The Chinese men's football team, a name that once thrilled tens of millions of fans, now seems to have gradually lost its former aura. I remember that in 2010, the Chinese men's football team took the lead in the group stage of the Asian Cup, reached the semifinals, and finally lost to Japan 1:2 and won the runner-up, but the Chinese men's football team at that time was full of infinite possibilities. The failure of that Asian Cup did not make people lose confidence in the Chinese men's football team, but strengthened people's belief in "see you at the World Cup".
However, time has passed, and people's hearts are not ancient. In the past 8 years, the Chinese men's football team has not only failed to qualify for the World Cup, but has hit a wall in Asian regional competitions one after another, and the future is worrying. In the 2015 Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team suffered Waterloo in the group stage; In the 2019 Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team lost to Iran in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals and stopped in the quarterfinals.
Now, it has been 8 years since the last time the Chinese men's football team entered the semifinals of the Asian Cup. As the new 2023 Asian Cup is approaching, whether the Chinese men's football team can regain its style and reach the semifinals is the most concerned issue for more than 20 million Chinese fans.
The first match of the Asian Cup between the Chinese men's football team and Tajikistan is bound to have an important impact on the entire Asian tour of the Chinese men's football team. The previous two warm-up matches of the Chinese men's football team, which lost 0:1 to Saudi Arabia and defeated Oman 2:1, can be said to have not seen too many positive signals. Therefore, the performance of this opening game is crucial.
However, to the frustration of fans, the starting 11 list announced by the Chinese men's football team is full of controversy. Let's take a look at each of these points of controversy.
The first is the selection of wide attackers. Due to Wei Shihao's injury, Dai Weijun and Liu Binbin were informed of the start. But what is puzzling is that Wei Shihao has been in good form before, why did he suddenly get injured before the first fight? And even if Wei Shihao is indeed injured, there is still Shi Ke sitting on the bench, and the strength of this natural right-winger is beyond doubt, so it is strange why he is not up to him to fill Wei Shihao's vacant position?
Let's look at the striker line. Jankovic reused Tan Long and placed Zhang Yuning on the bench. The move is equally intriguing. In terms of foot-fighting skills and the ability to grasp scoring opportunities, Tan Long is a cut below Zhang Yuning. What's more, Zhang Yuning scored a hat trick in the last warm-up match and was in good shape. Such Zhang Yuning, but can only temporarily succumb to the substitute, is really a little puzzling.
Finally, focus on the core position of the frontcourt. Xie Pengfei, who should have the strongest ball control and passing ability in the Chinese men's football team, could only wait for an opportunity on the bench for the time being. Liu Binbin, who is mediocre, was placed among the starting 11. Why is this? Could it be that Xie Pengfei's recent training and game performance has not been good? But it stands to reason that Xie Pengfei has always been the best choice for the national football team in this position.
All kinds of signs show that before the first game of the Asian Cup, the Chinese men's football team did not have the state of "everything is ready and go all out" that we expected. On the contrary, the team is mismanaged, poorly staffed, and filled with a plethora of incomprehensible populist manipulations. This is an extremely unfavorable signal for the upcoming Chinese men's football team. We have to worry that if there is a serious split within the Chinese men's football team, or even "infighting", how much physical and mental strength will they have left to deal with the upcoming Asian Cup, an important regional competitive competition?
The tactical problems of the Chinese men's football team have a long history. For many years, Chinese football has not formed a real national team style and style. With the World Cup ahead of the coming year, the Chinese men's football team now needs a tactical framework and a personnel framework, rather than such a chaotic personnel placement.
Let's take a look at how Asia's powerhouse, Japan, operates. The Japanese men's football team has a very clear tactical style of play over the years, full of unique Japanese characteristics, whether it is a coach or a player, it is implemented under this framework. Each player is clear about his or her position and role in the team, and the whole team is functioning in an orderly manner. This is an important reason why the Japanese men's football team can stand on top of Asia every year.
In contrast, the selection and appointment of the Chinese men's football team is disorderly, the coach's selfishness is too heavy, and there is no real national team cooperation mechanism. The players are fighting openly and secretly, passing the buck to each other, and there is little tacit understanding. The whole team is a loose mass of quicksand, which could be torn apart at any moment. How did this win the full cheer of Iran and Japan?
Therefore, the author believes that the problem that needs to be fundamentally solved in Chinese football is to establish a national team mechanism in the real sense. This requires coaches and players to reach a high degree of unity in the selection and employment of personnel and tactical play, and form a relatively fixed personnel and tactical framework to reduce temporary messing and selfish operations.
In Asia, China's population and resources are undoubtedly the best. There is no reason why we have been lagging behind Japan and South Korea in terms of technical fluidity. The top priority is to establish a real national team cooperation mechanism, which requires the joint efforts of coaches and players, policy support at the national level, and help and supervision from all walks of life.
This Asian Cup is a good time for the Chinese men's football team to start again. No matter how criticized the starting line-up may be, the Chinese players still need to unite and withstand the pressure to defeat Tajikistan. Only by playing a good result in the Asian Cup can we win more social attention and resource tilt for Chinese football. I'm sure Jankovic and his teammates must have realized this.
Everything is changing, and Chinese football will eventually usher in new opportunities. Let us look forward to the rise of the national football team, and believe that no matter how difficult the process is, the end will be bright.