Montgomery Leaves Fabio Out of Guoan Squad for This CSL Round, Sparking Discussion

Montgomery made a bold decision by not including Fabio in Guoan's squad for this CSL round, and the reason behind it has reportedly been found. Recently, in Round 26 of the Chinese Super League, Beijing Guoan were scheduled to play away against Shanghai Port. The starting lineups for both teams have now been announced, and Guoan's foreign player Fabio was not included in the squad. Journalist Ma Zijun wrote on his personal Weibo account: Fabio was left out of the squad; according to information, the team did not want to take risks and was keeping strength for the AFC Champions League.

According to the schedule, on September 15, Guoan will host Pohang Steelers in the AFC Champions League Elite competition. It is clear that Guoan value the possibility of defeating Pohang Steelers at home in the AFC Champions League, because the team has relatively little left to pursue in the league. After Chengdu Rongcheng have dominated the Chinese Super League, winning this season's CSL title appears to be only a matter of time. Therefore, Guoan can only compete for qualification to the AFC Champions League Two competition.

For most Chinese Super League powerhouses, qualification for the AFC Champions League Two competition is considered less attractive. Under these circumstances, Guoan do not need to field their strongest lineup in every CSL match. The team can use league matches to give more young players opportunities to gain experience. Therefore, leaving Fabio out of the squad was also considered a sensible decision.

Fabio is a very capable center forward. He is the type of player who excels in both creating and finishing, able to deliver dangerous crosses and score decisive goals. Whenever Guoan find themselves in a difficult situation during matches, Fabio can always step up quickly. Guoan's ability to win the Chinese FA Cup last season was also directly related to Fabio.

Fabio has scored 28 goals for Guoan, becoming the team's top scorer, and he also won the CSL Golden Boot. Under these circumstances, Fabio has become Guoan's leading goalscorer, and fans hope he can continue his excellent performances and help the team achieve good results in the CSL and FA Cup. A claim stated that Guoan's Golden Boot foreign player Fabio made an important decision on September 5, choosing to leave directly and transfer to Shandong Taishan after the September international break to replace Zeca, whose contract had expired, and that this was why he missed the current round's Guoan squad; this claim was refuted.