Text|Gu Yun
Edit| BOSS Gaiden
In the mainland, although the national football team has always been a controversial sport, it is a pain in the hearts of many fans.
Although the current situation of the national football team is relatively sluggish, we still have to have confidence in the national football team, success cannot be achieved overnight, after all, the national team has also achieved good results, especially the Liaozu team has had a brilliant history, emerging Tang Yaodong, Fu Yubin, Ma Lin and other well-known players, among which Sun Xianlu, as a former international footballer, is also one of the fierce generals.
The splendor of Liaozu
The name Sun Xianlu is now unfamiliar to many people, but for the old Liao football fans in the 80s and 90s of the 20th century, he was one of the players in the "Ten Champions" period of Liaoning football, and he was also popular as a former international footballer. From gymnastics school to provincial national team, his experience can be described as steady.
Born in February 1964 in the coastal city of Dalian, Sun Xianlu began his professional football career at the age of 10, entered the Liaoning Provincial Junior Team at the age of 14, was selected for the national youth team in 1982, the national football team in 1989, and participated in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers. From 1985 to 1997, Sun Xianlu played for Liaozu for more than a decade, during which time he achieved impressive results, winning championships in leagues and Asian club competitions.
For Sun Xianlu, the Liaozu period is the period when he really shines as a footballer and is also his happiest time. In the eighties and nineties, football gave Sun Xianlu and his team endless reputation.
They overcame obstacles and were invincible on the pitch, when it was difficult for them to meet opponents at home. Because they have won ten championships in a row, they are called "Ten Champions". At that time, Sun Xianlu sweated on the court, because his hair was black and black, and he ran like a galloping fast horse on the court, so fans liked to call him "horse head, horse head".
Their fans, in those times, were full of pride and confidence. For Sun Xianlu, this was his most brilliant and proud period. Liaozu won the inaugural National League championship, began their "Ten Championships" era, they grew together, and their era is coming.
Sun Xianlu, who just joined the Liaoning team, was still a childish child, he joined the Liaoning Provincial Youth Team at that time, and his fate with the Liaoning team began here. Although he was later selected for the national team, he eventually joined the Liaoning team. The Liaoning team's emblem is a Siberian tiger surrounded by 11 stars, exuding the aura of a ruler, while symbolizing the glory of the past, domineering.
Since the professionalization of football in China in 1994, everything has changed dramatically. After the National Games, Marin and others returned to play for the Dalian team.
Once the old players, only Sun Xianlu, Xu Tao, Zhao Faqing, Fu Yubin, and others still insist here. Fortunately, with the rapid growth of young players, Liaoning won 11 of the 22 games in the first year of the professional league, equalizing 3 and losing 8, ranking fourth in the league.
Sun Xianlu's goal helped Liaoning draw in the first round away against Sichuan Quanxing, the first goal of Liaoning in the professional league. In Sun Xianlu's first professional season, Sun Xianlu scored four goals.
But why is it that few people remember such a brilliant team today?
Since 1999, Liaozu's performance has been on a downward trend. Over the course of several seasons, the level has hovered in the middle and lower reaches, with three relegations. Until the end of the 2017 season relegation, they have not been seen in some major leagues. I believe that the softest picture in the hearts of many old fans is the picture where Sun Xianlu couldn't help but cry after Liaozu was relegated, it was too heartbreaking!
Hearing the news of Liaozu again, that is, in 2020, due to a series of internal disputes, the team was finally announced to be disbanded, and since then, the glory of Liaozu alone has come to an end.
Dressed on, still Chinese heart
In 2002, Sun moved to Brazil. While in Brazil, Sun Xianlu worked as a coach for a while, met many football coaches and friends, and had the opportunity to meet many celebrities.
But this also made Sun Xianlu very distressed, especially when Brazil led domestic young players, some young players often played until midnight in the dormitory, secretly playing computer games. If Sun Xianlu finds out, he will beat them. Over time, the Brazilian coaches found that the players were only afraid of Sun Xianlu alone, so when these players made mistakes, the Brazilian coaches would remind Sun Xianlu and let him discipline.
Another time, a team member drove Sun Xianlu's car privately, and there was a car accident on the way, crashing the car, and Sun Xianlu was trembling with fright. During his time leading the team, Sun Xianlu was both a coach and a "father", and he put a lot of effort into the players. However, the hard work paid off, and after training, these players achieved good results, and then represented Yunnan in the National Games and finished seventh. This is the first time in Yunnan's history that it has reached the final of the National Games and won the ranking.
Although Sun Xianlu has settled in Brazil, he still cares about domestic football.
In 2004, Sun Xianlu was invited to return to China to coach, and successively played for Chengdu Wuniu Club, Shenzhen Jianlibao, Dalian Albin, and led Albin to advance to the Chinese League One.
His son was among them, fighting alongside his father, then quitting the pitch and continuing to go to school to learn about the culture and fade out of the arena. After training in Dalian, Sun returned to Brazil and began his transition from footballer to businessman.
After 2010, he wrote a letter of recommendation to the president of the National Football Association, hoping to become the coach of the football team. For this reason, he also deliberately bought a few tickets, but unfortunately, the application was rejected because the coach had already made a decision, which disappointed him a little, and he never went to the FA recruitment again.
In recent years, although his physical strength is not as good as when he was younger, in Brazil he still plays football in his spare time. For Brazilians, playing soccer is like Chinese table tennis, where everyone plays two rounds as if it were natural.
It is undeniable that football is still a very important part of his life. As soon as he had time, he would write articles on social media that said: "If Chinese football needs me somewhere, I will do my best". When talking about the dilemma of Chinese football, Sun Xianlu said: "It is not right to start from ourselves, not to learn from Brazil today, to learn from Germany tomorrow, and to learn from Italy the day after tomorrow."
The Chinese players are not bad, I think, they react faster than the Japanese and Korean players, it is important to choose the path that suits you, stick to the original intention and stick to it.
Sun Xianlu once said: "As a football player, I still believe in Chinese football", and he is also very concerned about domestic football dynamics. For the 2022 World Cup, he watched each match carefully and wrote down his thoughts and thoughts on each match.
Marry a rich Brazilian woman and reach the pinnacle of life
Because his wife is Brazilian Chinese, Sun Xianlu eventually decided to settle in Brazil with his wife, and his current wife Wang Shuwei is also his former agent, and a Brazilian billionaire, who served as a team translator when Sun Xianlu first came to Brazil. As they spent a long time together, the two fell in love and cherished each other.
Sun Xianlu married her after deciding to move to Brazil. After settling in Brazil, the couple started a well-run company and they were completely free financially. The company is located in the Brooklyn district of São Paulo, Brazil, surrounded by luxuriously decorated high-quality apartments.
Whenever mainland journalists come to Brazil to do interviews, they will definitely interview him, especially during the World Cup, and many people come to interview him. In this three-story house, there is a very large hall with large colorful balloons and some product displays.
As soon as Sun Xianlu received the reporter, he turned on the computer to watch the game, and the chat with the reporter was football, without mentioning any of their products. A reporter asked him what business he was doing and what model was on display in the hall, which made Sun Xianlu think of introduction.
At that time, his wife Wang Shuwei would joke: "My husband does not understand business matters at all, and asking him is equivalent to asking him for nothing." Sun Xianlu was a little embarrassed and smiled, "I am responsible for the company's image. In Brazil, I don't have to talk about business first. As long as I can talk to my clients about football, everything is good to say." They introduced their business and the company was very profitable.
In recent years, oil and gas fields have been discovered off the coast of Brazil, and they are selling oil and gas extraction equipment at high prices.
In 2004, after years of hard work and hard work, Sun Xianlu has become a successful person and lives a rich life that everyone envies. Because he missed his son Sun Yunpeng very much, he arranged for his son to study in Brazil. At this time, Sun Yunpeng was 12 years old and had been playing football for 4 years.
Regarding his son's education, Sun Xianlu once said: "Not everyone needs to go to college, and it's good to be a football star." Of course, not everyone can become a football star, but football trains their body and willpower". In 2008, at the age of 16, Sun Yunpeng trained at the club São Paulo and signed for Paraná, becoming the first Chinese player to be officially registered in Brazil.
Although he doesn't have much to achieve in football, Sun Xianlu is happy. He is most proud of his son playing with Neymar in the São Paulo league, where Sun Yunpeng is a defender and has also eyed Neymar.
However, when Sun Yunpeng grew up, he did not become a football star because the road to playing football was too bumpy. Sun Xianlu expressed understanding: "He doesn't want to continue this profession, I understand him." ”
Because his son Sun Yunpeng was a member of Albin Chongjia and an athlete, he later went to a university in Jinzhou in China as a special student to continue his studies. Sun Xianlu said: "I think it is better for him to go home and receive cultural education at home than abroad, and his blood is Chinese blood in his blood."
Until the end, because the obsession with football was deeply rooted in Sun Xianlu's heart, he wanted to shine for football again, even if he was in a foreign land, he still cared about the motherland and the national football team.
A treasured gift – exchange jerseys with Pele
If for a footballer, what is recognition? What is the most career-motivating? That's probably exchanging jerseys with your idol.
In 1998, Yunnan Hongta sent a youth team to Brazil to study for three years. Wang Baoshan recommended Sun Xianlu, and he was very happy after listening to it, so he went happily with everyone. Brazil is a football kingdom with a stable climate and the possibility of playing football every day.
In Brazil, children can go to class in the morning and play football in the afternoon, Sun Xianlu is very envious of the children here after he knows it, in comparison, the domestic sports atmosphere is still relatively shallow, mainland teenagers will still spend most of their time on schoolwork, there is no extra time to play football, so we must slowly cultivate the habit of exercising children from an early age, so as to strengthen their physique."
Here, he also met people who changed his career, they came to Brazil for the first time from the Red Tower, and the team arranged a special meeting for them, which was to meet the king Pele. The young players are very happy, and Sun Xianlu is also very excited, because Pele is his idol, he has heard of Pele for a long time and admires him very much.
After Sun Xianlu and Pele met, Pele held his hand and chatted with him and said: "It is an honor to meet the outstanding players of the Chinese national team today." Because everyone loves football, they communicate like old friends, talk about some interesting things about football, and finally exchange each other's jerseys as souvenirs for both sides.
Bailey is a very approachable person who does not have the condescending posture of celebrities. In this meeting, the ball king Pele left a deep impression on Sun Xianlu's mind. Exchanging jerseys is a common practice among some football players, as an expression of respect and friendship, and as a sporting spirit.
Although many years have passed, every time he remembers the scene of exchanging shirts with Pele, he is proud and can't hide his excitement.
Unfortunately, the king Pele has gone to heaven to play his favorite football, and now for Sun Xianlu, this jersey has become Sun Xianlu's most precious spiritual wealth, always reminding him not to forget his original intention.
The lyrics are still good: "Although I wear a dress, my heart is still Chinese", although he is in Brazil, Sun Xianlu still cares most about Chinese football and hopes that Chinese football will become stronger. He hopes that more young Chinese players will come to Brazil for exchange and learning. In addition to his usual attention to national support, he also finds time to exchange experiences with Chinese training in Brazil. In the future, he also wants to do more for the national football team.
At that time, Liaozu was invincible on the court, sweating to their heart's content, and writing their most glorious moments. At the Wulihe Stadium, tens of thousands of fans cheered for them, and they were brilliant in success, and their defeat was brilliant!
Reliving the glorious history of Liaozu makes people can't help but be full of joy and tears, and those national football years that have burned passionately have become the best memories of old fans.
Resources:
1. China News Network: Chinese footballers take root in Brazil to do business, saying that they have the opportunity to do football 2014-06-29
2. West China Metropolis Daily: Liaozu famous Sun Xianlu reminisces: exchange shirts with Pele son staring at Neymar 2014-07-07
3. Southern Net: Wang Suwei, Sun Xianlu's love affair was re-exposed on December 25, 2000