Is there a shortage of reserve talents in Chinese football? This Japanese coach found out in China that this is not the case with the national team | players | football
When the head coach of the Chinese U15 men's national team, Yazhao Nakamura, came to China from Japan three months ago, he was surprised to find that there were many excellent football talents in China. He said, "I and many Japanese coaches believe that there is a shortage of reserve talents in Chinese football. This is not the case."
On September 8th, the Chinese team celebrated at the award ceremony. On the same day, in the final of the 2023 East Asian Football Association U15 Men's Football Championship held in Qingdao, Shandong, China and Japan drew 0-0 in the 90 minute regular time. Through a penalty shootout, China defeated Japan 4-2 and won the championship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ziheng
Ensure future competitiveness
The Chinese U15 men's national football team gathers outstanding players of this age group. Before the Chinese team faced South Korea and Japan in the UEFA U15 Men's Football Championship, the coaching staff of the Chinese team believed in the strength of their players and encouraged them to bravely attack during the game.
The children repaid the trust of the coaching staff with the championship trophy and defeated the Japanese team 4-2 through a penalty shootout in the final on the 8th. In the previous group stage, they drew 1-1 with the South Korean team.
A Chinese team coach said that many of the Japanese and Korean players Chinese players encountered in this tournament may be the opponents they will face throughout their entire football career. Chinese children prove themselves not inferior in competitions. The top priority is to ensure that they can continue to improve steadily and compete with Japanese and Korean players as adults.
The growth of football players requires going through countless trials and tribulations. High quality competition is a crucial means of tempering. This is a consensus in the international football community.
Yazhao Nakamura stated that Japanese players have been able to participate in numerous high-quality matches since childhood, which is the most important reason for the success of Japanese football. He said, "Japanese teenagers can participate in high-quality football matches every week. They can continuously accumulate experience, set higher self demands, and set higher goals. Therefore, they are constantly improving."
Compared with Japan, the Chinese youth football field seriously lacks high-quality matches, and the current situation is worrying.
The value of high-quality competitions
When preparing for the match against South Korea and Japan, Yazhao Nakamura reminded the players to improve their pace and accelerate the transition between offense and defense during the game.
The fast pace and high intensity are the deepest feelings of Chinese players towards these two games. Captain Zhang Hongfu said, "At the beginning of the game against the South Korean team, we felt uncomfortable. There is no such rhythm and intensity in domestic matches. Their pace is fast, and they have fierce pressure. We need to handle the ball more decisively and have a faster pace than our opponents."
Midfielder Yao Junyu said that he found that his time and space in handling the ball were greatly compressed during the game. "They put more pressure on me than matches of the same age group in China, so we must play more concisely."
The intense competition forces team members to use their brains to cope with pressure and improve themselves. Their psychological resilience is also improving unconsciously.
The psychological pressure in the competition is invisible and intangible, but it can be felt firsthand. The coaching staff of the Chinese team believes that some Chinese players who make mistakes during matches are due to excessive psychological pressure during their first international competition, which leads to physical strain and abnormal technical performance. In the matches against South Korea and Japan, the Chinese team created opportunities for singles, but failed to score. There were also psychological reasons behind their technical mistakes.
Pressure requires both players themselves to overcome and coaches to assist. During the halftime break against the South Korean team, the atmosphere within the Chinese team was somewhat solemn, and the players appeared to be preoccupied. Yazhao Nakamura whispered to the serious looking coaching staff and staff to "smile". Everyone's smiles dispelled the solemn atmosphere, and the players also appeared relaxed.
"We were a bit nervous before the game because we had a sense of uncertainty. We had never played against the South Korean team before," Zhang Hongfu said. "Through this game, we learned about their playing style, their key players, how to deal with them, and how to find breakthroughs. The next time we encounter them, we won't be nervous anymore."
After experiencing a fierce competition with the South Korean team, the Chinese team showed a significant improvement in their performance against the Japanese team, daring to let go and play offensive football against their opponents. "The game against the South Korean team has strengthened our confidence. We don't think there's anything scary about the Japanese team either," said one player.
Yazhao Nakamura believes that the psychological gains of players participating in major competitions are the most important. He said, "The effects of matches and training are different. Training is conducted in a free and stress free environment. High level matches have high intensity, fast pace, and bring great pressure to players. When there is psychological pressure, the performance of skills will be affected. With the improvement of psychological stress resistance ability, skills can be more fully utilized."
The enormous value of high-quality competitions cannot be achieved in training. Experts believe that this U15 Chinese men's football team needs to play at least 15 to 20 high-quality matches every year in order to continue to grow and compete with Japanese and Korean players of the same age group in the future.
Lack of high-quality competitions
Zhang Hongfu and Yao Junyu started receiving more professional football training 6 years ago, one at Evergrande Football School and the other at Luneng Football School. One is a center back and the other is an attacking midfielder, facing each other directly multiple times in the game.
"In the past six years, we have been playing against them," Yao Junyu said in an interview with reporters.
Yao Junyu's words reflect a reality: among domestic U15 age groups, only a few teams with similar strength, such as Evergrande and Luneng Football School. The quality of their competition is relatively high.
According to the reporter's understanding, there are many competitions under the age of 13 in primary school across the country. The youth training coach of a local football association said that some elementary school students have to play over 100 games a year; Too many games make children feel bored. But the number of games that players between the ages of 13 and 16 can participate in has suddenly decreased, with even fewer of them having quality. For example, for players in the U15 age group, some places hold so-called "tournaments" or "leagues" for about a week, mainly to assess players in obtaining level certificates. After the game, the players do not participate in regular matches and spend a lot of time training.
In order to solve the problem of fewer matches for youth training players, the Chinese Football Association hopes to create a national youth football competition system similar to the "solar system". The Chinese Youth Football League is the core of this "solar system".
The China Youth League provides a rare opportunity for many teams to compete. Wu Wei, the physical education teacher in charge of football affairs at Nanjing Yuhuatai High School, said that their team is the champion of Nanjing, with few opponents, and the lack of high-quality matches has always been a headache for them. "We need to play 40 high-quality matches every year. Some of the matches in the China Youth League have higher quality, but the quantity is not enough."
The reporter found in the interview that the China Youth League is now facing a problem and a concern.
According to the competition system design, the China Youth Championship is divided into two stages: preliminary rounds and national finals. The National Finals are undertaken by the League Events Office and organized in an orderly manner. The preliminary rounds are handled by the local authorities, and there are hidden dangers here. A local football association staff member said that the organization of preliminary matches varies in different regions, and some have the suspicion of dealing with it to save funds, and the quality of the matches cannot be guaranteed. This is a problem that urgently needs to be corrected.
In some places, organizers put in effort and organized the competition with great vitality. A staff member in charge of youth training from the Chinese Football Association said that the Chongqing Football Youth Training League, founded by the Chongqing Football Association in 2021, is becoming a local boutique competition. The competition is divided into two age groups, U13 and U14, and adopts a home and away double round robin system. Due to the equal strength of multiple teams, the matches between them are exciting and intense, which has high value for players to exercise. "We need more competitions like the Chongqing Youth Training League in various regions," said the staff member.
The China Youth League provides a rare platform for many players to participate and grow. The reporter found in the interview that there are widespread concerns in various regions that there will be significant changes to the competition system of the China Youth League, and even more so, they are afraid of being overturned and starting over. A local football association worker said, "Many football characteristic schools and local teams determine enrollment and team building plans based on the China Youth League. If the competition system of the China Youth League changes or is suspended, it will affect the whole body. Local schools and teams will also change accordingly, and a large number of players will be affected. The China Youth League is a platform designed and established by the Chinese Football Association to coordinate various aspects, and it is necessary to maintain stable development. Do not make any fuss. The fuss will harm children and the future of Chinese football."
Stability is the guarantee of quality. With the sustained and healthy development of the China Youth League, the quality of the competition will gradually improve. This is a long-term project.
A technical expert from the Chinese U15 men's national team believes that in order to ensure the steady improvement of the team's players in the future, the current solution is to create conditions for them to participate more in high-level international competitions. At the same time, event organizers need to make efforts to adjust domestic competitions such as the China Youth League to improve the quality. This also requires long-term patience.
