Sun Ji, born in Shanghai on January 15, 1982, his two wings flying together with his twin brother Sun Xiang were once a beautiful landscape of Shanghai Shenhua, loved by the majority of fans and loved by the "auspicious brothers". In Chinese football and even in world football, it is very rare for brothers to be skilled and play on the same team at the same time.
After retiring due to injury in 2012, Sun Ji founded Guanbo Sports, officially participated in campus football and youth training, and then cooperated with La Liga powerhouse Valencia Club to introduce a full set of Valencia training programs, cultivating and transporting a number of elite talents for Shanghai football and even Chinese football, and embarked on the road of Mentor Xu Genbao.
Recently, the Shanghai hotline reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Sun Ji, during which Sun Ji talked about his original intention of devoting himself to youth training and his indissoluble relationship with football.
Looking back at the past, the auspicious brothers showed their sharp edge
In elementary school, Sun Ji and his younger brother Sun Xiang attended Pingliang Road No. 4 Primary School, a famous football traditional school in Shanghai, and in 1995, he was selected by Xu Genbao to join the newly established Shanghai Cable 02 team and participated in the 2000 Second Division League.
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In 2002, Sun Ji entered Shanghai Shenhua in the shanghai football reorganization and became the main player; in 2003, Sun Ji participated in the last A League with Shenhua as the main defender; since then, Sun Ji has represented Shanghai Shenhua in the 2005, 2006 and 2008 Chinese Super League runners-up.
In 2010, Sun Ji transferred from Shanghai Shenhua to Hangzhou Greentown, where he helped the team to a good result of fourth place in the league and qualified for the 2011 AFC Champions League. Unfortunately, Sun Ji was officially retired at the end of 2012 after accidentally losing his header during a game in April 2011, resulting in an acute contusion to his cervical spine.
Impressed by unforgettable these four games
Speaking of unforgettable images from his football career, Sun Ji said that there were four games that were impressive, including sweet memories and sad pasts.
"In 2004, when I played at Shenhua, in the 4-4 home draw with Tianjin, I scored three goals, which was the first and only hat-trick of my career and was very impressive. The second game was in June 2004, Shenhua home match against AC Milan, I played a world wave at Shenhua home, and in the end we won 2-0. ”
Profile photo: 2004 Chinese Super League Round 19
"In the 2002 derby, we lost 2-0 to Shanghai COSCO, when we were all young players, and the loss of this game had a great impact in all aspects. Another game was my game in Hangzhou Greentown, in early April 2011 against Nanchang Bayi Hengyuan, in the game because of acute contusion of the cervical spine during the header, which eventually led to retirement..."
Hat-tricks and world waves, these two kinds of goals, no matter which player they are placed on, are enough to make people remember for a lifetime. And the sad past either makes people grow or change their lives. Fortunately, Sun Ji is still active in the field of football after retiring, and it is a youth training work with a longer-term perspective and more expectations.
After retiring, Sun Ji founded Guanbo Sports, and its Shanghai Jixiang Football Sports Club was awarded the professional qualification of "Shanghai Youth Football Elite Training Base". The club has cooperated with nearly 30 well-known primary and secondary schools, trained nearly 2,500 people per week, opened nearly 20,000 football training courses, covering nearly 300,000 young people, and made contributions to improving the comprehensive quality of youth football, physical fitness, and cultivating fighting spirit.
Rooted in youth training Follow in the footsteps of the mentor
Talking about the reasons for taking root in youth training after retirement, Sun Ji said: "In fact, when I was a professional player playing football, I already had the idea of doing youth training after retirement. After retiring in 2012, I encountered a good time, China's football environment began to gradually improve, the country also introduced relevant policies, in such an environment I entered the field of youth training. "As for the goal, Sun Ji admitted that he just wanted to understand the actual situation at this level of youth football and see if he could improve and enhance the quality of youth training in Shanghai through his own practical actions and related resources." So far, we are achieving our original goal step by step, and the whole process is relatively smooth. ”
Sun Ji said that his mentor Xu Genbao is his role model to learn, "Xu Zhi has spent his life's energy on football, and this spirit of fighting for the cause of football is very valuable." Although I retired, football is one of my original intentions, and I hope that in the future, I can cultivate good seedlings for Shanghai and China like Xu Zhi. ”
Image source: Sun Ji Weibo
Connect with the international to transport elite talents
Shanghai Jixiang Football Club, as the first youth training institution in Shanghai to cooperate deeply with La Liga powerhouse Valencia Football Club, on September 22, 2016, the two sides signed a three-year cooperation agreement, as the first step of cooperation, Valencia Football Club appointed a senior youth training director to be stationed in Shanghai to formulate and check the coaching management system and training outline content, and spread these advanced concepts to the trained children through local coaches.
In 2016, Sun Ji attended the cooperation ceremony between Guanbo Sports and Valencia Football Club and delivered a speech
Through continuous efforts and exploration over the years, the club has also achieved a lot of results: in 2019, it successfully transported nearly 20 players to the U14 echelon of Shanghai Maritime Harbor; in the past three years, three members have been selected for the national junior team, ages U12 and U13 respectively; more than eight people have been sent to the 07 age group of the Shanghai elite team, forming a virtuous circle of social training.
Deep ploughing and meticulous cultivation of good seedlings
Talking about the next youth training work plan, Sun Ji said that the training of the youth training system is actually a cyclical process, every year there are constantly new students enrolled, and the original age group will continue to rise, resulting in a continuous cycle of age echelons. "Our primary goal is to work deeply and dig deeply, send some good seedlings to a better platform, such as the Chinese Super League platforms like SIPG and Shenhua, and send team members to the direction of professional elites, which is also very achievable and proud for the club, and will also provide a better platform and development opportunities for small players, which is the goal we will strive for and achieve in the next step."
As for the process of selecting outstanding young players, it is very scientific and rigorous, starting from kindergarten training, after five years of primary school, to junior high school, the club will select a group of top athletes from all cooperative schools to form an elite team. "Such an elite team is a team that can represent the club and represent Pudong New Area in various competitions, and this elite team will continue to grow and improve in the competition, which is the mechanism and process of our selection."
Rising Star Every step must be solid
As one of only 3 private youth football clubs in the city that have obtained professional training qualifications, Sun Ji modestly said that Jixiang Football Club is still a young rising star, and the Root Treasure Base and Lucky Star are the goals and role models they want to learn. "Youth football training in Shanghai was carried out relatively early and is also very systematic and formal. In the early years, there were also small sports schools in various districts and counties, such as Putuo and Jing'an schools, which did very well, and the private social forces were Chongming Genbao Base and Lucky Star, and we grew rapidly through the efforts of these years, with the support of many friends and all aspects, or we had to be down-to-earth, step on every step solidly, grow steadily, and gradually complete the goal through our own efforts. ”
In addition to youth training work, in September 2019, Sun Ji was also elected deputy secretary-general of the third council of the Pudong New Area Sports Federation, for this title, Sun Ji said that it is more to play a role as a bridge, integrating and communicating the various policies and football-related content of the district to private clubs and social forces, thereby improving the overall comprehensive ability.
Hobbies are still inseparable from football
When it comes to the players who have the most contact with the original team, of course, it is the younger brother Sun Xiang. Now the two are in different fields, but they are still in football circles. Sun Ji said that because of the family and children, every time the two meet, they talk more about some things in life and talk about some homely things. Although the other teammates can meet every time there are some large events or meetings, they usually have little contact because they are busy.
Outside of work, my biggest hobby is football. Sun Ji said that he still insists on playing amateur football, such as the Pudong Youth Federation, the Shanghai Youth Football Team, and the Machine Association Team, and has become good friends with many of the players, and will meet every once in a while to play a game. Although I am usually exposed to other sports such as badminton and golf, I always feel that football brings the most joy.
In 2019, Sun Ji served as the promotion ambassador of the 4th Shanghai News Media Football Invitational Tournament
In addition, the meticulous care of his family and children in life also makes Sun Ji feel very happy. When it comes to the next generation, Sun Ji bluntly said that his children are relatively young, although such a plan is still early, but he still hopes that he can become a professional football player in the future.
Time flies, the picture of the "auspicious brothers" on the green field has become an eternal memory, and youth training is his way of choosing to continue his love of football. He adheres to the path of his mentor Xu Genbao and does his best to contribute in various fields. Chinese football needs these grassroots football talents, although the current situation is still relatively difficult, but as long as it persists, it will definitely see it blossom and bear fruit.