Bad starts are often frustrating, especially for a young team with high expectations. On April 23, in the first round of the Romanian Four Nations Tournament, the Chinese U16 national junior team lost 0-4 to the host, which was undoubtedly like a slap in the face, shattering the confidence of the team and fans.
However, just when the U16 national junior team fell into a trough in Europe, another new force of Chinese football emerged in East Asia. During the same period, the Chinese U14 and U15 national youth teams swept the local school team in the Japanese training, and both achieved 4 consecutive victories. The differentiation of these two forces reflects the stark polarization of Chinese football youth training.
The U16 national youth Europe is in a quagmire, and it is a thing of the past to win the championship
Speaking of this U16 national junior team, its background is destined to carry high hopes for the development of Chinese football. Last year, after winning the U15 East Asian Cup, the team has attracted much attention and praise.
However, once out of the Asian arena, it did suffer a terrible start in Europe. In March, it achieved a mediocre record of 1 win and 3 losses in Germany's training, including a 0-8 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth team, exposing its serious shortcomings in technical and tactical literacy and physical fitness.
Just last month, the team continued their quest for a challenge in Europe, heading to Romania for the Four Nations Tournament. The first game against the host was a 0-4 defeat, and the process was even more ugly: the first half was still self-justifying, but in the second half, Zhang Hongfu, a mixed-race central defender, made two low-level mistakes and directly gave the opponent two goals; The team also doubled yellow and awarded a penalty, which ended up being a black opener.
Judging from the team's poor performance in Europe, it does have deep-rooted common problems with Chinese football: poor basic skills, low individual technical and tactical ability, mediocre physical condition, weak attack, and sloppy defense. Don't look at it as if it has won the championship in Asia, once it faces the world's best players, it does expose many existing flaws of Chinese players.
This may be the root of its quagmire in Europe. Last year's champion seems to be in the past, and now the performance is sighing.
The U14U15 national youth Japan is brilliant, and new hopes for Chinese football are gradually rising
However, it is gratifying that at the same time, the Chinese U14 and U15 national youth teams have won the first place in Japan's training, and their outstanding performance has shown a glimmer of hope for Chinese football youth training.
In this trip to Japan, the U14 national junior team won all 4 games, scored 47 goals and conceded only 6 goals; The U15 national junior team also won all 4 games, scoring 27 goals and conceding 4 goals. These impressive statistics are enough to show that these two teams are outstanding in East Asia.
Among them, it is particularly worth mentioning that the U15 national junior team defeated the Japanese school team one year older than him in this training. Last year, when the then U16 national team visited Japan, they were beaten 0-4 by the Japanese school team of the same age. In one year, the U15 team has surpassed the U16 team, which shows that the younger the team, the stronger the relative strength.
Mental outlook determines combat effectiveness
Judging from this distinct age difference, it may be the difference in mental state and psychological quality that has created such a different record between the U16 national youth and the U14 and U15 national youth.
On the one hand, the young players of the U16 country have encountered too much criticism, faced great pressure, and their mental state is easily affected. On the other hand, due to their obscurity and lack of attention, the U14 and U15 countries have maintained a relatively relaxed and happy mentality.
This can be seen in the playing style of the U14 and U15 national youths. In the match against the Japanese school team, they showed full enthusiasm and tenacious fighting spirit, attacking without reservation, defending with all their might, showing the vitality that young players should have. The poor performance of the Under-16 players in Europe has exposed their lack of mental quality and determination.
Football is an energy-intensive sport, and the mental quality of players is crucial. Having a tenacious determination and an optimistic mindset often allows players to perform at the level they deserve on the pitch. And once the mental state is not good and the psychological pressure is too great, even if the skills and tactics are good, it is inevitable that the performance will be mediocre in the game.
For the U16 national youth, they are burdened with great hope, and the criticism and doubts from the outside world will undoubtedly increase their psychological burden. In contrast, the obscure Under-14s and Under-15s have no such baggage and can focus on the game without any worries and use their talents.
It is for this reason that although the Under-14 and 15 national teams may not be much better than the Under-16 team, they have performed better in the game. The difference in psychological quality has created a clear difference in strength.
However, this distinction does not last forever. As the U14 and U15 players get older and become more famous, they will inevitably face similar psychological pressure as the U16 players. At that point, it will be unknown whether they will be able to maintain their current mental outlook.
There is a long way to go in youth training
In general, the worrying performance of the U16 national youth in Europe and the outstanding performance of the U14 and U15 national youth in Japan jointly reflect the stark polarization of Chinese football youth training.
On the one hand, Chinese football youth training is indeed improving, and a steady stream of new dazzling talents are emerging. Represented by the national football star Dong Lu, the U14U15 national youth high school has emerged a number of potential stocks. The individual abilities of these young players have improved, and Chinese football finally has the hope of competing with the world's strongest teams at the youth level.
But on the other hand, we cannot ignore the plight of the U16 undergraduates in Europe. Their setbacks have confirmed that there is still a big gap between Chinese players and the world's top teams in terms of basic kung fu, individual technical and tactical ability, and physical fitness. Even if you play well, it is likely that you will be in the "small pond" of Asia, and once you go out of Asia and face strong opponents, it will be difficult to hide your shortcomings.
Chinese football needs to carry out all-round and systematic reform at the youth training level, fundamentally consolidate the foundation of players, and improve the comprehensive ability of players. Especially in terms of basic skills and personal skills and tactics, it takes hard work. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to cultivating the psychological quality of players, so that they can have a tenacious will and optimistic attitude to adapt to the high-intensity challenges in the future.
This is a long way to go. However, with the hope of new stars such as the U14 and U15 national youth, it is not out of reach for Chinese football to get out of the trough and move towards glory. There may be no end to the road of youth training, but as long as we persevere and innovate, Chinese football will eventually become a phoenix and compete in the world.