★ Muric Archives
Name: Luis Guilherme da Consecaão Silva
Alias: Muric
Birth date: June 16, 1986
Origin: Muric District, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height: 1.71 meters
Weight: 64 kg
Features: fast speed, strong ability to grasp opportunities
Awards: Best Player, Top Scorer in the Chinese Super League, Best Player and Best Scorer in the AFC Champions League
At night, Shijiazhuang Wanda Plaza, the flow of people, traffic like dragons, Shijiazhuang Yongchang newly introduced foreign aid Mu liqi, live in a surrounding apartment building. When we came to his home as promised, he had been waiting for a long time and asked in a friendly manner whether to conduct the interview in the dining room or in the living room.
Muric (center) was interviewed by a reporter from Yanzhao Metropolis Daily. Reporter Asahi Hikari/Photo
Hopefully 30 goals this season
As the former number one killer of Guangzhou Evergrande, as well as the winner of the AFC Champions League and the Golden Boot of the Chinese Super League, Muric, who is now wearing the Shijiazhuang Yongchang shirt, has scored 99 goals in China, and his 100th goal is likely to be produced in tomorrow's Chinese First Division. When talking about his vision for this season, he did not hesitate to say two goals: to help Yongchang win the Central League one championship; and to score 30 goals individually.
Reporter: You have been training with the Shijiazhuang Yongchang team for a while, how do you evaluate this team?
Muric: There are very few teams in the Chinese League like us, the level of domestic and foreign players is very high, and everyone has come together to form a team that is very promising to overtake. Although there are many factors that determine the outcome of the football field, we are really, very strong on paper.
Reporter: Are there any questions about working with the new team?
Muric: This year the team has brought in 7 new players, it is possible that the cooperation is not very tacit at the beginning, but in the first game of Sunday, we must win and then move forward one by one.
Reporter: If you can play tomorrow's game, what are you looking forward to?
Muric: I'm training every day for that purpose now, but it's up to the manager to decide if I play or not. If I can play and score my 100th goal in China, I will be very happy. As for the celebratory action, I haven't thought about it yet.
What are your goals for this season, like to get the top scorer again?
Muric: Last year I played 19 games and scored 17 goals (note: actually 16 goals in 20 games), almost 1 goal per game. This year, I first hope to help Yongchang win the championship and complete the goal of rushing to the top, which is also my goal, because I still have to play in the Chinese Super League. The number of goals also wants to increase from last year, with 30 goals.
Reporter: Is it a pity that you can't play at the same time as Matthews and Morello due to the rules?
Muric: How to say it, just talk about personal opinions. In the Asian scope, the AFC Champions League can play 3 foreign aides and 1 Asian foreign aid, the Chinese Super League can register 4 foreign aides, even if the league can not play, you can also compete in the AFC Champions League, this is my favorite way.
Muric (left) with his teammates. West Gate/Photo
Naturalization does not solve the underlying problem
After repeated defeats, Chinese football has come up with another trick: naturalized high-level Chinese players with Chinese ancestry, who will also compete in this year's Chinese Super League and Chinese First Division. As a "naturalized object" in the eyes of the fans at that time, how did Muric look at it?
Reporter: How to evaluate the chinese football began to naturalize the players?
Muric: It will help Chinese football to some extent, but it won't solve the fundamental problem, because most of them are still Chinese players, and if they are played with two or three naturalized players all the time, it will not have a significant effect. If you want to make your national team stronger, you must first build a good part of youth training and wait for young players to grow up step by step.
Q: But Qatar has tasted the sweetness from naturalization, including this year's Asian Cup winner.
Muric: The Qatari national team and the club have received some Asian-level honours, but I don't think it's very good for the whole country to develop the level of football, it's okay to naturalize two or three players, but they have seven or eight or more players, and they are of different nationalities, you know, they can't even sing the national anthem of Qatar.
Reporter: If you can, would you be willing to play for the Chinese team?
Muric: I'm very, very willing, but it's just that my age is difficult now. When I was at Evergrande, the team once asked me if I wanted to do this (naturalization), but I only asked about it, and I didn't do anything later, so it passed. China has given me so much, the best moments of my career are here, my son was also born in China, it feels like I'm a bit like Chinese.
Chinese players need to go global
The last time Brazil won the World Cup was in 2002, and coincidentally, the only time the Chinese team reached the World Cup finals was in the same year, and it was in the same group with Brazil. Now that things have changed, the level of both teams has declined to varying degrees, and they seem to be out of reach from their goals.
Reporter: You have played in many Asian countries, how do you evaluate their league level?
Muric: I think the Japanese league is stronger in terms of organization and competition, they started to professionalize in the 90s, and now there are a lot of players playing in Europe. China's league will have similar reforms, but this is not an overnight thing, it will take time.
Reporter: What problems do you think the Chinese league still has?
Muric: Chinese players are paid too much, their homes are here, they are very accustomed to everything, resulting in reluctance to go to Europe for a small salary. But if you don't go out to see the world, how can you improve your own level? This time, Wu Lei went to play in Europe, hoping to drive more Chinese players to go out.
Reporter: Do you have any plans for your future?
Muric: My career should end in China. I have two more years on my contract, and probably the last long one, and if I can stay in good shape, I'm willing to play for another three or four years, as long as I can help the team, not to make money. After retiring from the army, I really wanted to become a coach and I am currently studying coaching related courses.
Reporter: The 2022 World Cup qualifiers are about to start this year, do you think it is easier for the Chinese team to enter the World Cup and Brazil to win the World Cup?
Muric: I think it's all difficult. Brazil are not the best national team in the world, and there are many shortcomings, and it will take a while to win the title. Although the Chinese team has also grown in recent years, there is still a big gap compared with the teams such as Japan, South Korea, Iran and Australia, of course, the problem is not all in Chinese football, they are still in the process of development, while other teams have completed the process.
Can recommend good restaurants to me
Muric, who has been in Chinese football for many years, lives in Guangzhou most of the time. After joining Yongchang, he spent this year's Spring Festival in Shijiazhuang, but then went overseas for training and prepared for the first game of the new season of the Chinese First Division, so he did not have time to understand the city.
Reporter: Did you know about Shijiazhuang before?
Muric: My time here is still very short, I don't know much about Shijiazhuang, and I will have more opportunities in the future, hoping to spend a good time here. I think the next time you interview me, you'll have an answer. Of course, if there are better restaurants anywhere, you can also recommend them to me.
Reporter: Next to where you live is Wanda Plaza, do you often go there?
Muric: Yeah, I go a lot because I got my gym card there and some fans will recognize me.
Reporter: What do you want to say to hebei fans?
Muric: I haven't really recognized the fans in Hebei yet, and I believe that there will be a lot of fans coming to watch the game on match days, hoping that they can sit on the stadium and help us win.
To the fans:
Please trust us football players, we help Shijiazhuang (Yongchang) to rush to the top.
Come on!
Muric
(Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reporter Ren Li)