Many people will never forget the stories that happened in the AFC Champions League in 2013 and 2015.
That is the champion story of Guangzhou Evergrande and the Super League.
But now, it's like singing a song-memories always want to cry.
Lost to Ulsan Hyundai at 0:2. In the AFC 1/4 finals on the evening of the 10th, Beijing Guoan, who blasted 22 shots, was helpless to stop in the quarterfinals.
At this point, the four Chinese Super League teams' journey to the AFC this season has come to an abrupt end.
Ulsan Hyundai passed the penalty kick first.
First, the foreign aid Jin Minya handball in the penalty area, let the opponent pass the penalty kick first.
Before the end of the half, Guoan made a mistake in the backcourt and was intercepted by the opponent and shot from a long range to expand the score.
Not long after the start of the second half, Vieira shot to the center. In the 68th minute, Guoan shot three consecutive shots and was blocked by the opponent...
Regardless of his own mistakes or bad luck, in the four key points of the entire game, the unfavorable results all point to Beijing Guoan.
After Guoan made a mistake in the backcourt, his opponent expanded the score with a long shot.
At the press conference after the match, Genesio said helplessly that the match was not handled well enough, and he lacked some luck. If Biella scored the center post, maybe the game would be even worse. Many variables.
In football games, both strength and luck are indispensable. The play is quite satisfactory and there is no good luck. It is reasonable for Guoan to lose to Ulsan Hyundai, which has the upper hand in strength and luck.
Ulsan Hyundai had previously achieved a strong record of 5 wins and 1 tie with Beijing Guoan in the group stage.
Image source: AFC official Weibo
Since 2016, the top Chinese Super League teams in the AFC Champions League have been hovering between the quarter-finals and the quarter-finals. They are the quarter-finals in odd-numbered years and quarter-finals in even-numbered years.
According to the "rule", next year there should be a Chinese Super League team rushing to the semi-finals, but on the whole, this does not seem to be easy. The clubs representing the Chinese Super League have begun to show signs of losing ground in the AFC.
Data map: In the 2015 season, Guangzhou Evergrande won the AFC Champions again.
Image source: Visual China
For example, Guangzhou Evergrande, which once won the AFC Champions League twice, was forced out of the game by Kobe Victory Boat and Suwon Samsung in the group stage. This was unimaginable in the past.
In the first round of the knockout round, Shanghai SIPG lost to Kobe Victory Boat 0:2, Beijing Guoan eliminated Tokyo 1:0, and only a Chinese Super League team from Beijing Guoan remained in the top 8.
Among the other three East Asian teams that have entered the top eight, two are South Korean teams and one is Japanese.
Since participating in the AFC Champions League in 2012, this is the second time Evergrande has failed to qualify.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Super League/IC photo
Horizontal comparison, the performance of the Super League team seems to be unsatisfactory, but compared with the vertical comparison of the record in recent years, the regression is obvious.
The last time that the Chinese Super League "BIG4" scored so mediocre in the AFC, it can be traced back to 2014, when the defending AFC champion Guangzhou Evergrande stopped in the top eight, Beijing Guoan, Shandong Luneng, Guizhou Renhe (now Beijing Renhe) All encountered the team out.
In the following five seasons, Guangzhou Evergrande won the AFC Champions League for the second time in the 2015 season. In the 2016 season, Shandong Luneng and Shanghai SIPG both entered the quarterfinals.
In the three seasons from 2017 to 2019, three Chinese Super League teams have qualified from the group. Except for the 2018 season, the quarter-finals played the "Chinese Derby".
Data map: In the quarter-finals of the 2017 AFC Champions League, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG staged the "Chinese Derby".
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Jimin
In fact, it stands to reason that the Chinese Super League team has a great chance in this year's AFC.
Due to the epidemic, the AFC Champions League, which adopts the tournament system, has shrunk, and the knockout stage adopts a single knockout tournament system, which has greatly increased the chance compared to the past.
Earlier in the West Asia competition, Persepolis, the Iranian "civilian team", drew the Saudi giants Riyadh Crescent in the semi-finals, and finally won an upset in the penalty shoot-out and entered the final.
Moreover, the opponents facing the Super League "BIG4" this year are not in the best condition.
For example, the Kobe Victory Ship, which is in the same group as Evergrande, only ranks in the middle and lower reaches of the Japanese J-League, while Suwon Samsung is in the relegation group of the Korean K-League.
However, Guangzhou Evergrande, which lost the championship in the Chinese Super League, was also in poor condition. After Paulinho, Zheng Zhi and other major players were absent, the entire team fell into a vicious circle of "not knowing how to play."
After the AFC team was eliminated, Cannavaro once again fell into a crisis of dismissal.
Image source: Visual China
And because of the seamless connection between the AFC and the Chinese Super League, the already exhausted Chinese Super League "BIG4" has no time to breathe. Under the rhythm of the three-day match, there is no room for adjustment. Once the state is not good, there is no way out. Searching.
In contrast, the Korean team had at least half a month to adjust before the AFC Champions League, and the Japanese J-League team was better than the Super League team in terms of physical fitness due to the relatively loose league schedule.
Data map: Paulinho (red) has an irreplaceable role in the Evergrande team.
Image source: Visual China
In addition to these special season factors, the biggest factor affecting the overall performance of the Super League team is foreign aid:
Shanghai Shenhua, who failed to qualify for the team, played for a long time with single or double foreign aid;
Shanghai SIPG's foreign aid Anautović returned to the national team to play. Hulk, whose contract expired at the end of the year, was frozen from the second round of the group match with the Yokohama Mariners;
Guangzhou Evergrande Paulinho is absent, and Talisca has been unable to find the status;
Beijing Guoan is also facing the situation of Bakambu returning to the national team to participate in the AFC Champions League...
Data map: On November 21, 2015, in the AFC Champions League final, Guangzhou Evergrande defeated the UAE Al Ahli 1-0 with Elkeson's lore, and won the AFC Champions League for the second time in three years.
Image source: Visual China
Guangzhou Evergrande’s AFC Champions League season relied on foreign aid in full condition and a group of outstanding domestic players in the 85 and 87 age groups.
Shanghai SIPG has entered the semi-finals because of the good conditions of foreign aid such as Hulk, Oscar, and the excellent domestic players in the 89 and 91 age groups produced by Wu Lei.
With age and player transfers, regardless of the overall state or strength, I have to admit that they are all not as good as before.
In the 1/8 final of the AFC Champions League with Tokyo FC, Alan (first from left) scored the winning goal.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Super League/IC photo
It is foreseeable that the Chinese Super League teams entering the post-Jinyuan era will find it harder for the Chinese Super League teams to achieve good results in the AFC under the dilemma of the successive departure of big-name foreign aid and the lack of local players.
Leaving aside the possibility of returning to the 2007 season to the 2009 season, the awkward situation where the Super League teams failed to qualify for the group for three consecutive years, stopping in the top 16 and stopping in the top 8 is likely to be the ideal normal in the future.
So, cherish today's top 8 seats. After this village, there may be another store.
(Author Bian Liqun)