Axon: Aiming to win the Asian Cup with the national team A lot of happy years in his career have been spent in China

Live on April 10 In an exclusive interview with Football Newspaper, Axon introduced his goals for the national team, and he believes that after he finds his form, he should be called up for the next national team call-up.

When you returned to China this time, you expressed your yearning for the national team, so during that time in Brazil, did the idea of returning to the national team always be in your mind?

To be sure, my intention to return to the Chinese national team has always been very clear, including on any previous occasions, and I have not changed my position. My position of returning to the national team is firm and strong, which is also a very important purpose for me to return to the Chinese league this time. As you know, in the recent winter training, I have worked hard to improve my physical fitness, put in a lot of hard sweat, and I am very happy that I have made progress and scored in the warm-up games. I will be 34 years old this year, and I still believe that I can help Chinese football and the national team. What I hope is to help the Chinese team win more games by returning to the country and fight for the Asian Cup.

After losing the World Cup last time, Chinese fans' confidence in the national team has fallen to the bottom, and in this context, everyone also wants to know why you still have a vision for the Chinese national team?

First of all, China is a very good country, and secondly, when I was in the Chinese national team, the national team was also very good to me, so I would like to help this team. Indeed, we experienced a lot of difficulties and regrets in the last World Cup qualifiers, and because of this, I hope that I can play a perfect season in the league, play my best form into the national team, and strive for a good result in the Asian Cup.

Have you also summarized the specific reasons for the defeat of the World Cup among your naturalized players?

We also recalled that it was a really difficult time and a special time, because the national team could not play domestically, it was all played in Dubai, which was equivalent to no home, all away, no fans, and felt a lot less company. In fact, we had some good games, such as the one against Australia, and we still played well.

From the perspective of naturalized players, we all want to help the national team make breakthroughs through our own efforts and abilities, especially everyone trusts us so much, but that period has passed, what we need more is to focus on the future, we all adjust all aspects of the state, Chinese football is back on track, all fans can come in to support us, I think at that time, the national team's combat effectiveness will be stronger, and our games may achieve better results.

Due to your physical condition, your time in the national team is relatively short this time, can you briefly introduce the communication with the new manager?

Because I know the specific situation of my body better, I feel that my physical condition at that time has not reached the best state, if I want to keep up with the training progress of the national team, I still need a while to recover, the best way is for me to return to the club to train first, so I told coach Jankovic about the situation at the first time, and he also agreed with my idea, so the communication between us is very pleasant, he is a very reasonable coach, and he also hopes that I will train hard after returning to the Chengdu team. Recover as soon as possible, come up with a good result, and then return to the national team to help Chinese football.

In your own estimation, how long will it take to return to the national team in the best condition?

First of all, I hope to try to find my good form by following the team at this stage of winter training in South Korea, so far, I think the effect is good, I also scored in the warm-up game, the coach also gave me a lot of help and support, I guess the next national team call-up, I should be able to call me.

What is your ultimate goal and ideal for the Chinese national team? What do you want to win for this team?

I think that's the Asian Cup, because for me personally, it's supposed to be a very important trophy in my career. I hope I can perform well this year, work hard with my teammates, and work together to win the Asian Cup for the national team.

As a Chinese international, what do you want to say to Chinese fans?

I want to tell all the Chinese fans that for a long time in the past, due to special reasons, our matches have been played away from home, and everyone knows that the results during that time were not very good, and as members of the national team, we also had more pressure in our hearts, but now everything has improved, we have the support of your fans, with the home stadium, we urgently need your company, I firmly believe that we can achieve good results with your support. I'm looking forward to enjoying the victory with all of you.

Since joining Evergrande at the end of 2012, 10 years have passed, how do you evaluate your experience in China in the past 10 years? What things make you happy?

The past 10 years in China have been the most important 10 years of my career, and it can be said that many of the happy years of my career have been spent in China. A lot of moments are very happy to think about now, because I've achieved all the glory that a player can get in a career here, and I'm happy to be able to spend such an important 10 years here. Now that I think about it, I was 23 when I came here, and now I'm 33 and I'm about to be 34. Even after 10 years, my original intention is still the same, I still want to play well, score more goals for my Chengdu team, and help the team become a better team in the Chinese Super League.

You have always mentioned that the Asian Cup is your ultimate goal in the national team, if the actual conditions allow, let you help the national team fight for the World Cup qualification, do you think you can?

Of course! I am always ready to contribute everything to the national team, but I still have to focus on the league in Chengdu this season, only if I have a good performance in the Chengdu team, I can qualify for the Asian Cup squad of the national team, and when we play well in the Asian Cup, I can say the next step for the national team to hit the World Cup qualifying goal. Of course, whenever the national team needs me, I will definitely do my best.

(Derison)