After Beijing Guoan's points were reset to zero, how can they endure the transition period with minimal cost?

Special contribution/Song Ci Following a 0-0 draw away against Zhejiang Team on the evening of April 17, Beijing Guoan finally escaped the negative points predicament on the 2026 Chinese Super League standings, achieving a points reset. However, this "relief" came with considerable weight: it took six league rounds to accomplish this goal, with a record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 3 losses, not only marking Guoan's worst start in CSL history but also plunging the team once again into immense pressure.

After undergoing a major overhaul involving changes in management, head coach, and adjustments to several domestic and foreign players, and more critically, following a 5-point deduction, the club's internal mindset for the 2026 season was to allow the team to quickly integrate and smoothly navigate the adaptation period of rebuilding. However, based on the current competitive state, Guoan clearly has not transitioned at the fastest pace, and the agony of the transition period has far exceeded expectations. Faced with such difficulties, whether they can endure this challenging adjustment period with minimal cost has become the core issue confronting Guoan.

The root of the poor performance lies in the extensive adjustments made to the team this season. During the offseason, Guoan completed changes in management, head coach, and several domestic and foreign players. After new coach Montgomery took charge, he focused on transforming the team's tactics, abandoning the inefficient possession-based play of the past. In the Super Cup and the first league round, he implemented a pragmatic and efficient strategy of quick ball movement and high-pressure pressing in the forward line, which initially yielded some results and offered hope for rebuilding.

However, injuries once again plagued the team, becoming the biggest stumbling block hindering its progress.

Apart from goalkeeper Han Jiaqi and foreign player Spajic, who were injured and not recovered since last season, since the Super Cup ended this season, Guoan has been caught in a continuous wave of injuries: Hou Sen, Li Lei, Ru Zinan, Ramos, Dawan, Cao Yongjing, Serginho, and Wu Shaocong, among 13 players, have been injured successively. Currently, players in the squad who have not been injured this new season are almost few.

Besides the objective impact of injuries, refereeing errors and omissions have also become an "unexpected obstacle" for the team this season. So far this season, Guoan has repeatedly encountered controversial decisions; in matches against Shandong Taishan and Liaoning Ironmen, there were errors and omissions related to direct goals officially acknowledged by the football association's review. In the home match against Chengdu Team, multiple controversial decisions also sparked dissatisfaction from the team and fans. These unexpected factors undoubtedly exacerbated the team's predicament.

Of course, aside from the objective interference of injuries and refereeing, Guoan's own tactical issues cannot be ignored. Montgomery is well aware of this and has been actively trying adjustments. In the match against Zhejiang, due to Fabio's injury absence and Dawan's return from injury, he pushed Kongte to the attacking end, which was the biggest tactical change in this game. However, from the practical effect, this adjustment did not meet expectations. In the match against Zhejiang Team, Guoan's possession rate reached 67%, with twice the number of passes compared to the opponent, but corner kicks, shots, and shots on target were all lower than the opponent. The players' forward pressing was futile; once they lost possession, the gaps behind were exploited by the opponent's counterattacks, exposing a mismatch between tactics and player capabilities.

After the 0-0 draw with Zhejiang, Guoan's official social media comment section was flooded with dissatisfied and mocking remarks. Faced with external skepticism, the club maintained calm and rationality. Internally, the club believes that at this stage, Montgomery must be given sufficient time and patience. Looking back over the past years, Guoan has fallen into a cycle of frequent coach changes, often opting to replace the coach due to short-term poor performance before the coach completed tactical reforms and the team developed cohesion, not only yielding minimal results but ultimately陷入 a vicious cycle of "change coach -磨合 - change coach again".

This season, the team encountered the special circumstance of point deduction, which objectively led the club to abandon the "title contention" mindset, shifting focus instead to team rebuilding and tactical refinement. The club explicitly stated that they must fully trust Montgomery's coaching ability and give him ample time to改造 the team, helping the team find the most suitable tactical approach for the current player配置, rather than否定 the coach's work due to short-term performance fluctuations.

Meanwhile, the club is清醒ly aware of the team's own shortcomings. Management admitted that the losses in multiple matches this season cannot be entirely attributed to objective factors; in some matches, the team's own performance was indeed poor, especially in the match against Zhejiang Team, where although the team controlled possession, it lacked effective进攻手段, with issues like技战术执行不到位 and player状态不佳 also needing正视 and解决.

In the face of困境, unity becomes the key to enduring the transition period. As主力门将 Hou Sen said in a post-match interview: "The league has just started, our team has encountered some difficulties, some indeed are不可抗拒, but I think everyone is also拧成一股绳, although it's very difficult, facing injuries and various factors, but everyone has never lost信心."

Speaking about the pressure the team faces, this veteran直言: "I think压力跟动力一样, whether playing or not playing, everyone has压力, if there were no压力, you wouldn't stand on this球场, you wear Guoan's衣服, you must背负使命." Hou Sen's words not only展现 the players'坚守, but also convey Guoan's决心 not to give up in困境. This坚守与团结 may precisely be the底气 for the team to度过 the transition period.

After the match against Zhejiang Team, Guoan did not return to Beijing but traveled directly from Hangzhou to Shenzhen to prepare for the upcoming away match. For Guoan, the next match against Shenzhen New鹏城 is undoubtedly another tough battle. Last season, Guoan was defeated away by Shenzhen Team after their coach change. Considering the team's current state, Guoan has a清晰的定位 for this match:连续客场作战, both体能 and状态 face考验; if they can secure 2 points in these最近 two away matches, that would be an acceptable最低结果, while obtaining 4 points would be a比较理想的收获. After all, during the rebuilding transition period, every point is crucial; steadily accumulating points and gradually adjusting状态 is far more务实 than盲目追求胜利.

As one Guoan管理层 member stated, the底蕴 of a老牌豪门 is never accumulated merely through time but forged through拼搏 in each match and坚守 in each困境. For the current Guoan,抛开战绩,只要 they can展现 a spirit of not放弃、不退缩, that is the best交代 to fans, the club, and themselves, and can also accumulate more信心 for度过 the transition period.