For Chinese football, there has been a thorny problem in recent years - the cultivation and reserve of young players. Although after years of hard work, Chinese football has initially established a perfect youth training system, there are still many difficulties in the specific implementation of the combat effectiveness of young players.
In April 2024, during the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese Olympic team encountered this problem again. In the first game of the group stage with the Japanese Olympic team, although the Chinese Olympic team had the advantage of playing one more player, it still lost with a score of 0-1 in the end. This game also made Cheng Yaodong, the head coach of the Chinese Olympic team, once again severely criticized by fans.
Some people questioned Cheng Yaodong's tactical arrangement, some people thought that he could not give full play to the maximum potential of young players, and some people even directly asked Cheng Yaodong to leave class. However, you must know that the process of Cheng Yaodong taking over the 01 National Olympic team was not all smooth sailing.
In fact, when he took over the national youth team, which is considered to be "the worst in the history of Chinese football", Cheng Yaodong was already a duck on the shelf. Because the two big-name head coaches refused to take over one after another, Cheng Yaodong was reluctantly approached by the Football Association. In the next game, the national youth team could not even qualify for the Asian preliminaries, and Cheng Yaodong also resigned many times.
So, why do we scold Cheng Yaodong so harshly? Is he a mediocre manager who should really be sacked as the fans say? Or is Cheng Yaodong's dilemma a common problem in Chinese football youth training? Let's explore these issues together.
Cheng Yaodong's "fate"
When it comes to Cheng Yaodong, we have to mention the history of his taking over the 01 national youth team. At that time, the national youth team, which was considered "the worst in the history of Chinese football", had scared off many famous coaches.
It is reported that when the 01 national youth team was formed, two big-name head coaches refused to take over. The first is the famous coach Shen Xiangfu, who believes that the basic skills of this team are too poor to even pass the ball effectively. The second is a French coach, who has also stayed away from the team because he is optimistic about the team's development prospects.
The two coaches prevaricated, and the Football Association could only find Cheng Yaodong in the end and let him reluctantly take over the national youth team. For Cheng Yaodong, this is undoubtedly a reluctant choice. But in the face of the strong demand of the Football Association, he finally took it.
In the subsequent games, the performance of the 01 national youth team was indeed very bad. Even the Asian preliminaries could not be successfully qualified, which made Cheng Yaodong feel very helpless. As a result, he offered to resign many times, hoping to get out of this quagmire completely.
But what Cheng Yaodong didn't expect was that the Football Association did not accept his resignation. The reason is simple – this national youth team is so poor that no other manager wants to take over. If Cheng Yaodong is also gone, then this team will be in an unprecedented predicament.
After the Football Association's repeated efforts, Cheng Yaodong could only continue to stay in the national youth team and try his best to improve the team's situation. During this period, he even recruited all the main players of the 03 national youth team, which was reaching the quarterfinals at that time, to the 01 national youth team, hoping to improve the team's combat power.
In the end, with the efforts of Cheng Yaodong, the 01 national youth team barely made it to the finals. This is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement, and it also reflects Cheng Yaodong's resilience and wisdom as a head coach.
However, in the recent group stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers, the reorganized Olympic team suffered another defeat. In the first match with the Japanese Olympic team, although the Chinese Olympic team had the advantage of playing one more player, it still lost with a score of 0-1 in the end.
This result once again aroused the dissatisfaction of the majority of fans, and they pointed the finger at Cheng Yaodong. Some questioned his tactical set-up, others thought he couldn't get the most out of a young player, and some even asked him to go straight out of class.
But should we have a deeper understanding of Cheng Yaodong's situation, rather than just using him as a scapegoat? After all, when he took over the national youth team, he was already being "driven to the shelves".
The need to manage such a "bad" team is a huge challenge for any manager. Cheng Yaodong did not take the initiative to take over the team, but was forced to take over. In such a situation, what right do we have to scold him harshly?
The dilemma of Chinese football youth training
From Cheng Yaodong's experience, it is not difficult to see that there have always been some deep-seated problems in Chinese football in the cultivation of young players. This is not only reflected in the plight of Cheng Yaodong when he took over the 01 national youth team, but also in the performance of the Chinese Olympic team in recent games.
First of all, we must admit that there is indeed a problem with the overall strength of young players in Chinese football. When taking over the 01 national youth team, Shen Xiangfu and the French coach made it clear that the basic skills of this team were too poor to even pass the ball effectively. This shows that Chinese football still has a long way to go in the cultivation of basic skills.
Speaking of the recent performance of the Chinese Olympic team, although they had the advantage of playing one more game in the first game with the Japanese Olympic team, they still lost 0-1 in the end. It also exposes the problems of young players who seem to lack the courage and determination to play when it matters most.
Obviously, the root cause of these problems is not the responsibility of Cheng Yaodong alone. As a manager at national team level, all he can do is do his best to develop and develop these young players. To truly solve these problems, we need to start with the youth training system of the entire Chinese football.
First of all, we have to focus on the basic stages of youth training. From primary and secondary school all the way to the Academy, these stages are crucial to the development of young players' fundamentals. Only by bending down to fundamentally solve these problems can we cultivate a more solid talent foundation for Chinese football.
Secondly, in the middle and high-end stage of youth training, it is also necessary to further improve the corresponding training mechanism. For example, it strengthens the tactical understanding and on-the-spot adaptability of youth players, and improves their decision-making level at critical moments. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the physical training of young players to lay a solid foundation for their future development in the senior team.
Finally, the development of the coaching team is also crucial in the entire youth training system. We must cultivate a team of high-quality youth coaches who must not only have solid professional knowledge, but also have the patience and perseverance to fundamentally change the development philosophy of Chinese football. Only in this way can we truly cultivate a group of excellent players with international standards.
There is no doubt that the resolution of these problems will take a long time. However, as long as we unremittingly promote the reform and innovation of China's football youth training system, I believe that one day, Chinese football will usher in a new dawn.
Cheng Yaodong should not be a scapegoat
At present, Cheng Yaodong, as the head coach of the Chinese Olympic team, is suffering from severe criticism from fans. Some accused him of having problems with his tactical set-up, others felt that he could not get the most out of his young players, and some even asked him to step down.
But should we better understand the difficult situation that Cheng Yaodong is currently facing? After all, when he took over the 01 national youth team, he was already being "driven to the shelves".
When the 01 national youth team was formed, two big-name head coaches refused to take over, believing that the team's basic skills were too poor to even make effective passes. Faced with this situation, the Football Association could only find Cheng Yaodong and let him reluctantly take over the team.
For Cheng Yaodong, this is undoubtedly a reluctant choice. But after repeated efforts by the Football Association, he finally took it head-on. In the subsequent games, the performance of the 01 national youth team was indeed very bad, and it could not even qualify for the Asian preliminaries.
Although Cheng Yaodong has offered to resign many times, the Football Association is still unwilling to accept it, because there is really no other coach who is willing to take over this "hot potato". In desperation, Cheng Yaodong could only continue to stay in this team and do his best to improve the team's situation.
During this period, he even recruited all the main players of the 03 national youth team, which was reaching the quarterfinals at that time, to the 01 national youth team, hoping to improve the team's combat power. In the end, with the efforts of Cheng Yaodong, the 01 national youth team barely reached the finals, which is undoubtedly a great achievement.
However, in the recent group stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers, the reorganized Olympic team suffered another defeat. In the first game of the Japanese Olympic team, although the Chinese Olympic team had the advantage of playing one more player, it still lost with a score of 0-1 in the end.
This result once again aroused the dissatisfaction of the majority of fans, and they pointed the finger at Cheng Yaodong. But if we take a deeper look at his situation, we will find that he did not choose to take over the team on his own initiative, but was forced to take over.
In this case, what qualifications do we have to scold him so harshly? As a head coach, Cheng Yaodong has done his best to cultivate and play these young players. In order to truly solve the problems existing in Chinese football youth training, we need to start from the entire system, rather than blaming him alone.
We should be more understanding of the predicament faced by Cheng Yaodong, rather than simply using him as a scapegoat. Only in this way can we truly inject momentum into the future of Chinese football and pave the way for the growth of young players.
In general, the reform of China's football youth training system will take a long time, but as long as we persist in advancing it, I believe that one day, Chinese football will usher in a new dawn. In this process, we should give understanding and support, rather than simply blaming and scolding. Only in this way can we truly promote the prosperity of Chinese football.