【Chinese Super League Opening Round Preview】Zhejiang vs West Coast: Huanglong Rehearsal, Ross Awaits Zheng Zhi

Written by Zuo Rui The new lineup and tactics meticulously developed by Ross Aloisi have remained undisclosed to the public since he took office after the New Year. This not only poses a challenge for the first opponent, Qingdao West Coast, in formulating "targeted strategies," but also keeps Zhejiang supporters, who are brimming with hope for the new campaign, in suspense.

Undoubtedly, Zhejiang's head coach Ross holds a strong hand: foreign signings Mitriță, Lucas, Park Jin-seop, Tolić, and Gualdi—the latter three yet to make a public appearance; all three lines are bolstered by current internationals—Wang Yudong, Cheng Jin, Liu Haofan. However, how to organize them and when to play these cards is known only to Ross and his coaching staff.

From Foshan to Dubai, Zhejiang played a total of seven friendly matches during the winter training period, six of which were held behind closed doors. None were fully broadcast live, none featured the "full-strength lineup" or "all five foreign players," and not even a single formation, playing style, or set of attacking and defensive patterns was solidified. This includes the final pre-season warm-up against Guangxi Hengchen at Huanglong Sports Stadium last Saturday, where the match was divided into three segments and all Zhejiang FC first-team players took turns on the pitch. The greater significance of the match was to serve as a full rehearsal for the CSL opening round.

This practice match against the China League One side ended 4-2, and Ross identified several shortcomings from it: firstly, the team relaxed somewhat after taking the lead, failing to maintain a fast tempo and high intensity to pressure the opponent from start to finish; secondly, Hengchen's strength was noticeably weaker than the opponents faced in Dubai, and conceding goals should not have happened; thirdly, when all five foreign players appeared together for the first time, their coordination with each other and with the domestic players was not yet fully adjusted...

The purpose of last Saturday's rehearsal was to identify issues and correct them promptly. The exercise at Huanglong also served as a wake-up call for Ross and the team—the outcome of a football match is not determined by player valuations, but by the execution of tactical details. Judging from the new foreign signings' past records and their performances in the friendlies, Park Jin-seop and Tolić are likely to be Ross's two new trump cards.

It is understood that Zhejiang entered the CSL preparation phase immediately upon returning to Hangzhou. More precisely, they began preparing specifically for the opening round match against Qingdao West Coast. Every training session, every video analysis, and every tactical discussion revolved around their first home opponent of the new season.

His two-year experience as an assistant coach at Shanghai Port has given Ross a thorough understanding of the CSL opponents he has encountered firsthand; two months of diligent work have filled him with confidence that his team can "bring victories and joy to the fans." However, as Zhejiang starts the new season with a 5-point deduction, the newly appointed Ross is also under increased pressure.

Precisely because of this, the confident Ross maintains considerable caution regarding his CSL head coaching debut and is happy to amplify the pressure on the opponent, including preserving a certain degree of mystery. Facing a mid-table opponent in the opening round, he has every reason to go all out and begin his first independent CSL coaching journey with a victory.

With Shao Jiayi taking charge of the national team and Zheng Zhi taking over Qingdao West Coast, judging from the actions in the pre-season transfer market, it is evident that the club and the new head coach have reached a consensus on "low-cost operation + successful survival."

On paper, Qingdao West Coast was the biggest winner in the CSL winter transfer window, with expenditures of 446k (currency unit: Euro, same below), income of 1.43 million, and a profit of 979k. Alongside Shandong Taishan, which profited 200k, they were the only two CSL clubs to make a profit during the transfer window. The transfer of Yang Xi to Shanghai Port was the sole source of income, while the three expenditures were for Shimizu S-Pulse's Aziz, Evergrande Football School's Wang Gengrui, and Shanghai Port's Meng Jingchao. The remaining 12 new signings were free transfers or free loans.

In terms of players, foreign signings Davidson and Nelsinho remain, Aziz's purchase option was exercised, and Memišević and Rênes were added. Domestic signings mostly consist of young players, including many newcomers from Evergrande Football School and Luneng Football School. Starting from Shao Jiayi's tenure coaching this CSL newcomer in the 2024 season, West Coast's development strategy of focusing on youth has continued under Zheng Zhi's leadership.

Apart from the tactical system and core squad left by his predecessor, West Coast is not subject to a points deduction, giving Zheng Zhi more leeway in the battle for survival. On this foundation, he is bound to inject his own philosophy and rebuild the head coach's reputation. Regarding the CSL opening round match, West Coast's advantage lies in having no burden. However, compared to the outcome of a single match, West Coast's meticulously built model and Zheng Zhi's future coaching career are more worthy of attention from peers and fans.