Every time Shandong Taishan team faces off against a Japanese team, it is like a contest of skill and strength, and the latest defeat has once again ignited the discussion in the hearts of fans. It's not just a win or a loss, it's a collision of two football philosophies.
First of all, we have to admit that Shandong Taishan team always seems incapable against Japanese teams. It's not a matter of attitude, it'sThe gap in strength and technology。Our team has an advantage in strength and speed, and we are aggressive and fierce, which are all characteristics of us. But as the recent match against Kawasaki Frontale showed, we started to look a little helpless when our "three-board axe" was held up by the opposition.
I can't help but admire the Kawasaki Frontale's delicate footwork, precise passing, and tacit coordination that easily penetrated our defence. Their style of play is like tai chi, overcoming rigidity with softness, allowing us to have an advantage, but we are never able to form effective scoring opportunities. Although coach Choi Kang-hee made adjustments, such as pushing Judson to the center position, which achieved certain results, it was obviously not enough.
Our problem isThe fulcrum role of the front court is weakened。If Fellaini is still around, maybe we can have more air superiority. But the reality is that we lack players who can tear apart the opposition defence when it matters most. Despite his height, Cressan prefers technical coordination at his feet, which is different from the traditional sense of a centre-forward.
In the face of such a dilemma, we need to think not only about how to win in the next game, but more importantly, how to improve our technical and tactical level in the future games. What we need is not only strength and speed, but also a combination of technology and intelligence. Perhaps, we can learn something from the Japanese team's style of play, such as how they use technique and coordination to control the pace of the game, and how to find breakthroughs in the opponent's strong confrontation.
Finally, the most important thing for Shandong Taishan now is to maintain confidence, not only for the team, but also for us fans. Yes, the road ahead may be challenging, but as long as we can learn from every failure and keep improving, then victory will be ours in the end. For the next matches, even though the probability of victory is unlikely, we have to give it our all, because the beauty of football is that it always surprises you.