Dalian rarely had sunny days in August, and the successive "greetings" of typhoons and torrential rains made the city a little more cold. The Chinese Super League, held in Dalian, was postponed by one game because of heavy rain.
The game is suspended, and Shenzhen coach Donadoni's Chinese Super League coaching career is also coming to an end. After Shenzhen Kaisa lost to Henan Jianye, the Italian became the first head coach to step down this season in the Chinese Super League.
Along with this news came a familiar name - Zhang Xiaorui, as an assistant coach on the Chinese side, he was appointed acting head coach.
Many young fans may still have questions: Who is Zhang Xiaorui? They probably don't know that this coach was called "China's Maradona" 20 years ago.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > "Chinese Maradona" favored by The Brazilian team</h1>
In early 1993, the Chinese Football Association was in Wuzhou, Guangxi Province, conducting the final selection of 48 talented football teenagers. The experts in charge of the selection, very sure of a child from Tianjin, obsessed with his skills far beyond his peers, unanimously decided to let him be selected.
This child was Zhang Xiaorui, the team he was selected for at that time, named Jianlibao Youth Team. Jianlibao Youth Team is an elite team selected by Jianlibao Group to help the development of Chinese football, and the team members were sent to Brazil for a 5-year overseas study. Li Tie, Hao Wei and others in the team are still in important positions in Chinese football.
After coming to Brazil, Zhang Xiaorui was positioned by head coach Zhu Guanghu as the main front waist due to his outstanding skills, outstanding elegance, smart running position, and ghostly passing, responsible for combing the team's attack.
In the following year and a half, Zhang Xiaorui followed the Jianlibao youth team to play 165 games in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and other football powers, achieving an impressive record of 110 wins, 25 draws and 30 losses.
Among them, Zhang Xiaorui is indispensable. As long as he is in the midfield, the Jianlibao teammates on the field are like a reassuring pill, they can attack boldly with confidence, and it is also a very easy thing to cooperate with him. Together with his teammates Li Jinyu, Li Tie and Sui Dongliang, he was known as the "Four Little Swans".
Brazilian players and coaches who have played against the Jianlibao youth team have left a deep impression on Zhang Xiaorui, and the reputation of "China's Maradona" has spread. Many scouts believe that the Chinese player is more skilled than the Brazilian, and there are a number of Brazilian clubs that want to sign him.
After all, he was already the main reserve force of the national team at that time, shouldering the mission of impacting the World Cup and the Olympic Games, and if he stayed abroad, it might lead to a decline in tacit understanding with his teammates. So for chinese football, he returned to China after staying in The West and became a member of the Tianjin team.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > winged "swan"</h1>
In the 1999 Olympic Qualifiers, known as the "strongest in history", the national Olympic team launched a final sprint towards the Sydney Olympic Games under the leadership of British coach Horton. As the "Best Newcomer of A A" that year, Zhang Xiaorui was indisputably selected. But in the Quarterfinals of the Asian Region, the Chinese team unexpectedly planted a heel.
It was a contest between China and South Korea, and Zhang Xiaorui was placed on the bench. Watching the stalemate, the spectators at the Shanghai 80,000-person stadium shouted "Zhang Xiaorui" in the hope that he could play.
Under thousands of calls, Zhang Xiaorui came on as a substitute. Facing the bag of four South Korean players, he calmly passed four people in a row and completed the shot. The pass was also in place to help the Chinese team draw with their opponents.
Unfortunately, the Chinese team eventually failed to qualify, and head coach Horton was also dismissed.
Losing his Olympic qualification, Zhang Xiaorui is still holding on to his dream of the World Cup. After the "magical coach" Milu took office, he was also selected to be included in the national football training list. Zhang Xiaorui has performed well in training, and he can easily break through in the face of some "big brother" defenses.
However, in a training session, Zhang Xiaorui was seriously injured by a flying shovel when carrying the ball. Not only did it pass by the World Cup, but its status also declined after returning to the club.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > footballer who loves only green fields</h1>
In 2001, Zhang Xiaorui stayed in The Ocean under the introduction of his agent and joined the German team Aachen on loan. In addition to honing his skills in the football powerhouse, he also had a purpose, that is, to take advantage of Germany's medical conditions for surgery.
In Germany, Zhang Xiaorui completely healed his old wounds through surgery. However, he could not play because of his injury, which delayed the golden age. When he returned to China, he found that he and his teammates in Tianjin had no tacit understanding, and the main position was also replaced.
The process of waiting is undoubtedly painful, in a hospital bed, and on the field. In order to seek opportunities, Zhang Xiaorui left his hometown team to play in Shanghai, and finally ended his career at the age of 31 in 2007. If it is not injury, a technical midfielder like Zhang Xiaorui should be able to play longer.
After retiring, he returned to his hometown and served as head coach, general manager and team leader in Tianjin Songjiang and Tianjin Quanjian. He said that he prefers to be a coach than a management position, and he can stay on the green field every day.
Now joining the coaching staff of the Shenzhen team, Zhang Xiaorui is mainly responsible for training the team's attack, and the effect is still immediate. In 30 rounds of last season, Shenzhen scored a total of 31 goals, ranking second from the bottom among 16 teams. After only 5 rounds of this season, they have scored 7 goals, more than shandong luneng and other strong teams.
The 44-year-old's ball skills are still not lost that year, and in a bumpy competition with international Wang Yongpo, Zhang Xiaorui, as a coach, finally won the players, which was really amazing.
After Dutchman Cruyff Jr. became head coach, Zhang Xiaorui returned to the assistant coaching bench. It is believed that with their full cooperation, the Shenzhen team can get back on track and achieve the desired results at the end of the season.