Text/Pan Weili
A breakup
The day after New Year's Day in 2020, Guangzhou was still shrouded in the cold wind of slaughter. On this evening, the annual Guangdong Public Welfare Festival opened under the Canton Tower, a landmark building in Yangcheng. Because he funded the "Feng Xiaoting and His Friends Public Welfare Football Match" for three consecutive years, Feng Xiaoting, one of the captains of the national football team at the time, became an invited public welfare guest.
But on this day, Feng Xiaoting and his wife arrived a little late. They had just been called to the Evergrande headquarters in Zhujiang New Town in the afternoon for an interview with the club's senior management. The meeting was more of an announcement than a communication. The general manager of Evergrande told Feng Xiaoting that he was not in the team's plans for the new season, and that there would be no ticket for overseas training a week later.
This is the usual style of Evergrande football, which is resolute and unsympathetic. Despite his psychological preparations, after nine full seasons with Guangzhou, being told that he had to leave before his contract expired still made Feng Xiaoting a little stunned. In his heart, he also fantasized about being able to end the Guangzhou team and become a banner like Zheng Zhi. But everything came to an abrupt end this early winter.
Of course, Boss Xu, who was not in trouble at that time, was never stingy in money. In his decision-making, several veterans who left the team can freely look for their next home, and the high salary of the original contract, Evergrande can bear most of it.
A week later, Cannavaro took the updated Evergrandson general and started an overseas training trip. And Feng Xiaoting, who remained in China, was not idle, and he ran the fourth public welfare football tournament according to the original plan, which was held in Macao. Compared with the previous three charity competitions held in Guangzhou and Dalian, the specifications of this time are significantly higher. Organised by the Guangdong Youth Federation and the Guangdong-Macao Youth Exchange Promotion Association, the charity match is not only a football performance, but also a larger "Greater Bay Area Cultural and Sports Arts Festival".
In the few days in Macau, Feng Xiaoting was fully engaged and temporarily put aside his worries with the Guangzhou team. Stars from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao were present, and the competition and dinner were very lively. But after the hustle and bustle, it is time to face it.
2. Reincarnation
The commercial vehicle arranged by the organizer is driving rapidly on the expressway in Xiamen.
A few hours ago, Feng Xiaoting had just experienced a moment of madness. Thinking about his next stop all night, he almost missed his morning flight from Guangzhou to Xiamen. On the way to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, he even got off the wrong highway in a hurry. When the airport announcement called his name three times, he finally pressed the whistle to board the plane.
This is a prize receiving trip, organized by a well-known professional sports business media in China, held in Siming District, Xiamen. Feng Xiaoting and his friends charity football match was named the "Best Sports Charity of the Year" of the year. At the venue, Feng Xiaoting and Wu Monk Yilong were the biggest sports stars.
But during the festival, which lasted more than three hours, Feng Xiaoting was in his seat for less than half an hour. His cell phone kept ringing, WeChat and phone calls one after another. On the other end of the phone, all the club leaders, general managers or managers who were interested in him at the time personally came forward and warmly invited him.
Feng Xiaoting at that time, 34 years and 3 months. As a centre-back, it's nowhere near the moment of complete aging. When the news of Evergrande's removal of veterans broke, many teams immediately threw olive branches to Feng Xiaoting, and the title of "the best central defender in Chinese football in the past decade" was enough to attract many visitors.
On the night of holding the public welfare trophy, Feng Xiaoting did not even have time to eat a meal in Xiamen, and quickly returned to Guangzhou. Before leaving, he said that the next stop was almost set.
In the end, after repeated weighing and consideration, Feng Xiaoting chose Shanghai Shenhua, which was full of sincerity. In the 2019 season, Guangzhou Evergrande was the champion of the Chinese Super League, while Shanghai Shenhua was the champion of the FA Cup. From champion team to champion team, it seems that the psychological gap will be smaller. More importantly, Shenhua's then coach Choi Kang-hee was the same coach when Feng Xiaoting played for Jeonbuk Hyundai in South Korea.
Ten years ago, Guangzhou Evergrande snatched the peak Feng Xiaoting from Cui Kangxi. Ten years later, Feng Xiaoting, who left Evergrande, was like a reincarnation of fate, and entered the arms of Cui Kangxi's coaching team.
It's just that they certainly didn't expect that just a month later, the new crown that swept the world broke out. The Chinese Super League schedule has been pushed back and forth, the Jin Yuan era has come to an abrupt end, and Chinese football, which was still hot yesterday, fell into the cold winter in the blink of an eye.
III Regrets
Shanghai Shenhua beat Shandong Taishan 1-0 to win the first home start of the 2023 Chinese Super League season. The newly renovated Shanghai Stadium, with its beautiful canopy screen, surprised the entire Chinese Super League. But all this has nothing to do with Feng Xiaoting.
He watched Shenhua's season debut through his mobile phone and said only two words. The first sentence is, this stadium is awesome, the fan atmosphere is so good; The second sentence is, three years, really fast.
Bai Ju crossed the gap, Feng Xiaoting's journey to Shenhua, the start was sudden, the end was rushed, but it had been three years in an instant. The time he was wearing the blue robe was the third longest time after Guangzhou and Dalian. But he has never played a single game at Shenhua's home stadium, and he has not enjoyed the cheers of the blue devil on the spot, which has become Feng Xiaoting's eternal regret.
In his debut season, Feng Xiaoting had an attendance rate of more than 70%, which is Choi Kangxi's most trusted defensive core. Whether he is standing next to Mbia, Bi Jinhao or Zhu Chenjie, he is the undisputed leader. With much less playing time than his opponent, Feng Xiaoting has made the best number of interceptions and clearances in the Chinese Super League. In the 2020 season, Shenhua conceded the fourth fewest goals in the league despite finishing seventh, only one more goal than the eventual champion team Jiangsu Suning.
In the 2021 season, Feng Xiaoting made 18 appearances in 22 league rounds throughout the year and is still an unshakable backbone. The Shenhua team made consecutive mistakes under the good situation, and finally ranked fifth in the Suzhou division, and missed the final battle for the championship group by one point. In the 2022 season, injuries began to entangle the almost 37-year-old Feng Xiaoting, his main position was gradually replaced by young teammates, and his fate was the same as Shenhua in turbulent times.
Finally, the epidemic ended, the haze dissipated, the long time came to the master, and Shenhua's stock reform was successful. Feng Xiaoting, who never complained publicly when he was owed wages for a long time, originally negotiated with the club to renew his dual identity as a player + coaching staff member. He believes he still has oil in his tank, and he believes his experience is enough to help his younger teammates. But in the end, what he waited for was not the renewal of the contract promised verbally, but a slightly cold eviction order. But he said that he understood Shenhua's decision, and that upgrading is the trend of the times, and no one can stop the torrent of time.
With a bitter smile and packing his bags, Feng Xiaoting emptied the cottage he had rented for three years. For three years in Shanghai, he has been renting a small house of tens of square meters, and his wife and daughter have not been around, because when they open their eyes, they don't know which city they are closed and isolated in.
It's been a magical three years, and quarantine has been almost throughout. In the great magic capital, Feng Xiaoting did not have many friends. The object of his frequent gathering is no longer football insiders, but a group of stand-up comedians who have met because of variety shows.
"Chatting with them is one of the few joys I've had in recent years," Mr. Feng said.
IV Silence
No one knows where he is, no one knows what he's thinking, no one knows where he stands next.
Feng Xiaoting, who was once extremely keen to write jokes on Weibo and share his training life in short videos, suddenly disappeared. In the past year, the once grinning and sunny Feng Xiaoting was gone.
Perhaps, the "Feng Gong War" that caused him a year ago that caused him a sensation has not really healed. In the face of the siege of the whole network, he also felt very aggrieved for a while. "I never wanted to scare Mr. Gong Hanlin or any fan. I just hope that the public opinion environment of Chinese football can be better, so that we can be more focused and professional to catch up with Japan and South Korea, instead of staying in place every day and carrying out repeated internal friction. ”
Feng Xiaoting said that to this day, he does not know how many people have carefully read the thousand-word long article he wrote and really understood what he wanted to express. After all, the surging public emotions can always destroy and sweep everything. Even if a hundred Feng Xiaoting raised their arms, they could only be wrapped up in the vortex in the end and completely fall.
"I had been away from the national team for several years, and it was logical that I couldn't have seen or spoken. But sometimes, I really can't help it. Feng Xiaoting said: "I'm no longer in the team, but those little brothers are still there." Originally, the pressure to play for the national football team was very high, hey. Unexpectedly, my voice made the whole storm bigger, which I did not expect. ”
05 national youth captain, 08 Olympic participation, stay in the ocean South Korean giants to play the main force, return to China to help Evergrande win the Asian Championship twice, coupled with the MVP-level performance of the 2018 World Preliminary Round of 12 team, Feng Xiaoting's career was also glorious. He knows that the reputation of Chinese football is very poor, but he does have his own pride and persistence in his heart. "When I participated in the spit conference, I said that it was no problem to ridicule me and ridicule me. But my bottom line is, don't insult the whole Chinese football, after all, there are so many children who want to play! ”
After the storm, Feng Xiaoting cleared out a lot of the content that had been released, and did not update it for the next year.
Quietly, it is a parting flute; Silence is the sadness of the heart.
Five Return
In Feng Xiaoting's heart, in China, there are three places that are home.
Dalian, born and raised, Guangzhou at the peak of his career, and Linyi, his wife's hometown.
For his hometown of Dalian, Feng Xiaoting's emotions are somewhat painful. He still doesn't know what he did to be hated by some Dalian fans. Is it just a Dalian foreign aid who angrily denounced a malicious foul on the field?
He never forgot his origins. After the success of the public welfare competition, the first time it was held in a different place was chosen Dalian. He single-handedly organized the largest gathering of old friends in Dalian football in 30 years, and donated a football field to his alma mater, Northeast Road Primary School. After the away game against Dalian, even if he withstood the scolding, he would finish the game with tears in his eyes.
For his second hometown of Guangzhou, Feng Xiaoting is more grateful for the grace of knowledge. He is fortunate to have caught up with the rise of a great team and the best era of China's professional league. When a six-year-old first started playing football, he would never have imagined what he had gained today.
Seeing Evergrande sink, he did not gloat, nor did he feel that he did not care about himself. When he decided to continue his career, returning to Guangzhou became the first choice. Although the treatment that the Guangzhou team can offer is only basic living expenses, Feng Xiaoting quickly reached an agreement with the club. At this stage of life, it is impossible to talk about money with the old club, but seeing that a warm story of return is about to unfold, the boss chose to urgently stop at the last moment.
The transfer window is running out and must be decided as soon as possible. In order to continue to live in Guangzhou, the newly established Guangzhou Shadow Leopard, and the Dongguan United near Guangzhou, became Feng Xiaoting's last choice. And his final decision is to become a member of the new army of the Chinese League One Dongguan United, and as a big brother, help this young team on the horse and send it a ride.
Since playing A A in Guancheng, Sichuan in 2003, Xu Yu has been playing for 20 years. This will be Feng Xiaoting's first time playing in the second division. He knew very well that in his football life, the first half of his professional football had entered injury time.
He began to participate in coaching training courses, and is also paying attention to the youth training career, and even thinking about how to continue to make football out of the circle and increase the interest of more young children in football.
Coming together and leaving, there are always times when nothing will last forever.
Good luck to Feng Xiaoting in the second half.