When Dragan Stojkovic first landed at the Guangzhou airport, did he know what happened to his former Yugoslav compatriots in China?
Once upon a time, the former South Coach was the best and most important source of coaches in the First Division, winning multiple league titles, but before the arrival of the Coach, Serbian coaches such as Sablic, Stano, Dragan and others, old or young, had just completed their final curtain call and ended with a rather sad ending. So Stojkovich came to the Chinese Super League, in the eyes of more people, he was just a recruit coach with a thin resume, no one would care, he once had a nickname called "Balkan Maradona".
Maybe it's because of the talent of the player era, maybe it's because he was deeply influenced by Wenger, or maybe it's because he was the president of the Football Association of Serena Sergio for 4 years, and then the president of Red Star Belgrade for 3 years, until the edges were flattened, and he began to take up the coaching whip at the age of 43.
Tactical revolution: three centre-back system, backfield pushing forward layer by layer
Stojkovic does not have the arrogance, stubbornness and temper of the old generation of former South coaches, nor the utilitarian, impatient and conservative nature of the new generation of former South coaches, "beautiful football" is a word he most often hangs on his lips. Whether it's just joining R&F, at the annual awards ceremony of the Serbian Football Association in 2016, or after the renewal of the contract with R&F, or at the press conference after the end of the match again and again, no matter what kind of difficulties or defeats Stojkovic faces, he can't forget to say that we are going to play beautiful football.
Before Stojkovic took over R&F, the team had just experienced the glory of Eriksson and the lows of Contra, morale was low, people were scattered, and the coach who needed to adapt to the new arrival in China signed at the end of August 2015, coached 6 games, only won two victories, and the possession rate, passing and success rate were reduced to the bottom, and it was difficult to relegate.
At the end of the season, Stojkovic talked with the top level of R&F, saying that the team needed to change and need to be replaced, so Jiang Ning, Zhang Yuan and other important players left. After only one winter of change, R&F was reborn, averaging 57% of the ball per game, 496.5 passes per game, ranking second in the Chinese Super League, and the passing success rate was as high as 82.6%, ranking first in the Chinese Super League.
Firmly switching to the three-centre-back system, paying attention to the frequent and complex short pass penetration between players, and advancing the backcourt players as a source of attack, Stojkovic once played in Japan, started his coaching career from Japan, spent the last days of his career under Wenger, and learned how to be a manager around Wenger, so his coaching philosophy and team style have a kind of obsession after the fusion of European football and Japanese football, gorgeous, smooth, and full of patience and restraint.
Stojkovich may not know that before him there was also a person who tried to promote such football in China, and the Frenchman Trussier had succeeded in Japan, but lost in China and became a joke.
Stojkovic has never faced failure, the beginning of the 2016 season, R&F has a huge advantage in possession and the number of passes, only scored 13 goals in the first 15 games, ranking at the bottom; at the beginning of the 2017 season, facing simple, rough, hard and unreasonable teams such as Shandong Luneng and Guizhou Hengfeng, R&F lost consecutive goals and lost the league leading position.
However, he never wanted to give up or compromise, in times of adversity, he always encouraged the players to insist on pass control, adhere to the ground coordination, R&F under his leadership has always been one of the teams with the lowest proportion of long passes. Persistence and hard work eventually made them wait until Zahavi, waited for a super shooter, someone who could change the outcome of the game, and waited for others to explode at the same time.
Low-key behavior: restrain emotions, only two temper tantrums in three years
In the face of success, Stojkovich maintained his usual humility and tolerance. Facing Guangzhou Evergrande, he said that R&F is a small house, Evergrande is a skyscraper; in the face of Wang Song's sudden transfer the day before the transfer deadline, the results of a winter of training were wiped out, he said, WELL, then so be it; in the face of two consecutive seasons of team personnel changes, every year to restructure, he also just said, our club has its own philosophy, I agree and accept.
It's an "Arsenalian" insistence and obsession. Stojkovich is Wenger's loyal disciple, firmly believing that the collective can defeat the individual, the team does not need superheroes, do not use the wildness and passion of individual combat to solve problems. In order to protect the whole group, he neither reveals himself nor gives praise to one person; he restrains his emotions, and has only lost his temper twice in three years at R&F; and the reason for each tantrum is the same: the team loses discipline, loses organization, becomes a single fight, loses the whole.
In order to make the group operate for a long time, Stojkovich also pays special attention to the cultivation of young people. This season, after releasing Zhang Yaokun, Wang Song and several other veterans, he promoted 11-man u23 youngsters in the first team, and the average age of R&F has changed from one of the oldest teams in the Chinese Super League to the youngest one.
Promote new people: sacrifice achievements and support the post-90s to take on the responsibility
For professional football, the cultivation of young people and the achievement of the team are always at both ends of a seesaw, but the coach is willing to make sacrifices. For example, in 1997, the young player Huang Zhengyu, last year Zhang Xianxiu left the team to play the Olympic Games, Si Shuai boldly used Huang Zhengyu as the starter, Huang Zhengyu's debut season started 5 games, the team only got one victory; at the beginning of this year, the veteran left after the team lacked a captain, Si Shuai originally planned to let South Korean foreign aid Zhang Xianxiu as the captain, u23 New Deal was suddenly launched, under the balance, Zhang Xianxiu lost the opportunity to play and was forced to leave, and the young general Huang Zhengyu became the most playing time of the U23 players in the Chinese Super League, even if he made mistakes, Even if it leads to a loss in a game, never doubt it.
Especially in the middle of the season, when Chen Zhizhao, Yi Teng, Li Tixiang and others were either injured or suspended, and the team was short of personnel, Si Shuai did not tap the potential of veterans, but boldly used a number of young people such as Mai Jiajian, Xiang Baixu, Fu Yunlong, etc. R&F ranked third in the playing time of U23 players this year, second only to Henan Jianye and Tianjin Quanjian. The team's performance was indeed affected for a time, but after a season of running-in, R&F's current main lineup has been taken on by the post-90s, and the team has completed the replacement.
When Dragan Stojkovich first landed at the Guangzhou airport, he already knew about his compatriots' experiences in China, but he just laughed and said that I was indeed different from them, but I couldn't tell what was different.
In private interviews, the R&F players will say from the bottom of their hearts that The Coach is indeed different, patient, gentle and charismatic.
Stojkovic was unruly and arrogant as a player, and his career was tormented by injuries and performances, and he once lamented sadly after the World Cup was out: Fate is really unfair to me, and he has never been on my side. Now 52 years old, he brings unlimited tolerance and strength to the football world, he has pure idealism, and he insists on turning ideals into down-to-earth reality.
What is it to turn a once bumpy fate into a precious wealth in life?
That's it.
Text/Daniel Zhang