Cheng Yaodong, the coach of the National Olympic men's football team, handed out red envelopes after the game, and the vice chairman of the Football Association sent a message to the whole team at the farewell banquet
On the evening of the 22nd local time, the 2001 Chinese Olympic team left Doha, Qatar, and returned to Beijing on a flight that took off at 3 a.m. local time on the 23rd. It is understood that after the game between China and Argentina, Cheng Yaodong, the head coach of the Chinese Olympic team, sent a blessing "red envelope" to all the players. On the night after the game, the whole team had a slightly sad "casual dinner" at the resident hotel, and Yang Xu and Cheng Yaodong, vice chairmen of the Chinese Football Association, sent messages to the players. Before boarding, Cheng Yaodong told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily: "Although I didn't leave tears, my heart was crying. I cherish the time I have spent with you in the past few years, and I am also moved by the sincerity and determination of all team members to strive for common ideals. I hope that everyone in this group, especially the team members, can have a better future. ”
In the final round of Group B of the 6th U23 Asian Cup and the Asian finals of the Paris Olympic Preliminary Tournament, the 2001 Chinese Olympic team defeated the UAE Olympic team 2-1, thus ending the team's historical mission with a victory. Due to the defeat to the South Korean Olympic team in the last round, the Chinese Olympic team has been de facto eliminated from the Paris Olympic preliminaries competition. The Chinese Football Association also booked a ticket for the whole team to return to China in the early morning of the 23rd local time.
Although the goal of entering the Paris Olympics was ultimately not achieved, a belated "first victory" still made the Chinese Olympic team feel very gratified. It is understood that Cheng Yaodong sent a "red envelope" to the whole team on the bus back to the resident hotel after the game. The purpose of this move is to let the whole team share the hard-won joy of victory. Cheng Yaodong also attached a message to the red envelopes to encourage the players to continue to work hard, and at the same time express his gratitude to all team members, including the players who did not appear.
After returning to the resident hotel, the whole team held a brief farewell event at the hotel at 8:30 p.m. local time on the 22nd, which was actually the last dinner before the disbandment of the 2001 National Olympic team.
During the event, as the top leader of the team, Yang Xu, vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association, made a speech. He sent a message to the whole team with the theme of "'one congratulations, two words of thanks, and three words of gift'". Yang Xu's "congratulations" was actually his congratulatory victory on behalf of the Chinese Football Association on the team's first victory in this event. He said: "Congratulations on your growth together in the past five years, and congratulations to the whole team for forming a deep friendship in the past five years. I believe that in the future, you will go higher and further in the field of football because of the foundation laid in the past five years. ”
The "two thanks" were sent to the coaches and working team members of the team and the head coach Cheng Yaodong himself. Yang Xu said: "The first thank you is to the entire coaching staff and all the staff. Through their hard work, they have served and mentored everyone, so that the 23 players here and the 200 or so players of the same age in China have grown. So, we would like to express our gratitude to the entire coaching staff and staff, including the foreign coaches. My second thank you is for Cheng Yaodong's guidance. Why? You may be able to understand it later. Cheng Gui took on more pressure. His pressure comes not only from leading the team to train every day, but also from facing so many strong opponents in international football, and a lot of pressure from other aspects. You may later understand what kind of pressure this is. On the bus back, everyone grabbed the red envelopes he sent. He is very serious when he sends red envelopes, and it comes from the heart. When you grab the red envelope, can you see what is written on the red envelope? What he said is, let you keep working hard, and then give special thanks to the athletes who didn't play, or didn't play much. This is the care of an elder for a young man, and it should be said that he is very attentive to infect every athlete. So, I would like to give special thanks to Director Cheng. ”
Yang Xu then sent 3 gifts to the players. "The first message is, be a strong person at heart," he said. I hope that when every athlete reaches such a height, he can already represent the country (football), and you will be able to pretend to be the world's affairs and accommodate the world's people. Your heart is strong. The only thing you have to do is focus on being yourself. No matter what happens on the field, focus on your game. Whatever happens in the team, focus on training and playing, whatever happens in society, focus on what you love about football, and the second message is that I hope you bring back to the club what you have learned in the Olympic team. You have developed good habits and skills in the national Olympic team, especially the fighting spirit, the spirit of playing on the field, and the performance of civility. You have to bring this style and civilization back to the domestic league. You may not be very old in the league, but you have represented your country. So, you have to be a good role model, no matter what others say, and you have to believe that you are a role model for the team, and you have to have that self-confidence, and the third message is that I hope that every athlete can think long-term. Today, I have formed a deep friendship with all of you, including the coaching staff and the work team, and I will definitely pay attention to each and every one of you when I go back. I hope that Chinese professional football will definitely cultivate its own stars in the future. I hope that the stars we have produced are all of you. I also have reason to believe that the stars of the next five years will be players your age. I want to develop you into stars, but I want to be more of a star. Stars should train steadily, be more disciplined, and lead others. That's what I expect from a player. My stricter requirements for stars are that they can't behave uncivilly on the field of play and can't participate in violence on the pitch themselves. If one day I find out that all of you here are violently acting on the pitch, I will ask the disciplinary committee to impose a harsher punishment, which is what I want from the stars. I will sincerely help you, cultivate all of you here, and sincerely hope that the stars of Chinese football are your generation. I will always follow you until you become the top players and pillars of Chinese football in the future. We work together. ”
Before Yang Xu spoke, members of the coaching staff and Tao Qianglong and other player representatives also made parting speeches one by one. As the captain, Tao Qianglong, on behalf of all the players, expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff and the working team, and then presented the coaching staff with a football with the signatures of all the players. Immediately afterwards, Tao Qianglong also gave another football with the signatures of all the team members to Wang Yudong, a young player who is not yet 20 years old. Wang Yudong also happens to be a player of the right age for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. "Passing" means inheritance, indicating that the younger generation represented by Wang Yudong has received the baton from his senior brother and shouldered the heavy responsibility of impacting the next Olympic Games.
At 11 p.m. local time on the 22nd, the Chinese Olympic team set off for Hamad International Airport in Doha. Before boarding, Cheng Yaodong told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily: "At this time, the mood is also quite complicated. I am glad that the team has improved, but I am also sorry that I did not qualify. Of course, at this moment, I have more hope in my heart. I didn't have any tears, but I was already crying in my heart. I am touched by the fact that everyone has been able to get along with each other day and night for so many years, and to experience difficulties and challenges together. I believe that our team members can achieve higher professional achievements after continuous hard work. ”
The flight of the Chinese Olympic team is expected to land at Beijing Daxing International Airport at about 3:30 pm Beijing time on the 23rd, and then all members will be disbanded. Coach Cheng Yaodong will return directly to his hometown of Shanghai. The players traveled to various places to meet up with the club and prepare for the upcoming professional league.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Yun