Long-awaited Return: Shenhua Has a New 'Table' Celebration Star, No Longer Mineiro but Asue

In the 26th round of the Chinese Super League, Shenhua defeated Chongqing Tonglianglong 3-1 away from home. Following the team's usual tradition, someone is always expected to get on the table for the locker room group photo. In previous photos, that person was always Mineiro, but this time it was Asue. He was lying in the middle of the table in a sleeping pose, and he has now become Shenhua's sharpest attacking weapon.

The bigger news for Shenhua today, even beyond the victory, was that the club decided to terminate Mineiro's contract. In the official announcement's wording, there was no sentence thanking him for his previous contributions. It can be said that the away match against Chengdu Rongcheng, which ended in a 5-4 result, was Mineiro's final time appearing on the table for Shenhua, and his last match for the club was the Chinese FA Cup game against Dalian Yingbo at the Suoyuwan Stadium. After receiving a red card, Mineiro immediately hid his social media accounts. As for his current situation and whether he will make any response, there has been no news.

The author personally believes that Mineiro's departure will give young players more opportunities in both the upcoming AFC Champions League Two matches and the league. In Shenhua's 3-1 away win over Chongqing Tonglianglong, Liu Chengyu, who had been sidelined for more than three months due to injury, also got the chance to play. At the same time, Yang Haoyu, who had missed several matches, scored at the end of the game.

In this match, Manafa returned to his familiar right-back position, and Shenhua's three goals were basically all related to him. Yang Haoyu's goal also came from Manafa's assist. Manafa's active performance also freed up Gao Tianyi, who provided an assist in this match and is now the top domestic assist provider.

In my opinion, the most valuable aspect of this match was that Shenhua's injured players recovered and returned to action. In particular, Jin Shunkai suffered a serious injury in the 16th round match against Dalian Yingbo, and it was unexpected that he could return to play after 10 rounds. In the final stages of the match, he formed a three-center-back setup with his teammates. Meanwhile, Liu Chengyu, who had also been injured for a long time, received playing time.

Regarding why Teixeira did not start this match, Milojevic explained at the post-match press conference that it was because of injury and he did not want to take risks. The author personally believes Milojevic made the right decision. Ten days later, Shenhua will begin their AFC Champions League Two schedule. Teixeira's availability will be very important for Shenhua at that time, because Mineiro has been released from his contract. In the upcoming AFC Champions League Two matches, Shenhua will have to rely on foreign players such as Teixeira.