The National Olympic fiasco, Cheng Yaodong comforted himself, and the future of Chinese football is worrying?
In the group stage of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup, the Chinese U23 national men's football team (the national Olympic team) performed poorly, first losing 0-1 to the 10-man Japanese team, and then losing 0-2 to the South Korean team. In the two games, the National Olympic team swallowed eggs and missed the group ahead of schedule. After the game, National Olympic coach Cheng Yaodong comforted himself and said that the Chinese team did not lose to the opponent at the "mental level", which sparked widespread criticism and ridicule from media and fans.
Cheng Yaodong's self-consolation remarks of "Ah Q spirit" are undoubtedly ridiculous. As the national team manager, he should face the crux of the problem head-on, rather than escape reality in this self-paralyzing way. Media people criticized Cheng Yaodong for following this "Ah Q spiritual victory method", and will "weld himself and Chinese football to death in a hopeless future".
The poor performance of the national Olympic team in this Asian Cup has exposed many problems in Chinese youth football. The technical and tactical level is low, the defensive end is full of holes, the offense is weak, and there are obvious mistakes in the tactical arrangement. This is related to the basic skills of the players, and it also reflects the various shortcomings of the youth training system.
For a long time, the national Olympic team has been pursuing the practice of "long-term training and playing various games", and has been questioned whether it is "laboring people and money". Some reporters believe that this violates the most basic laws of football, and that Chinese football should not "cut corners" if it wants to succeed, but should respect the law and make gradual progress.
Chinese youth football is in a very passive state. In the final analysis, it is because the construction of the entire youth training system is lagging behind, and it is impossible to send outstanding talents to the national team. While there have been improvements in recent years, there is still a long process.
It's not useless in the formation. For example, the performance of naturalized player Alan has attracted the attention of national team head coach Ivankovic. The outstanding performances of Baihelamu, Tao Qianglong and others are also expected to be called up for the national team. This has undoubtedly injected a fresh blood into Chinese football.
The current state of Chinese football is indeed worrying. But with perseverance, things will eventually get better. Only by facing up to problems and actively reforming can Chinese football be revitalized. For Cheng Yaodong's "Ah Q spirit", we must not agree.
In connection with the above, although the current situation of Chinese football is worrying, as long as we face the problems head-on and actively reform, the situation will eventually improve.
In order to truly change the status quo of Chinese football, the key lies in the construction of the youth training system. In recent years, although there has been some improvement, on the whole, there are still many shortcomings in the mainland youth training system.
The youth training faculty is weak. Due to the short career and low income, the loss of personnel engaged in youth training is serious, resulting in the aging of the teaching staff and limited ability. Excellent young coaches are often "poached" by clubs and national teams, which makes the teachers in the youth training position even more stretched.
The construction of youth training infrastructure is lagging behind. Although the situation in first-tier cities is relatively good, in the central and western regions, many youth training bases have outdated and backward hardware facilities and lack advanced training and scientific research equipment, which restricts the growth of young players to a large extent.
The youth training model also needs to be innovated. At present, the mainland youth training system still follows the traditional "student model", that is, to discover players by recruiting talents, but this approach often misses out some rising stars. In contrast, the "club model" in Spain or the "overall model" in Germany pay more attention to the cultivation process, which is worth learning from.
Insufficient investment in youth training is also a major problem. Due to the lack of attention, the youth training work has always been "stretched". According to incomplete statistics, the youth training funds of the top clubs in the mainland only account for about 5% of the total expenditure, which is a huge gap compared with developed football countries. The lack of sufficient funding will undoubtedly affect the development of youth training.
There are indeed many shortcomings in the mainland's youth training system, but as long as we make up our minds and persevere, we will be able to change the status quo. Youth training is the foundation of China's football development, and only by starting from this root can we truly achieve the goal of "Chinese football revitalization".
In addition to the youth training system, Chinese football also needs to work other aspects. For example, the development of professional leagues is a focus that cannot be overlooked.
The Chinese Super League has indeed made some progress in recent years, but overall, there is still a big gap compared to the top leagues in developed football countries. The quality of the game is not high, the player's salary is too high, and the competition system is single, etc., all of which are problems that the Super League needs to solve.
To improve the overall level of the Super League, we first need to start with the introduction policy. At present, Chinese Super League clubs are too much after "star players" when recruiting and ignore the cultivation of young players. This not only increases the financial burden of the club, but also affects the growth space of local players. The Chinese Super League should limit the number of foreign players to create more opportunities for local players.
The Super League system also needs to be reformed and innovated. The current format is monotonous and boring, lacking enough highlights and suspense. Perhaps we can learn from the practice of some of Europe's top leagues and set up additional events such as the League Cup to increase the intensity of the competition and thus improve the overall quality of the league.
The Chinese Super League also has a lot of potential in terms of marketing and commercial development. Through better packaging and promotion, it can not only attract more fans, but also create more revenue for the club, thus injecting new impetus into the development of the league.
The Chinese Super League also needs to strengthen the connection with youth training. At present, there is a certain "gap" between the Chinese Super League clubs and the youth training base, and it is difficult for young players to get enough opportunities. The Chinese Super League should formulate corresponding policies for the cultivation and use of young players, and build a good platform for them to grow.
If Chinese football is to really get on the right track, it needs to start reforming from multiple levels such as youth training and professional leagues. Although this process is difficult and tortuous, as long as we maintain our determination and perseverance, we will eventually be able to make the dream of "Chinese football revitalization" a reality.