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Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

The Chinese 2001 U22 Olympic team returned home from Croatia on June 4 after completing a three-month European training camp. During this period, the Olympic team played 26 matches in Croatia and Belgium, including 4 international B matches (i.e. matches against European teams of the same age), 12 matches against Croatian football clubs, 4 warm-up matches with Croatian teams of other divisions, and 6 matches against clubs of the same age as Belgian clubs. What do you think of the Olympic team's trip to Europe? Before returning to China, head coach Cheng Yaodong was interviewed by reporters and briefly summarized the trip to Europe.

(1) Eight words summary: value for money to enhance self-confidence

Q: The overseas training of the Olympic team has ended, as the head coach, how do you evaluate this three-month European training?

Cheng Yaodong: Personally, I think the effect should be said to be good. First of all, our team in this age group (born in 2001, 2002) may have been relatively low in terms of both organizational level and training of players in the whole of Asia. After that, it caught up with the epidemic for another three years, during which the team basically did not participate in international competitions. Although the Football Association is very supportive and participated in the China Second League for two years after the formation of the team, it is still incomparable with the high-level competition in Asia. Therefore, through overseas training and participating in matches with Croatian second-tier league teams, I should tell the players that they have improved their actual combat ability and competition experience, and I think this overseas training is very valuable. Not only the players, but also the improvement of the combat ability of the entire team is very large. In particular, the last two matches against Croatia's youth team of the same age are a good test. Of course, the average age of the opponent may still be a little older than us, but it doesn't matter, we still have a clear improvement and improvement through the game, in terms of confrontation, in terms of the rhythm of offensive and defensive conversion. Therefore, I personally feel that this training camp in Croatia should be said to be "worth the money", or even worth it, at the very least, the team's confidence and the player's ability have been greatly improved.

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Q: Can you expand on how we improve from the whole team, or from specific players?

Cheng Yaodong: Specifically, I think there are mainly the following aspects. We started the first Croatian implementation in August last year, and this year it is the second or the second phase. Everyone also knows that over the years, there have been many Croatian foreign aides or Croatian coaches in the Chinese Super League, and there are still many exchanges. So, after our whole team came here, there were still a lot of local coaches or scouts who were paying attention, and they would often come to see our team's games, many of them watched last year's games, and they watched this year's games, and we also talked to them and asked them what they thought of our team. Their general view is that we have made great progress and will give their own opinions on the questions we ask. In terms of progress, the first thing is reflected in the overall offensive and defensive rhythm, that is, since the beginning of this year, the overall offensive and defensive rhythm of the National Olympic Team is faster than when it was just coming last year, and it is not faster.

Secondly, in terms of personal confrontation ability and intensity of confrontation, it is obviously a little tougher, unlike when the confrontation was very weak or even impossible to fight when he first came. The third is self-confidence, because when we play against Croatia, sometimes we play well, which makes the players believe that they can play well, and this confidence is achieved through a game.

I can give you an example here. This year's tournament is the same as the second half of last year, which is played by 12 teams from the Croatian second division, but there is one obvious special or different, that is

This year's tournament was more intense, with a significant increase in the number of red and yellow cards from both sides compared to the average in the second half of last year! It's not just that we have yellow cards, but also a lot of yellow cards from the other side, and the increase in the number of red and yellow cards is not because of rough fouls, but because there are more technical fouls on both sides in actual combat. This reflects the changes in the situation in actual combat from one side, and also proves that the competition is more intense and glued.

Of course, in terms of the results of the 12 matches against the Croatian team this year, it may be similar to last year, and there is almost no change. However, when the second half of last year arrived, Croatia's new season of league was just beginning, and the teams may not be in very good form. But when he came back in March this year, the opponent had experienced most of the season and was generally in the best of form. Therefore, although the result may be similar to last year, the opponent's state and competitive level have changed a lot from last year. In this case, we can achieve similar results as in the second half of last year, and I think it reflects our own improvement this year, and even faster progress, especially the few confrontations near the end, both the result and the process of the game, are very good, and should be a model for our team in the future.

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

(2) Satisfaction and regret: It is possible to verify the truth when returning to Asia

Q: After playing so many matches throughout Croatia and Belgium, what were the most satisfying matches?

Cheng Yaodong: Actually, if you want to say satisfied, it may be the match between Croatia and several strong teams, especially the top first-class teams. Although there are big losses in these games, there is also the possibility that we will win. I say this not because we won the champions of the Croatian First League, Ruders, in the final round, but because in the game against the strong teams in the Croatian First League, I think the overall quality is different than when I played them last year. Last year, it was easier for the other side to win us, but this year we are biting the opponent very tightly, we put a lot of pressure on them, and we have completely improved on the field, including in terms of statistics. Even if it is like a big loss, on the one hand, there is indeed a gap in our strength, but on the other hand, it is also related to our inability to withstand the decline in fitness at the last moment, and several big losses are conceded after 70 minutes. But if we take the opportunity and score the goal, we can win. Therefore, I think we play with strong teams, and the experience and gain are greater.

In fact, not only with several top-ranked strong teams in the Croatian First League, but also with several national teams such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and other teams during this Croatia, because almost all of them are teams of the same age, in terms of offensive and defensive conversion speed, confrontation, etc., we still have a fight with the opponent. Of course, like playing against a team of the same age as Croatia, which is the last two games before returning home, if our fitness drops a little bit during the game, or when we change individual players on the field, maybe if something is not done well or loose in an instant, the opponent can immediately beat you. After all, these opponents are all strong teams in Europe, and the gap between the main player and the substitute in the team is not so obvious, but we may be weaker in comparison. And, their players are really good at looking for opportunities.

Q: Do you feel any regrets in this exercise?

Cheng Yaodong: Of course, there are regrets. I think that although the matches we participated in were still quite formal and ceremonial, such as raising the national flag and playing the national anthem every time, the Croatian Football Association was also well organized, and all aspects were also very cooperative, and the opponents were also very attentive when they played with us, and the game was also very competitive, but after all, it was not an official match. I think if we were a little more formal, or if we could participate in more invitational tournaments, international competitions during the international competition window, especially some regular international invitational tournaments in Europe, it might be a little better and the exercise value would be a little higher. Because only in more formal games, the psychological pressure it brings to the team, to the players, the importance of the players themselves to the game and other aspects are different, this kind of competition may give the team members exercise value, exercise scene may be better, after all, closer to the official competition such as our Asian Cup, U23 Asian Cup, U20 Asian Cup and other tournaments, or matches between national teams. I personally feel that if we can make good use of this and organize more international competitions, especially the invitational tournament of national teams of the same age, it may help the team even more. Of course, under the existing conditions, we can participate in so many international competitions, and the team's training opportunities are already quite good.

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Q: So after this exercise, do you think the shortcomings of our team have been effectively compensated? Of the 11 positions on the field, what needs further adjustments?

Cheng Yaodong: How to say, on the whole, we have improved in all positions, and the personnel has been constantly running-in and constantly adjusting. In fact, if you compare the current situation of the team with the personnel situation when the team was first formed, you can see that our adjustment is actually very large. If it is compared to last year, after this training, we actually have a lot of adjustments, of course, some may just be fine-tuned, because during the whole training period, some players have improved significantly.

Of course, through different games, our coaching staff can also feel that because the nature of the game or the strength is different, we can see that some players have improved significantly, and some players are not as good as they imagined. However, this may be related to the opponent in the game itself, and the players show their own state when playing with high intensity and playing with low intensity. Our coaching staff also further deepens our knowledge and understanding of players through continuous play, so as to better understand players more comprehensively and fully. It will also be very helpful for our coaching staff to direct and employ people in future games. However, I think the players may have a deeper understanding in this regard, which games play well and which games do not? The reasons and so on can only be felt and thought by yourself, and if you think clearly, you may go further.

Q: As I just said, since the original U19 Asian Youth Qualifiers in 2019, our team in this age group has not appeared in Asian competitions, and then going abroad is already Croatia. After this Croatian training, after returning to Asia, do you think we will be more confident?

Cheng Yaodong: First of all, I think the whole team must be able to compete with the middle and upper reaches of the Asian team in terms of rhythm and intensity, and can carry the strength and hardness of the other side, or at least we will definitely not lag behind them so obviously. I think it's because these two long training camps in Croatia have had an effect, and in this regard, our improvement is more obvious, including the speed of offensive and defensive conversion in the game. And in the end, of course? I am afraid that it will need to be tested by the subsequent matches against Asian teams, especially the strong teams.

(3) Overseas and stay-at-home: the strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Q: During this overseas training, we have successively recruited some overseas players. What do you think of these players, and how effective are they when they train and play with the team? Will these overseas players be called up in the future in the Olympic qualifiers?

Cheng Yaodong: First of all, I want to say that these overseas players are not easy. Because the overall technical and tactical level of our Chinese football is not particularly good, in this case, it is actually very difficult for these players to insist on surviving and developing overseas, because the pressure of overseas competition is very large, and the difficulties they face are far more than at home. Our coaching staff thinks that these players have the opportunity to survive in the overseas environment, and some of them can play, and we feel that they must have some characteristics themselves, and they can meet certain requirements of European football, whether in terms of technique and tactics, personal ability, or ideology. Otherwise, if they don't meet the requirements, the European club team won't want him. Especially in terms of ideas, if you don't want it and can't hold on, you may not be able to stay in Europe.

In this case, we thought that since the team has already arrived in Europe, can we include them? They definitely have strengths, where they have strengths, and that could be a good addition to our team. The few overseas players who came this time may be a year or two younger than our Olympic team members, because most of them are players born in 2003 and 2004, but I think there are still players who meet the technical and tactical needs of our team, and we still want to keep them. Moreover, from another point of view, these young players can also be said to be the "fire" of our Chinese football in Europe now, we have this platform, we have such an opportunity, we definitely hope to cheer them on, and hope that they can also cooperate with us and work hard for this national Olympic team.

Q: There is also a situation that when the team came out, there were some players who remained in the country, but they did not have much opportunity and time to play in the Chinese Super League.

Cheng Yaodong: We have also been paying attention to these players who remain in China. But to tell you the truth, in fact, there are not many players in China who are suitable for our national Olympic team in this age group. Before coming out, we also communicated with local clubs, if the club thinks it can be used, or they must use it, then our basic principle is also unified, that is, to try to meet the needs of the club, after all, we still need to consider the interests of the club team. Moreover, being able to train young players to play in the Chinese Super League is also of great training value to young players. There are only two or three players like this. The two or three players who stayed in the country, we also noticed, they did play, but not very much. From our point of view, we feel that as long as there is an appearance, there is still exercise value. Until now, we have been paying attention. When the team returns to China and starts training in China, we will definitely negotiate and recruit them according to the schedule and deployment of the league to see the recent status of these players. In the end, we definitely want to use capable and in-form players to participate in the official Olympic qualifiers.

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

(4) Before the Olympic Preliminary Round: Make sure not to go backwards for three months

Q: Our team's most important task this year is the first stage of the Olympic qualifiers in September, and now the opponents in the same group have also come out. How do we judge the whole qualifier situation now?

Cheng Yaodong: In fact, we got the video of the UAE team's recent match before the group draw, and we have probably seen it. Not only the UAE team, but also the other seeded teams, we have basically learned and seen the game video before the group draw. The UAE Olympic team has participated in a lot of matches in the past year or so, and in the national team competition window in March this year, they participated in the Doha Cup, and we also focused on watching their videos of the Doha Cup, including the matches against Qatar, Vietnam and South Korea, and their No. 9, No. 16, No. 23 and other players are still very characteristic.

Now, we are also gathering information on two other opponents in the same group, including India and Maldives. Because the Indian team and the Maldives team are both in the same region and belong to South Asia, if we can get some information about the Indian team, I think the Maldives team should also be able to get the information. Of course, now our focus is definitely on the UAE, not only because they are the seeded team in this group, the strongest, but also because our first game was against the UAE, which was an encounter. Of course, any team in our group will actively prepare and deal with three opponents with the same attitude, and we don't have any capital to despise any of them, not to mention that opponents are also quite important.

Q: I have a concern, which is also a problem that national teams at all levels often encountered in the past, that is, when training and training overseas, the team practiced very well in all aspects, but after going back, they quickly "returned it". This time, the Olympic team returned home after three months of training in Croatia, and there are still three months to go before the start of the Olympic qualifiers, so how to ensure that the team and players do not have the same problems during these three months?

Cheng Yaodong: In the next three months, we have a plan like this: First of all, there is a window for the national team competition after returning on June 4, and we invite the Uzbek Olympic team to come to our country and play two warm-up matches with us. Of course, before this, I was supposed to participate in the Panda Cup, but for objective reasons, the Panda Cup was not held, so it was changed to playing two games with the Uzbek team. After that, we will put the players back to the clubs, which is equivalent to the players going back to the clubs for training, if the club feels that the ability of these players has improved in all aspects, and they have signed up for the league, we hope that they can play in the club and participate in a few more rounds of the Chinese Super League.

By the beginning of July, because of a registration deadline, we will do our best to escalate all the best players to the AFC. Then, we may organize the last training camp in late July, and around the beginning of August, we will organize a four-nation tournament in the country, which is to participate in three international warm-up matches exactly at the pace and scale of the September Olympic qualifiers. In this regard, the Football Association is currently actively organizing and implementing. After the fight, we may enter the final sprint, which is about a month away from the start of the Olympic qualifiers. The whole plan is basically at this pace.

Q: When I say "going back", I mainly mean the rhythm of the game, the hardness and intensity of the confrontation, etc., for example, during Croatia, the current situation of the team changed the pace of attack and defense quite quickly, and the hardness and intensity of the confrontation was enough. However, after going back, due to the generally slow pace of the domestic league, everyone may consciously slow down, and when the Olympic qualifiers come, they may be uncomfortable with the rapid switching and fast pace of the opponent.

Cheng Yaodong: I think we still organize as many matches as possible, now there are 5 international matches planned, in the middle, we will intersperse some Chinese Super League and Chinese League A teams to warm up, plus our training, I believe there should not be too much gap. I believe that as long as everyone is well organized, trained, always remembers our mission and tasks, and executes according to the plan, I don't think there should be any big problems.

Interview with Cheng Yaodong: National Ola training to enhance self-confidence The strongest team in the comprehensive integration group

Cheng Yaodong and the Chinese ambassador to Croatia marched forward

(5) Long-term intensive training and short-term emergency response based on domestic foundation

Q: The whole team of the National Olympic Team has been pulled to Europe twice from last year to this year, each time for three months, and the overall effect should be said to be good. So, for this format, should other national youth teams adhere to it in the future? Or is it necessary to continue this "model"? What do you think about this?

Cheng Yaodong: Actually, we have often discussed this issue before. At this stage, I think it is feasible, after all, the competitive level of Chinese football has declined too fast and too much over the years, and there is no advantage in Asia. In the short term, it is feasible to improve the level of the team and close the gap with the Asian powerhouses, but it is certainly not a long-term solution. In the long run, we still have to do a good job in our own youth training, our own league, improve the quality of the league, and improve the technical and tactical content. Then on that basis, we can come out and participate in more international competitions, and preferably some more formal invitational tournaments, which may work better.

Moreover, this long-term training model can only be short-term, which may be relatively suitable for our 2001 age team, because in the three years of the epidemic, our national Olympic team has not played much, let alone participated in an international competition, and our Asian opponent competition has not been interrupted. On the other hand, our age group as a whole may be relatively unideal in various age groups, and the situation of players such as 05 age group, 06 age group, 07 age group and so on in the country may be much better, and the smaller the situation, the better. However, this 01 age group happens to be the appropriate age group for the men's football tournament at the Paris Olympics, so we can only use this way to "make up" in the short term, which is a short-term strategy in desperation. For the next few age groups, of course, you can also consider.

Frankly speaking, I have such a view, that is, in the past three years of the epidemic, the gap between the level of Chinese football and the high level of Asia is not narrowing, but further widening. This point, this time to bring the national Olympic team out to Europe to train deeper.

In the long run, we still have to improve our own league, not only professional leagues such as the Chinese Super League, but also improve our youth league and do a good job in the training of young people. While improving our own youth league, we will take time to participate in some quality invitational tournaments in Europe, well-known international competitions such as the Toulon Cup, Mediterranean Cup, etc., because there are many such youth competitions in Europe, and it is also very valuable to participate in such competitions. In short, the long-term situation can only be a short-term emergency measure, not a long-term solution.

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