At 4 p.m. on March 2, 30 minutes before the first outdoor training of the first training session of the new Chinese men's football team, the coaches and management team members of the team were already in their seats at the No. 19 venue of the China Southern Football Training Base in Haikou. Serbian goalkeeper coach Maksimović praised the suitable local climate conditions and rich vegetable varieties, and told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, "When I arrived at the (Chinese) national team, I felt that my work was more busy, and the average sleep time per day in recent times was less than 6 hours, and the head coach (Jankovic) may be less..."
When Jankovic walked into the training ground in high spirits, it was hard for the reporters on the scene to imagine that he had been working more than nine hours straight. And this kind of work rhythm has long been accustomed to Jankovic, who has been working on the coaching stage for many years. He told the players that as a coach, he will always lead by example in his work, whether it is meals, meetings, group departures, he will always be the first to appear, he hopes to infect every member of the team with this rigorous work style, seize time, grasp the details, and make progress together.
In fact, before the start of training, the internationals had already experienced the excellence of new coach Jankovic in the work of the resident hotel. At 7:30 a.m. on the 2nd, the players began to participate in various physical tests as required, and by that time Jankovic had completed the morning run and other exercises. In other words, his day's work begins before the players get up.
In fact, apart from a few hours of sleep and meals a day, Jankovic spends most of his time at work. After arriving at the national football station at 2 p.m. on February 28, Jankovic immediately went to work despite the long journey. Except for his first meeting with the media as the national football manager on the afternoon of March 1, he spent most of his time communicating with new team members, and introducing the workflow and related requirements to team members and staff members of the team by participating in various thematic meetings. In the words of a relevant person in the team, "Although Jankovic became the coach of the national team, his daily schedule for work has not changed due to the change of role, and the requirements for himself, colleagues and players have not relaxed in the slightest." ”
In the case of "weighing", all internationals are required to complete the day's weight measurement by 8 am every day before eating breakfast. Although Yankovic does not specify when players eat, they must not be later than the established time period. This arrangement is completely consistent with Jankovic's time in charge of the men's Asian Games team. At the press conference, "discipline, dedication, diligence, and cherishing time" became the keywords that Jankovic repeatedly emphasized. He is well aware that moving from the Asian Games team manager to the national team manager position requires more pressure and more effort to do so. Therefore, in order to convince his players and team members, he must first ensure that he leads by example, whether he is at the training ground, restaurant or meeting point of the bus, he will "compete for the first".
Jankovic's requirements for the squad staff are to lead by example, while the requirements for the players are to maintain motivation. Judging from the first training on the 2nd, the players were a little uncomfortable with Jankovic's "start training is the devil" training method. But even so, Jankovic asked the players to grit their teeth and hold on until the last minute of training. It is worth noting that during the training, not only the international players sweated like rain, but even the three Chinese and foreign assistant coaches Pelovich, Zheng Zhi and Chen Tao also participated in the joint training of the whole team when some team members were injured and missed, which is the most direct embodiment of leading by example.
It's hard to say whether Jankovic's coaching can bring a leap forward on a technical and tactical level, but no one doubts his determination to build a disciplined and courageous team, which is an important prerequisite for his pursuit of coaching success, and it is also necessary for the national team to improve its image.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao