After the double crown, the harbor has started a comprehensive transformation, and three major problems cannot be avoided

Reporter Cheng Shan reported For Harbour, the results in 2024 are close to perfect, and after 19 years of ups and downs since the establishment of the team in 2005, they stand at the height they have been hoping for. But after the double championship, a turning point also came - the turmoil of foreign aid, the gradual retreat of "Chongming Phase I", and the connection of the new generation of players...... The upcoming year 2025 may be the beginning of their comprehensive transformation.

At the end of 2005, Xu Genbao took the "Chongming Phase I" to start the journey of "ten years of grinding a sword", and nine years later, in 2014, SIPG Group acquired 100% of the club's shares, and the new upstart of Shencheng was born.

It took only four years, that is, in 2018, to end the monopoly of the Guangzhou team with the superstar foreign aid team and the "Chongming Phase I" in the prime of life. Six years later, in 2024, although they may not be the strongest team in the harbor, they are stronger in the Chinese Super League, especially foreign aid, and in the end, they won the first double championship in team history.

The biggest contributor to Harbour's achievements is Oscar, who plays an indispensable role in the team. Oscar joined at the end of 2016 for a staggering €60 million and spent eight years with the club, scoring 77 goals in 248 appearances, in addition to providing 141 assists, helping Harbour win three Super League titles and one FA Cup. In a recent interview, Oscar has not given a clear direction for the future.

After the expiration of Oscar's contract, he renewed it for a month, which expires at the end of December this year. In 2025, the Chinese Football Association will continue the previous "salary cap" criterion, that is, the annual salary of domestic players will be reduced from 10 million yuan after tax to a maximum of 5 million before tax, and foreign aid will be reduced from 10 million euros after personal tax to 3 million euros before tax for single foreign aid, and 10 million euros before tax for the total salary of foreign aid in the whole team. After the contract expired, the salary restrictions were restricted, and both Harbour and Oscar had to think about the actual (salary) issue.

In order to retain Oscar, the outside world suggested that the club hoped to leave the top card through some "operations", but insiders revealed that if some methods were placed in the past, they might be "feasible" operations in each team, but in the current environment, no one dares to cross the rules, "Not to mention anything else, now no one dares to make a decision even with a maximum salary contract!" ”

Coincidentally, Vargas's contract also expires, and the harbor wants him to stay, but his attachment to Shanghai and the Chinese Super League is not strong, and the club has not given a clear answer to whether the salary can reach the "psychological price" of 3 million euros when he signed the contract.

What is certain is that if the two big names are lost, it will be difficult for the harbor to find foreign aid of the same level in the context of salary limits. In Muscat's tactical system, foreign aid is very important, and if it is embarrassing, it is likely to affect the current overall technical and tactical play. Next season, Harbour have secured a spot in the AFC Champions League as a double, and if they have an idea, the quality of foreign aid must be guaranteed.

Of course, Harbour can be unbeatable, and the performance of the local players cannot be ignored. Wu Lei, who is still in stable form, is a big contributor to the harbor's championship. As the star of the game, he won the Golden Boot with a record 34 goals (no penalties), but after doing his best to help the team win the championship, the 34-year-old Wu Lei had to face the injury that the player feared most.

When Harbour was still competing in the AFC Champions League Elite League, Wu Lei had gone to Europe and embarked on the road of injury treatment. On December 1st, he underwent the first stage of conservative injection treatment at OGSA, one of the best orthopedic hospitals in the world, specializing in stimulating regeneration and restoring the injured parts affected by pathology, injury and aging. After consultation with all parties, it was decided to treat Wu Lei conservatively, but the time will not be short, and the recovery period is expected to be six weeks to three months. In this way, when the new round of AFC Champions League Elite League starts in February next year, it is still unknown whether Wu Lei can make a comeback.

However, the outside world believes that even if he can catch up, it is difficult to guarantee the state of Wu Lei, who has just recovered. In fact, in the 2025 season, it is indeed difficult to assess whether the 34-year-old Wu Lei can continue to maintain his form and become the "hope of the whole village". After leading the team to win the men's football runner-up in the three major ball games in November, Xu Genbao made it clear that "only by cultivating stars can the level of Chinese football be improved to a higher level." The same is true for seaports.

If Wu Lei's state is difficult to recover in the short term, what is in front of the harbor is the urgent need to re-cultivate a stable core player, but referring to Wu Lei's growth, this time will not be less than three years.

In addition to Wu Lei, the players of the "Chongming Phase I" are now past their prime, in addition to Yan Junling, who has performed well in the goalkeeper position this season, Wang Shenchao and Lu Wenjun can also play the game, Wang Shenchao scored 3 goals and 4 assists in the Chinese Super League; Zhang Linpeng only played 12 times in the Chinese Super League, scoring 1 goal for the team; And veterans such as Cai Huikang have not had many opportunities to play.

In other words, it is difficult for the former core players to carry the banner again, and what makes Harbour even more difficult is that the slogan of cultivating new players has been shouted for many years, but among the current Mesozoic players and young players who have played in the first team, there are very few players who can make people shine. And what makes the harbor have good expectations for the future is probably only to focus on the "Chongming Phase IV" that is currently being trained at the Genbao base, and this group of children is likely to be the last batch of disciples of Lao Shuai.

After handing over the 99/00 age group players to Shenhua, Xu Genbao put more energy into the construction of the 06 age group team, and the harbor and Genbao base adopted a "directional cooperation" model - the harbor purchased the "registration rights" of these players, and paid for daily training and game services, and the team was still placed in the Genbao base.

"Talent" is what Xu Genbao always says, and it is gratifying that the front waist of this youth army, Kuai Jiwen, back Liming, goalkeeper Zhang Yuhang, and right forward Zhang Junjie have all shown good potential.

Kuai Jiwen is currently the most famous, known as "Wu Lei's successor", Xu Genbao said when comparing him and Wu Lei, "Kuai Jiwen is a midfielder, with a certain ability to organize, break through and score; And Wu Lei is a scorer, and Kuai Jiwen seems to be more comprehensive. In the previous three major ball games, Kuai Jiwen scored 9 goals in 5 games and won the golden boot, and more importantly, in the two-day competition, he performed steadily and had the style of a general.

Kuai Jiwen's next goal is to play in the first team as soon as possible, "playing in the professional league." ”

But how the "Chongming Phase IV" connects with the team is a big problem. First, he is young and needs professional league experience; Second, under Muscat's tactical system, their individual ability is far from meeting the requirements. And whether Muscat is willing to fight for a future for the harbor in pursuit of results, the answer is obvious.

With the double crown in hand, joy and jubilation, the harbor had to face more thinking about the future. However, the harbor, which emphasizes that it "hopes to build a century-old club", may have to accept the pain of a generational change.