice may be key now.