Losing to Dalian exposes its physical weaknesses. Should we give young people more opportunities. Does Han Peng have the courage to do so?

The loss against Dalian not only puts pressure on the team's ranking again, but also puts a sharp problem on the stage: the physical fitness of the old players in the team is becoming the biggest bottleneck restricting the team's progress. Liu Yang, Zheng Zheng and Wang Tong's physical fitness is no longer as good as before, and they are often broken through by their opponents. At the end of the game, the opponent was continuously hitting the defense line and the key ball was handled by the decline in physical fitness. These scenes made the anxiety of the fans on the sidelines beyond words, and the calls for "changing young people" were heard one after another in the stands. As the head coach, whether Han Peng has the courage to break the inherent lineup and give young players more opportunities has become the focus of hot discussion after the game.

The physical fitness of the old players: From the advantages to the weaknesses, the old players of the team were the decisive force in the locker room. Their experience and stability at critical moments were irreplaceable wealth for young players. But on the football field, physical fitness is the cornerstone of the competitive state. As we grow older, the physical reserve and recovery speed of old players inevitably decrease, which is particularly evident in high-intensity, fast-paced modern football. In the game against Dalian, this shortcoming was fully exposed. In the first half, he could still deal with his opponents with experience, but after 60 minutes of the second half, the running distance of the old players was significantly reduced, the defensive pursuit speed slowed down, and it was difficult to support high-intensity interspersed running on the offensive end. The Dalian team seized this window period and teared open the defense line through high-frequency side assaults and middle infiltration, and finally completed the reversal. The data will not lie. Post-match statistics show that the average running distance of the team's main lineup is nearly 8 kilometers less than that of the opponent. Among them, several veteran players over 30 years old sprints are less than half of those of their young opponents. The voice of fans: It is not a negation, but the shout of "changing young people" in the stands is not a denial of the old players, but more of an anxiety about the team's current situation and expectations for the future. In recent years, the team's youth training system has continued to output potential new stars, and there are many young players in the echelon who are fast and active in fighting. They have performed well in the reserve team games, but they have always been unable to get stable playing time in the first team.

"Even if young people make 20 minutes!" A senior fan said after the game, "They may not have mature skills, but at least they can run and grab, and can cause trouble for their opponents. It is better to watch the old players 'walk' on the court." The fans' expectations are very direct: instead of relying on the old players who are physically overdrawn to support it, it is better to give young people the chance to make up for their lack of experience with vitality, even if they pay some growth price.

Han Peng's dilemma: a game of courage and trade-offs

As a young coach, Han Peng was expected to "dare to use newcomers" when he took office, but the pressure of reality forced him to be cautious. On the one hand, old players are the "basic board" of the team, and their status directly affects the results of the game. Under the pressure of relegation, rash rotation may lead to further decline in performance; on the other hand, young players lack experience in major competitions, and once mistakes make mistakes, they may affect the team's morale and even put themselves in a whirlpool of public opinion.

But the laws of competitive sports tell us that there is no eternal "safety". When Han Peng was a player, he made his mark with his courage to fight and fight. Now that he has changed roles, he knows more clearly what kind of opportunities young players need. The game that lost to Dalian may be an opportunity to break the deadlock - when the physical weakness of the old players can no longer be compensated by experience, and when the fans' calls are strong enough, it is better to take the initiative to change instead of waiting passively.

Give young players a chance may not be a "risk", but it may be a "breakthrough point" for the team to get out of the predicament. After all, all the old team members were once young people, and all the experience needed to be accumulated in actual combat. Whether Han Peng dares to take this step is not only related to the outcome of a game, but also to the team's future direction. What fans are waiting for may not just be a victory, but also a courage to innovate.