In 2004, Wang Guolin participated in the joint meeting of Chinese football reform.
From the evening of the 29th to the morning of the 30th, the circle of friends was swept away by an overwhelming message: Wang Guolin was gone.
How did he go? Why is it so fast? The reason was that he suddenly fell to the ground while playing football, which is medically known as sudden cardiac death, which is not unheard of on the sports field, but it happened to Wang Guolin, but it was so unacceptable.
Although he is 59 years old, his energy, his mentality is so young, he still has many things to do, just say goodbye to the world...
Wang Guolin is a person of personality.
I know Wang Guolin, still in the old Shanghai team, that is, before the professional football reform. He and his old partner Xu Zexian are both old fans, and I often run into them at The Hongkou Stadium.
The feeling that Wang Guolin and Xu Zexian's personality are just the opposite, the latter is introverted, moody and angry, Wang Guolin is more like a northerner, his temperament is very straight, his voice is very loud, and he is very direct.
At that time, they were still in COSCO and had not yet dabbled in football, but they loved football very much.
Sitting together and watching the game, it's not their old sailing, it's football. A few times I asked about his fun experience of going to sea, but the conversation turned a few times and it was back to football.
Wang Guolin officially appeared on the football field, or was officially established at COSCO Club, and under the leadership of head coach Xu Genbao, "one foot rushed a".
Wang Guolin was a very lively person, and his voice was everywhere he went. At that time, COSCO's sudden rise attracted the attention of the national football community, and as the general manager, Wang Guolin also stood on the "cusp of the storm", but he never refused to be interviewed, and there was never any official words such as "no comment".
There was a real difficulty, he would say to me very sincerely: "Friend, put me a yard, you can just tell Nong first." ”
Wang Guolin and then COSCO head coach Cheng Yaodong.
Such a thing happened more often than not to the COSCO team leaving Xi'an.
In the first few years, the team was still called the international team, and it had not yet been acquired by Xi'an Industry, completely relying on investors to borrow hard support, and at that time, Chinese football was a chicken feather, football was far less popular than it is now, and the teams had a hard time.
The international team stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Xi'an, and I went to the team several times, feeling that the team was at a loss for the future from top to bottom.
Chatting with him in Wang Guolin's room, he was always not in a high mood at first, but after a few cups of tea and a few cigarettes, he would be cheered up, his tone was getting louder and louder, and his voice was getting higher and higher, and finally he gave people the impression that the current difficulties of the international community are temporary and the future is bright.
This is a very passionate, very infectious club manager. In his eyes, nothing seemed to be a problem. The team has also been stable under the leadership of this passionate general manager and calm head coach Cheng Yaodong.
Wang Guolin has introduced high-level foreign aid to COSCO.
Wang Guolin's most painful time was that time when the COSCO team passed by the A champion.
That day, I watched the game on the spot to attend the post-match press conference, and I saw Xu Zexian, who was blue in the face and did not say a word, but I did not see Wang Guolin.
When I asked about it years later, he said, "I can't eat and hide."
Speaking of that game, Wang Guolin still couldn't hide his disappointment and resentment, "If we win that game and win the first a championship, will we still leave Shanghai and go away?" ”
At that time, COSCO Group already had many different opinions about supporting a professional football team, and the winner of the China Games team also gave the "Terminators" a reason.
Speaking of Wang Guolin, there is a deep impression of the past, which is the "Seven Gentlemen Revolution" of that year.
Including Guoan, COSCO, Dalian Shide, Shenzhen and other 7 club teams united, requiring the Football Association to be more professional, marketable, transparent, and demanding more autonomy for professional club leagues, which now seems beyond reproach, but at that time caused a great sensation, Wang Guolin, as the representative of COSCO Club, has been in Beijing during that time.
As a Shanghainese, I also had more contact with him, learned some of the ideas and plans of the "Seven Gentlemen" from him, and wrote a large number of interviews, many of which were interviewed by Wang Guolin.
We talked on the phone a lot, and he was also outspoken about his ideas and the plan of the "Seven Gentlemen". This period of time is the time when I have the most contact with Wang Guolin, and our cooperation is very pleasant.
Wang Guolin has always been known for his sincerity in Chinese football.
Wang Guolin is a seafarer, and it is said that he manages the logistics of life on the ship (I have never asked him), but his proficiency in management is his strong point.
COSCO team in Shanghai for a few years, but it is a storm, for a period of time with the veteran Shenhua court, whether in the strength of the team or the "public opinion war" is not lost to the Shenhua team.
Once, after my interview with Wang Guolin, I had dinner together (I rarely ate with my work partner, which should be a rare one between us), and talked about the Shanghai derby that will start soon, and he said more:
"What not to render, what to highlight reason, the derby is the derby, it is to be vigorous, it is to have passion, I must turn this game upside down!" 」
On the day of the match, the Shanghai 80,000-person stadium was full, as enthusiastic as the opening ceremony of the eighth National Games held for the construction of this stadium, and the cheers of the mountain and tsunami resounded on the road outside the stadium, it can be said that so far, the 80,000-person stadium has not had a single game more enthusiastic than this time.
Wang Guolin promoted the cooperation between the Shanghai football youth training and the Juventus team in Serie A.
After the international team became the Xi'an production team, Wang Guolin also left the football world, in addition to exchanging some courtesy greetings during the New Year's Festival, there was less contact between us, and it was not clear where he worked and what he did later.
One day more than a year ago, he suddenly called me and talked about some of the unprofessional and low-level mistakes in the operation of some clubs now, and suddenly said to me, let's go to five-star sports (I can't remember whether it's radio or television), and talk about it.
I felt very sudden, and for a moment I did not know how to answer. I consider myself a codeword person, and it is okay to talk about it, but it is difficult to talk about anything without this expertise in the operation of the club.
After thinking about it for a while, I politely declined him. When I hung up the phone, I clearly felt his disappointment. To this day, I am extremely sorry to think about it.
Wang Guolin was not from a football class, but he devoted almost the rest of his life to football, and until his death, he was still working hard for the cultivation of youth football, and even when he died, he was still playing football.
This is a man who has given the rest of his life to football. His departure makes us so reluctant.
Wang Guolin left us, but he did not leave football, he must have gone to another world to continue to play football.
Have fun in the new world of football!