We have reached the first break in the competition due to national team matches, so this is a good time to look back and evaluate our start to the season. We have played 7 matches, 4 in the AFC Champions League and 3 in the Chinese Super League, have won 6 and drawn 1 and scored 11 goals and received just 1.

To be honest, looking at these numbers I have to admit that we have had a very positive start. Moreover, this has been the first time in its history that the team has won three consecutive games in the AFC Champions League and in doing so we have established a new record by keeping a clean sheet for 860 minutes. In fact, if we also count the results from the end of last season, the team has now gone undefeated for 17 official matches.

This analysis shows that we are building a strong and solid team, full of confidence and personality, where every single player is committed to working for the common cause. However, this is just the start. We still have a very long journey ahead of us, where we will have to fight for each match. Every one of our rivals wants to be the first to beat us and even to score against us, as was the case with Hangzhou Greentown. Oddly enough, this team was actually the last one to score against us last season; life is just full of coincidences.

Another aspect to highlight is that, even though many of our players have suffered injuries and been unable to play in several matches, the team has still performed well. All these results have been due to the fact that the players have cast aside the idea of ME, and replaced it with US. That is the real secret: teamwork.

Gregorio Manzano Ballesteros

Head Coach of Beijing Guoan Football Club