Source: New Morning Post
Reporter Yu Jiong
With the first phase of the Chinese Super League coming to an end, Shanghai Harbour Team welcomed a two-week break, and the players quickly assembled to devote themselves to the key preparations for the AFC Cup in October and the Chinese Super League Championship Group in December.
In a television interview, Seaport head coach Leko shared his journey since taking charge of the team.
I'm delighted with the growth of the players.
Since arriving in our country seven or eight months ago, Leko has gained a deeper understanding of Chinese soccer, "Soccer is a vital sport here. Chinese players are admired for their love of soccer, their skill and dedication."
Talking about the Chinese players in his team, Leko expressed his confidence, "Every country's players have strengths and weaknesses, and we hope to help them improve through our efforts. The first thing, of course, is to play great soccer, and the second thing is to improve the overall level of Chinese players. After seven or eight months of hard work, I think the level of some of the team's players has improved significantly, which makes me feel very satisfied."
Veteran Yu Hai becomes the starter
Joining Leko on the program was Seaport veteran Yu Hai. Yu Hai returned to the starting lineup in the second half of the first phase of the Super League.
Lecco had nothing but praise for Hai, "Yu Hai is very good at his job and is a role model in every field. Everyone is aware that he is very good. I think the most important thing in training is to trust your players, they are capable of playing high level soccer and they always have room for improvement. Yu Hai is the best example."
Championship bracket rivals have it all figured out
With 28 points, the Harbormasters advance to the second stage of this season's Super League Championship Group.
Leko revealed that the coaching staff has been following and studying the future opponents in the first stage, "We watched all the matches in the Super League. Although one match every three days is very busy and time is short, we watched the matches of our rivals in the title contention group."
For the second stage of the tournament, Leko is confident, "I think we are very confident in the team with respect to our opponents. We will focus on ourselves and train hard every day to make more progress."
High-intensity training has become the team's "standard".
Lecco insisted on high-intensity training has become the harbor team's "standard". Yu Hai said, "We sometimes run longer distances in training than in real life."
According to Leko, intense training is the key to increasing the intensity of a race, "I think that as much intensity as you can withstand in training, you can withstand the intensity of a race. It's not a secret to me that it's tough or not tough. My players know that if they train well, they will have more opportunities to play."
The logistics team deserves thanks
Leko also thanked the team's logistical support team, "Thank goodness we have had a very good medical team and other technical departments for the last seven or eight months, and we have worked together to safeguard the players, avoid injuries in training and make our players stronger than the rest."
Soccer training philosophy: hard work pays off
Once again, Leko talked about his soccer training philosophy, "Simply put, the harder the players train, the closer they get to success, very simple."
The exemplary role of foreign aid is more important
Chinese players performed well in the first phase of the Chinese Super League amidst the untidy foreigners of the Harbour team.
According to Leko, foreigners should play a more important role in the team, "They need to act as role models for the whole team on the field, on the training ground and in life. Usually, Chinese players take it upon themselves to learn from them. Sometimes a lot of Chinese clubs don't understand this modeling role, they think that as long as the foreigners can cross the field or score goals, nothing else matters."
Regarding the new midfield combination of Oscar, Mooy and Paulinho, Leko said he is looking forward to it, "It is very important to have these three high-level players, but for various reasons we have not yet seen how they will perform when they are together. Hopefully, when the title race group starts in December, they can come together and prove that our expectations are not in vain, and more importantly, they can assist the team in achieving results."
China must have confidence in themselves
Mooi will be part of the Australian squad to face China in the opening match of the World Cup qualifying Asian Zone 12 tournament.
How to limit the heart of the Australian midfielder, Leko smiled and said, "Muy is a very good player, and I'm sure China's coaching staff has a good understanding of him as well. He will be a threat to the Chinese team, but I'll go back to what I said before, what the Chinese team needs is to focus on themselves."
Leko believes that China has a good squad, "I think China has to have confidence in themselves while focusing on their opponents. I've been here for seven or eight months and I've seen a lot of good players, so I believe that even if I have to face Mui and the other good players in the Australian team, China still has a good chance."
Shanghai: Feeling at home
How does Leko feel about the city of Shanghai?
The most important thing about Shanghai for me is the people in this city," said Leko. It's a long way from my hometown, but I feel like I'm at home and the people here are always friendly and want to help me out. The city is beautiful, but the people here are even better, and that's the biggest feeling I've had since I've been here."
