Berlin, March 18 (Xinhua) -- In a recent online video interview with reporters, Jürgen Klinsmann expressed his views on the investment situation of the football circles in China and Germany, and he suggested that China's football investment should be used for medium- and long-term development plans, and it may be effective in 10 years.
Klinsmann (right) appears in the fifth round of the 2019 Chinese Super League season before the match on April 14, 2019. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jia Haocheng
After the bursting of the "Golden Dollar Football" bubble in recent years, the investment environment of Chinese professional football is in the midst of a "cold winter". In response to the question of "capital hurts football" or "capital revitalizes football", Klinsmann, the "golden bomber" who once dominated international football, believes that if the funds are used properly, not only focusing on how much money is invested, but also having specific medium- and long-term plans for which areas the funds flow to, it is safe to say that capital can help football development.
Klinsmann said: "The so-called medium- and long-term plan, I mean 5 to 10 years, considering the development of associations, sports infrastructure construction, youth training, coaching training, club system construction, etc., need to plan investment well." This needs to be handled by professionals familiar with the sports industry, taking into account the opinions of all parties involved in the industry when making decisions. The key is to have the right strategy, how to influence the youth and coaches, and how to develop guidance to help players, coaches and clubs improve. ”
Klinsmann believes that Chinese football is undergoing great changes and that clubs are trying to find ways to do the right thing, but overall, Chinese football is too focused on the short-term results of the national team.
Chinese players in training on March 11. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyun
"If the national team doesn't succeed, everyone looks very negative; if it succeeds, everyone may be too optimistic." Overall, the level of the Chinese league is good, and many measures are appropriate and helpful, but it may be 10 to 15 years before the results are available, and it is impossible to see the results in a few years. If we put the money in the right places, especially in the medium- and long-term plans to develop players and coaches, the investment will definitely have an effect. ”
Klinsmann believes that Chinese football should rely on its own strength and combine its own characteristics to find a development path. "The introduction of foreign coaches can help the club build and develop. But when foreign coaches deviate from the actual situation of Chinese football and point fingers at the team as consultants, this is the wrong way. ”
"Many Players in China have retired as coaches, they know the relevant industry knowledge, they know how to play, it is not always necessary to bring in foreign experience to improve the current situation of the team. There are good practitioners in China who know what they should do, and what is needed now is time. Things will slowly evolve and change. Klinsmann said.
Klinsmann believes that it is beneficial to combine foreign experience with the actual situation of Chinese football and carry out a good information fusion. "The laws of football development are there, and the other teams win the game because they developed football earlier."
In response to the long-debated question in German football about whether to reform the "50+1" investment principle of professional football, Klinsmann stated the pros and cons of the design of this system. The "50+1" investment principle is a unique institutional design of German professional football, which ensures the relative advantage of the club parent body in the club company and restricts the right of external investors of the club to make major decisions in the development of the club.
"Looking at '50+1' in world football is a very special institutional design, some people support it, some people oppose it. The advantage of this principle is that club entities and registered members will always have a decisive say in major matters of club development," Klinsmann said, "but of course outside the club investors hope to improve their leadership in club decision-making as the proportion of investment increases." ”
Klinsmann infographic
Klinsmann said that in the past few decades, the Bundesliga has steadily gained a foothold in European football, developed safely, attracted fans from all over the world, and achieved positive results. "After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the Bundesliga was the first of the five major leagues in Europe to resume, becoming a reference model for professional sports in the world. I live in the United States, and it can be said that MLB also refers to many Bundesliga practices in epidemic prevention. If we change the '50+1' principle, we may attract more investment. ”
Klinsmann said: "A lot of people are watching how the Premier League does and what happens. If the club has an absolute controlling advantage of the investor, the club develops too dependent on a certain company or investor, the club's fate may be changed overnight, and we have seen such things in Europe in the past. So this discussion will continue, and there is no perfect solution. ”
Editors: Haoyu Wang, Bowen Wu, Junkuan Wu, Xinyi Qiu (Intern)