Under the command of head coach Li Tie, the Chinese men's football team won the second place in the group with a record of four wins after the resumption of the World Preliminary Round of 40 in Asia, and entered the round of 12 with the best results in the second place in eight groups, completing the small goal of Chinese football in 2021. And Li Tie also successfully completed the task he had when he took over the team, that is, to win all four games. After leading the team to qualify for the round of 12, Li Tie was interviewed by reporters before leaving the Uae to return to China, reviewing his mental journey.
"Tomorrow one-on-one is the most capable"
What is your biggest feeling after the round of 40 matches?
Li Tie: As far as the whole team is concerned, one of the most important jobs after I took over is to change the spiritual level. It's actually the work I've been doing, including some of the use and tweaks on the personnel side, the building of other aspects of the team and so on. Of course, spiritual work is not a one-and-a-half-day affair, but requires you to run through every day of your daily life. For a year and a half, we've been going in that direction. So, you can see that there are more and more positive things in the whole team now. This positive energy, especially when the team encounters difficulties, can play a positive role. I think it's something I'm happy to see.
In the game against Syria, Zhang Xizhe went to hold up his clothes after scoring the ball, and it said "Tomorrow we will wait for you to come back." Because I didn't know about it in advance, I didn't have this procedure in my plan, but later learned that taking that dress was agreed upon by several core team members in advance. It is said that later Wu Lei also picked up his clothes after scoring the ball. Zhang Yuning scored the ball at the last moment, originally planned to do the same, perhaps because the time was too short, and the final whistle was blown immediately after scoring the goal, so it was not too late. Later, I specifically asked the team leader Zhang He, who told me that before the game, these core players took the initiative to find him, saying that they hoped to have an expression for tomorrow during the game, on the one hand, they hoped to express that this is a team, tomorrow is a member of the team; on the other hand, because many people outside, including the media, the Internet, etc. are cursing tomorrow, even if this time is injured, the outside is more fierce. So, a few of the team's core players offered to express their hopes. Leaving aside how tomorrow will be, just this matter, I think it reflects a change and atmosphere in the team building of the current national team. This can also be said to be what I care about the most, we have won consecutive games, and I think it is precisely the result of team building.
Of course, when it comes to tomorrow's events, I would like to say more by the way. I see a lot of people criticizing tomorrow, and even thinking that tomorrow is not qualified for the national team. However, you can actually ask the players privately, what level will it be tomorrow, and will it be enough to enter the national team? In the position of domestic right-back, from a purely defensive point of view, tomorrow's one-on-one ability is the strongest, and you can not believe it, the data shows that tomorrow is the first place in this regard. Now Tang Miao in the team, including Wang Gang, who was injured and did not come, all had stronger offensive attributes; Zhang Linpeng was more balanced in attack and defense, and Ji Xiang had enough hardness and strength. It can be said that several people in this position, our coaching staff are very clear about their situation, what game to use and what people, we also have a number.
I also understand that everyone looks at things differently, but because tomorrow I know what the coaching staff knows what he is like and the pressure that the whole coaching team will face after we call him in. So, he was actually under a lot of pressure, and he wanted to show himself that day, but who would have thought of such a serious injury. However, after being injured tomorrow, there are still so many people scolding, so I can't stand it anymore, so I will say more here.
"The Top 12 Li ke will be of great use"
During this competition, you always emphasized the "winning streak" and did not want to talk about the scoring problem. Why?
Li Tie: I think it's a task. It may not be very clear to the outside world that our coaching team has taken over, and the leaders of the association, including the whole situation of this World Preliminary Tournament, require us to "win four consecutive games and qualify from the group!" "That's the task given to us. So, the pressure on our coaching team is something that no team has faced before. Later, with the development of the situation, I saw that there were also some voices in the outside world, saying that as long as the three wins and one draw the group qualified.
Although we haven't talked about it externally, I can reveal that the goal we set for ourselves is to win all four games. Therefore, what is instilled in the team every day is "four wins". So, in the Sino-Syrian game, I believe you also saw that our players were still trying to score again at the last moment. Definitely not because of the 1-1 score, there are more defensive players. Don't believe it, the players themselves are still holding their breath and want to win the Syrian team. I think all of this reflects the changes in this team now and before.
For example, in the match against Maldives, the outside world may think that we are sending a substitute squad in the game. However, I can responsibly say that there is no main force and substitute in this national team. Don't feel like I'm joking or trying to hide something, but a real presence in this team right now.
Before the round of 40 this time, after moving from Shanghai to Suzhou, we played an in-team teaching game when adapting to the venue. The players on both sides are basically mixed kicks, very close, really! Let's say you put together all the players you think should be, maybe starters, put the bench on the other side, or you pick someone you think you can make up on the other side and the rest on the other side, and the two teams are still very close.
I think this is a good thing, indicating that we have not done it in vain for more than a year. During this time, we went down a lot of divisions, watched a lot of games, and watched a lot of players. After watching the game, we did a lot of work, including the growth process of each player from childhood, and even eager to check the ancestors of each player. I dare say here that my advantage over other coaches is my knowledge of the players. These players have gone from the roots to the present, their origins, how they have grown, what kind of personality, I know too well! So, I know what every player is like and what it might be. Moreover, I am in constant contact with every player, whether it is during the league or during vacation. During each national team training camp, I called or WeChat one by one to communicate to find out whether they had injuries, whether they could come to the national team, or what other unexpected situations there were. Even if I don't call for a while, I will personally explain to the player and tell him what I think. So, what I've built with the players is that kind of relationship.
And, in order to have competition within the team, we envisioned from the beginning that there would be 3 or 4 players in each position, and in my opinion, the levels of these guys are extremely close. That's what our current national team is doing. For example, before coming to the UAE this time, Ji Xiang was temporarily transferred to the team. He has not been called since the 2019 East Asian Cup, but in fact, what level is he? Our coaching team is well aware that he is always within our reach. It's just that because of the way we play and the way we play now, according to our observations, we feel that there may be someone stronger than him in this position. But when we need it, he can use it right away. In that game, he played well after going up, after all, he did not train with the team in a special system, and before coming to the team, the club had taken 10 days off.
I cite the example of Ji Xiang to say that in the past year or so, we have done a lot of work in this regard. It's precisely because of doing these basic jobs that I feel that the team has a very good competitive environment and atmosphere, which is a very positive thing. Everyone was holding their breath and wanting to play. I also made it very clear to them that there is no "main force and substitute" in the national team, only "fit and not fit", you may be suitable for this game, you may be suitable for that game, the game is not the same as the game, but we will make it clear to them. Including naturalized players, if they are not coming, they are definitely the main force. For example, Li Ke, he does not enter the 23-man list, not a matter of ability and level, but the overall tactics of the team and the consideration of the opponent, and it will be of great use in the next 12 rounds.
To be honest, my requirements for the players are very strict, including the whole preparation arrangement, some things required in the training, the players have also begun to adapt slowly, and they are still a little uncomfortable before. All these small things, in the daily training a little bit of requirements, the formation of habits, and finally have this step.
"Moving to the UAE race is about experiencing and growing"
You have said so much, why not mention the matter of this move to the UAE? What do you feel like your biggest gain from this competition and experience?
Li Tie: Why didn't you mention it? Do you think as an athlete, there have been fewer experiences like this before? There may be more discussion of adverse effects. But why don't you think these things are actually experiences and growths? Like you came out with the team in this situation this time, don't you feel like it's a unique experience for you? I have never experienced such a thing as a coach, but as a player, is there actually less such an experience? Do you remember the time when Wu Chengying was temporarily transferred from home when we played Iran away from the Round of 10 in 1997? Wu Chengying set off by himself, and it was not as convenient as it is now, and it was necessary to fly to Iran two or three times. Don't you think that's a challenge to Wu Chengying? So, I keep telling them that as a member of the national team, you have to be ready for war at any time.
This time from Suzhou to the UNITED Arab Emirates, I don't know how to say it, but I think a lot of our previous preparations have been effective. So, why would I say "everything is the best arrangement"? We used to basically schedule a game for 3-4 days. Because we were following the original group stage plan of the Round of 40, that is, 2 games in March and 2 games in June, basically 5 days apart. Later, it was changed to the tournament system, and we all followed the "four-four system", that is, one game every four days, so if you think back, did we start training in January this year at this rhythm? Of course, later we won a favorable schedule, of course, more conducive to the preparation of the team.
However, when the game suddenly came here from Suzhou, it changed back to the rhythm of four days. In terms of the preparation of the whole team, we have been prepared. However, the only thing that breaks some of our thinking is the weather factor. Originally, we certainly wouldn't have made such a big rotation in such an important tournament. But when the coaching team analyzed and prepared for the game before the game, there was such a consensus: the first is our understanding and trust of the players; the second is that the level of the players has also been achieved. For example, for the outside world to think that team A is going to play a game against Maldives, in my opinion, it may be five or six goals. And now let the B team play, they play just as well, you can see the desire they show on the pitch, especially the start played much better than the first two games! This is the result of internal competition, and it is also a manifestation of their desire, which is very happy for me.
However, the weather was something we had not prepared for before. Suddenly coming to the UAE, it was a huge challenge. There is no doubt that this is a test of the player's willpower. After three games, did you see that we had one guy with cramps? Wu Lei, do you think it's a cramp? No, it was because he knew I was going to replace him, and he just lay there and rested for a while.