Reporter Wang Wei reported that Zhao Jian, born in professional football, is now engaged in campus football. He was a professional football player of the Shenzhen Red Diamond Team of the Chinese Super League, a national first-class athlete, after retiring from the AFC B-level coach certificate, he was the head of the football office of the Education Bureau of Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone in Inner Mongolia, the founder of Baotou Jianjun Football Club, in 2021, he was introduced to the school by his alma mater, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, as a special teacher of football, focusing on campus football teaching and research.
The 33-year-old Zhao Jian graduated from Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Bangkok's Greco University, and is now a doctoral student majoring in physical education. He is one of the few professional football players who entered the doctoral stage after retiring from the military, from a young age to go south to study football honed his will and spirit, especially as a professional football player into the youth campus football practice and college football education research, he will combine the practice of professional and professional football with the concept of education, his experience has a very strong practical significance for the development of inner Mongolia campus football and even the national campus football.
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In 1989, Zhao Jian was born in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. He practiced athletics since he was a child, but in the fifth grade of elementary school, he was selected to join the football team due to his excellent running speed, and he began to fall in love with football. From primary school ball, he has played for Henan Jianye, Anhui Jiufang, Shenzhen Red Diamond, competed in the Chinese Super League, China League A, China Second Division, CUFA Big Football League, won the national U15, U17 championships, and was selected for the national junior training team.
Zhao Jian's talent on the sports field and his passion for football led his parents to identify their son as an athlete. But Inner Mongolia football started late, and there was not even a decent professional football team that year, and if you want to play football, you must go out. Therefore, his parents took Xiao Zhao Jian around to worship the teacher. Shanghai Xu Genbao Football School and Hebei Liutong Football School have left Zhao Jian's figure. The appreciation of Xu Genbao's coaching strengthened his belief in playing football, and the former national women's football coach and Hebei famous coach Li Zhenzhou took him to the Henan Jianye Third Team and opened his career.
"I am very grateful to my parents for their advanced ideas and courage that got me out of Baotou, and at the same time I would like to thank my enlightenment coach Daniel Zhang, who exposed me to football and loved the sport. I still remember the hardships of my parents taking me by train to study in the whole country 20 years ago, and I met Xu Genbao's guidance on the way, and it was his recognition and affirmation that made my parents make up their minds to enter football. Zhao Jian said.
Zhao Jian told reporters: "At that time, our family conditions were very ordinary, this ordinary was at the level of Inner Mongolia, to the developed areas, we were still very backward, my parents often worried about daily expenses and tuition fees, until I entered the first team, only to bring economic subsidies to the family." Probably because of this, I know better how to endure hardships and be diligent. So I am now paying special attention to such children practicing in Inner Mongolia, because they know that life is not easy to come by, they are diligent and studious in training, and their will is more tenacious in the game. When it comes to entering the professional team, the most important thing is coaching, talent, hard work, and luck. Coaches are at the top because Maxima needs Bole, and the last luck is linked to hard work, and heaven will never fail to live up to the hard work. ”
From 2004 to 2008, Zhao Jian played from the third team of Henan Jianye to the first team, witnessing the team's rush, during which time, he was also selected for the Henan U15, U17 junior team and the national junior training team. In 2008, Zhao Jian followed the well-known coach of Henan Province, Men Wenfeng, to Anhui Jiufang, and in 2009 won the 7th place in the Chinese First Division with the first team. In 2010, Zhao Jian transferred to the then Chinese Super League team Shenzhen Red Diamonds, becoming the first football player from Baotou, Inner Mongolia, to step into the Chinese Super League.
The valuable experience of professional players has played a great role in Zhao Jian's work in football education and campus football training, giving him a unique advantage. "The most practical thing is the combination of practice and theory, because it is after retiring that I feel that my theoretical knowledge is lacking, so I can calm down and learn, which is also what I realized after I became a coach, if I want to make my team members improve faster, I must have better theory plus the experience of the athlete period." I feel that my advantage is to better understand the psychological ideas and technical needs of young athletes growing up, and whenever I see the team training and competition scenes, I will think of the scenes I faced back then. In this way, they can better solve their psychological and technical dilemmas. ”
The experience of professional football allows Zhao Jian to better understand the players' ideas, situations, psychological and physical changes, which is very critical in football education. 'When I face a player, it's as if I can see what I looked like at this stage, and it's easier for me to understand what he was thinking, what he lacked and what needed to change when he was growing up."
Zhao Jian met a number of mentors during his playing career, including former Chinese women's football coach and Hebei coach Li Zhenzhou, and former Henan Jianjian coach Men Wenfeng. The former Shenzhen Red Diamonds head coach Trussier left the deepest impression on him. Zhao Jian said: "Trucier left a deep impression on me, his level is very high, and his concept is also very good. To this day, I still keep in touch with Lao Te and often ask him for advice. ”
At that time, the Shenzhen Red Diamonds all called Trussier the old special. Prior to coaching Shenzhen Red Diamonds, Trussier succeeded in his position as the coach of the Japanese national team and made many contributions to the youth training of Japanese football. Trussier continued to coach the Japanese team after becoming the head coach of Shenzhen Red Diamonds, but due to the difference in football and educational culture between China and Japan, he did not achieve the expected results in Shenzhen. Zhao Jian said: "As a player, I did not understand his ideas, and now that I am a coach, I understand his hard work and understand that he has always been training players with motivational education methods. ”
In fact, Trussier is a coach with a deep understanding of youth training and has achieved great success in Japanese football. After changing from a player to a coach, Zhao Jian has a new understanding of Trussier's training methods and methods at that time, "He is a very capable coach, and it is also my honor to meet him." When I was a team member, I did not understand his good intentions at all, but instead disagreed because of his attention to details. I remember that at that time, the outside world was saying that he was a stubborn and strict coach, and in retrospect, it was our execution and understanding that did not keep up with his ideas, and now I look at 'outside the golden jade, defeated in it', when we reached maturity physically, and the psychology and mind were not yet mature, and the knowledge we learned was still in the primary school stage. ”
Zhao Jian said: "In fact, football is not a simple physical confrontation, what is important is the psychological and ideological confrontation. So I'm now leading the team to pay more attention to the inner feedback. Lao Te used to use the method of suppression in training that year, and he used high-pressure training methods to make the team's psychology reach the brink of collapse, and at the same time, he achieved the same scene of competition and training. But China's education method is different from Japan's, and what domestic players lack is self-confidence and encouragement, and at that time, I did not understand Lao Te's intentions and failed to convert his intentions into motivation. ”
When the Shenzhen Red Diamond Team was in place, the young Zhao Jian talked to reporters about his future, at which time the reporter could feel that the professional player who came out of Inner Mongolia had a dream of serving his hometown, "I hope that one day in the future I can make some contributions to Inner Mongolia football and Baotou football." ”
In 2012, Zhao Jian was injured, and after thinking about it for a long time, he had no choice but to decide to retire. At that time, the Shenzhen team threw an olive branch to him, hoping that he could leave the coaching echelon. But he eventually chose to return to his hometown of Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and greeted reporters when he left. Zhao Jian said: "There are fewer players and fewer football coaches from Inner Mongolia, I am a child who went out of Baotou, after experiencing professional football, I should go back to do something for football in my hometown." ”
After returning to Baotou, he founded baotou jianjun football club in the local area, determined to devote himself to youth football training. From the beginning of its establishment, the club has experienced various difficulties in hardware and funds, "from the establishment of the club to the present, the difficulties seem to have been with it." But he never had the idea of giving up.
In those years, he wholeheartedly promoted campus football in Baotou, "My most memorable thing is the bright smile of the Inner Mongolian children and the tears after winning the game!" I remember the first team members I brought, they loved football very much, they loved it very simple and pure, and they trained very seriously and attentively. They have cried bitterly for losing the game, and they have shed tears of excitement after winning the championship, which is the spirit of sports, the charm of football. "Over the past decade, the club has continued to send talent to the major club echelons.
In 2017, Zhao Jian, who has achieved good results in the inner Mongolia campus football industry, entered the Education Bureau of Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone and was responsible for campus football. Under his leadership, Baotou City has held football cultural festivals, football summer camps and a series of campus football competitions. In addition, Zhao Jian is also responsible for the learning arrangements of coaches and referees in the district and the formation of elite teams.
In order to help the coaches and referees in the high-tech zone improve their professional level, he is also improving his business ability and planning ability. In 2021, Zhao Jian participated in the 2021 E-level coach lecturer selection training course held in Hebei, learning from Li Chunman, a football professor at Beijing Sport University and a national campus football expert.
"In the lecturer class, Professor Li Chunman taught me pure, as a football person, the love of football is pure and single-minded. He is a mentor who combines practice and theory and is highly respected in domestic football circles. His teaching and guidance is very direct, teaching us how to teach players to be coaches, to be good coaches, how to select competent coaches. Zhao Jian said that during the study period, one of his football teaching concepts also attracted high praise from Professor Li Chunman. Zhao Jian hopes to cultivate more and better coaches for Inner Mongolia through his continuous learning.
With Inner Mongolia being listed as the country's first football reform pilot province in 2014, during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the development of football in Inner Mongolia has made rapid progress, and the pilot work of football reform has achieved initial results, giving Zhao Jian, a football educator who combines practice and theory, a broader space for development.
When playing in the professional arena, Zhao Jian never interrupted his studies, whether when he played in Henan, or when he played football in Anhui or Shenzhen, he would stay in the dormitory and read a few books after training. In 2010, while working for Shenzhen Red Diamond, Zhao Jian was admitted to inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, and it was admitted without exams. "Back then, very few professional athletes would go to college during the kicking period, and I made a long-term plan for myself," he said, "as long as it was a league break, I would go to school." ”
After entering the university, Zhao Jian was naturally selected for the varsity team. In April 2011, in the final of the 11th Collegiate Football League Inner Mongolia Selection Tournament, Zhao Jian scored a goal and also sent an assist to help Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology get the ticket to the North District Finals that year as the champion. "That was the first time the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology football team won the championship in the autonomous region, and it was also the first time I participated in the university student league. At that time, I was most impressed by the students of HKUST, and I really did not expect that the number of fans in the university's football matches would actually catch up with some of the Chinese Super League matches. After winning the championship, many coaches, teachers, and students left tears of excitement. Zhao Jian said, "Many students rushed into the stadium, and thousands of people celebrated at zero distance, much like the feeling of the five major leagues in Europe." ”
In 2014, Zhao Jian graduated from Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology. He then began to prepare for a master's and doctoral degree. Last summer, the 2021 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region University Football League Undergraduate Super Group Competition was held at inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, and as the host, the men's and women's football teams of Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology won one crown and one season respectively in the competition. Zhao Jian watched all the competitions of his alma mater at the scene.
At the end of 2021, Zhao Jian was introduced by The Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology as a special talent, and became a colleague with Ren Guixin, a former international of the Chinese women's football team. "Ren Guixin and I are both players from Baotou, and the Introduction of Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology to work in the school reflects the great importance the school attaches to campus football projects and sports talents."
Since the school is still on holiday, Zhao Jian still needs to wait for a while: "After the school starts, I will definitely have to learn more from Ren Guixin's guidance." For Zhao Jian, he has been counterattacking, and his long-term planning provides a reference for the transformation of professional players after retirement, and provides valuable experience for professional footballers to enter colleges and universities to engage in football education.
After retiring from the army, Zhao Jian led the campus football teams of elementary, junior high and high schools, and also led the second division team as an assistant coach. After graduating from undergraduate, he also plans to pursue a master's and doctorate, to be precise, he is a person who likes to challenge himself. "Maybe that's the spirit that football brings to me, I like to try, I like to break through myself. Now that I'm a football teacher, I want to teach my players that spirit. ”
"Inner Mongolian football has never lacked seeds, but lacked soil. There is a greater need for cultural accumulation here. College soccer students usually have two options, one is to improve after graduation, and the other is to work in football after graduation, so I want to teach them more things. Such work is difficult, but self-challenge is more meaningful. There are too few Inner Mongolian players who retire and return to their hometowns to rebuild, and my next idea is to train more good coaches in the university so that they can radiate more players. Zhao Jian said.
For football in his hometown, Zhao Jian has his own dreams and plans. "I hope that Inner Mongolia football can quickly keep up with the level of excellent provinces and cities in domestic football, and I can bring out more excellent players." Zhao Jian said, "If we can pass on the football culture in Inner Mongolia and form the law of bamboo, football in Inner Mongolia will have roots and achievements." ”
For campus football, Zhao Jian attaches great importance to the inheritance of campus football culture: "Grassroots campus football is important to form a campus football culture, and the construction of culture is very important, which requires time and patience. At present, campus football is still trying to make parents recognize this sport, the improvement of players needs time, this time is given by parents and schools, if there is no parental support, it is difficult for real football seedlings to stay on the court. This requires the construction of a comprehensive football culture from schools to players to parents. ”
Compared with professional players and college players, Zhao Jian, who has directly participated in college leagues and professional leagues, has a deep feeling. "There is a big gap between the professional league and the university student competition, and the professional competition is more confrontational." Zhao Jian said. "But the comprehension and adaptability of the college players are very advantageous, they are active and imaginative, and there will be unimaginable running positions and passes in the game."
Zhao Jian's views actually point out part of the reason why Chinese football has been difficult to improve for a long time. Current professional players, coaches and football practitioners generally lack sufficient high-level cultural education, and the lack of cultural literacy limits their psychological, vision, awareness and creativity. Zhao Jian believes: "Football is one of the sports, and physical education is part of the discipline of education. Education and sport are inseparable. Sport is not only the improvement of physical and technical aspects, but also the improvement of the mental and spiritual level. The inner control is the thought and decision-making, the external control is the body and technology, and the inner thought drives the external body, first there is thought and then there is action. Learning can make changes in a person's thinking, psychology, vision, and creativity, leading to the improvement of the external body and technology. So when you're full of ideas, have enough vision and creativity, you're mentally, technically, and physically balanced on the pitch. ”
In Zhao Jian's concept, to change the status quo of Chinese football, not only to change the training, venue, talent and other hard conditions, but also in terms of concepts, ideas, culture, football concept, that is, everyone's views and ideas on football, children's initial views and ideas about football are very critical, and these things are transmitted to children by parents and the external environment at the beginning. Zhao Jian said: "Thoughts may be generated after the players are exposed to football, such as the belief of perseverance. Football confrontation is not physical, but mental, first and foremost. ”
In the ten years since his retirement, Zhao Jian is making his own contributions as a football educator to the campus football career in his hometown of Inner Mongolia, "We have trained a lot of football players, some players have entered the professional team, some have gone to play in the Five Super League, some have gone to college, and some players have come back as coaches to continue their football dreams." He said, "They have gained more experience in the process of growing up, taken on more responsibilities, and will be more confident after entering the society, work harder and harder, and highlight the spirit of sports people." As an educator, I am very happy to see such a change in them. ”
"I'm a 'paving stone' that may not see results in ten or twenty years, but one day I will succeed." Talking about the development of campus football in Inner Mongolia, Zhao Jian said that he is willing to pave the way for the future of football in his hometown.