Special correspondent Jiang Hai reports Although Nantong Zhiyun locked in a relegation spot early last season, the fans still did not give up. In the first round of this season's Chinese League, Nantong Zhiyun played at home against neighboring Shanghai Jiading Huilong, and there were still 9,369 fans to cheer, and they proved with their actions that no matter where Nantong Zhiyun is, they will follow closely! On the evening of March 15, the Rugao Olympic Sports Center Stadium was rekindled, and Nantong Zhiyun defeated Shanghai Jiading Huilong 1-0, making a good start for the new season of the Chinese League.

The lineup changes greatly, and it is difficult to surpass

Last season, Zhiyun was relegated from the Chinese Super League, and for most Nantong fans, although sad, it was not completely unprepared. They hope that the club can strengthen the staffing so that Zhiyun's scene in the game is not too embarrassing, and they also understand that it is unrealistic to want to use last season's squad to stay in the Chinese Super League. However, after falling into the Chinese League, the first key word they faced was "farewell", Yang Mingyang, Caron, Rosa, Putzlin, Zheng Haoqian, Wei Lai, Chen Zhao, Luo Xin, Lu Yongtao, Xue Qinghao, Ji Shengpan, Liang Shaowen These players have left the team. This season, Zhiyun chose to tap the potential more internally, and promoted four young players from the echelon, Lu Jin, Jiang Jiapeng, Jiang Kaihua, and Xu Zhenghang into the first team, and introduced Nanjing City striker Nan Xiaoheng, Shandong Taishan goalkeeper Li Guanxi, Shanghai Port fullback Li Haoran, midfielder Chen Binbin, Henan goalkeeper Wang Jinshuai, and defenders Hu Mingfei and Xu Hui and other players. In terms of foreign players, Nigerian youngster Ukachukwu is in the spotlight, having played for Serbian Superliga side Testila in the 2023/24 season, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 52 appearances.

Judging from this lineup, although Zhiyun is a team relegated from the Chinese Super League, it is not easy to return to the Chinese Super League this season. The arrival of the new Japanese coach Yoshiyuki Shinoda seems to be a bit of a soft overcome, and on the basis of the previous Zhiyun players' desperate efforts on the field, the handling of technical details has been strengthened. During the team's winter training, he formulated a series of tactical strategies according to the characteristics of the Chinese League and the situation of the opponent. The team continued to run in the lineup in training, improve the tacit understanding between the players, and fully prepare for the new season. Judging from the league situation, the competition in the league this season is extremely fierce, and Zhiyun is not sure to be able to break through with a new coach, because compared with Zhiyun, many teams such as Liaoning Iron Man and Chongqing Tonglianglong have increased investment and introduced strong foreign aid and domestic players. In such an environment, the first victory of the Nantong Zhiyun League is particularly important.

Joining the first goal, Chen Binbin "is back"

In this campaign, Nantong Zhiyun sent a single foreign aid lineup, the goalkeeper is Edison Li, the back line is composed of Xu Hui, Hu Mingfei and others, and the midfield has Chen Binbin, Jia Boyan and other players. The appearance of many U21 players in the team also made people see Zhiyun's determination to explore and cultivate the new generation of players. In the first half of the game, the two sides launched a fierce competition, Nantong Zhiyun occupied the initiative on the field, in the 33rd minute, Hu Mingfei scored a goal, but was ruled invalid due to offside interference by teammates, and missed the opportunity to lead. In the 70th minute, Li Haoran passed down the left side in front of the goal, Ye Daochi's shot was saved, and Chen Binbin followed up in time to break the deadlock on the field for Nantong Zhiyun, 1-0! The goal instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the fans. Chen Binbin's goal is about to turn 27 years old, it is his debut goal in Nantong Zhiyun, and it is also his second goal in the domestic league after many years. Chen Binbin, who played for Shanghai Port but has almost faded out of the game in recent years due to injuries and other reasons, is now regaining his form in Nantong Zhiyun, and this goal is also a huge inspiration for him personally. At the end of the game, Nantong Zhiyun defeated Shanghai Jiading Huilong 1-0 and made a good start to the new season of the Chinese League.

The new coach is low-key and focuses on the "next game"

After the game, the players and coaches of Nantong Zhiyun could not hide their joy. Chen Binbin also updated social media to celebrate: "I'm back! And with his own wonderful moments in the game. For him, this goal is the best proof of his return to the game, and it is also a beautiful start to his new journey in Nantong Zhiyun.

Shinomo coach Yoshiyuki Shinoda was also pleased with the first-round result, saying: "The first game of the season is not easy to play, and we dealt well today with the two penalties and the opponent's behind-the-scenes play. With such a good atmosphere at home and with so many supporters, the players did well today and thank you all for coming and cheering us on. Yoshiyuki Shinoda fully affirmed the performance of the players and emphasized the importance of the support of the fans for the team. He added: "Now we have to take stock of the issues and move on to the next game so that the fans can continue to enjoy the feeling of winning. Despite the victory, Yoshiyuki Shinoda knows that there is still a lot of room for improvement and he wants the team to keep in good shape and keep improving.

The first win is only the beginning of the new season of Nantong Zhiyun, and the team also needs to continue to follow the coach's tactical arrangements to put the new lineup in place, after all, from the Chinese Super League to the Chinese League, Zhiyun is easy to fall into the confusion of the "comfort zone". The 3 points of the first win can't cover up the problem, although there is no public proposal to overtake, but I believe that the fans of Nantong will not give up!