"We continue to work hard," said Chinese men's football coach Yankovic. "The road is long, coach | Myanmar | China | Palestine | players | teams | Yankovic | Chinese team."
On the evening of the 20th, the Chinese national men's football team defeated the Palestinian team 2-0, and after the previous 4-0 victory over the Myanmar team, they won two consecutive international friendly matches in June.
The two victories gave the Chinese team a shot in the arm. At the post match press conference, the head coach of the Chinese team, Yankovic, remained serious in his expression. However, when Wu Lei scored his first goal that night, his excited and celebratory posture was referred to by fans as the "most emotional moment" since Yankovic took office.
Previously, Yankovic faced many doubts from the outside world. The coaching career of this Serbian coach is considered to lack significant achievements: apart from being a coach for only a Serie A club in his home league, he has no experience coaching in European first tier leagues, no experience coaching in other Asian countries, and no experience coaching in adult national teams. This is quite different from the previous "foreign coaches" of the Chinese men's football team.
In fact, the Chinese men's football team does not lack experienced foreign coaches. Among the previous coaches, some have been elected as the top ten coaches of Germany, some have coached the Spanish national team, and some have led the team to win the World Cup, but few have led the Chinese team to achieve impressive results in their short coaching career. There are also doubts from the outside world about what kind of achievement can Yankovic lead the Chinese men's football team to deliver in the face of danger?
Yankovic seems to respond to the outside world with a strict coaching style. As the head coach, Jankovic always insists on leading by example. According to reports, he insists on a 10 kilometer long run every day, along with a healthy diet, and requires all players to have breakfast before 8 o'clock. During training, he will meticulously break down technical details for each player, inspiring the team's morale and confidence through shouting. Some players say that Yankovic's training style has greatly improved the team's fighting spirit on the field.
After two indescribably successful friendly matches against the New Zealand team in March, the Chinese team welcomed two friendly matches in June, playing against Myanmar and Palestine at home, which were not as strong as their paper strength. In the first game against Myanmar, the Chinese team won a 4-goal victory, which breathed a sigh of relief both on and off the field. It is obvious that this team needs to release pressure through victory.
In the second game, the Chinese team needs to face the stronger Palestinian team than the Myanmar team, who unexpectedly defeated Bahrain in the warm-up match in March and is still the third team in the final stage of the Qatar Asian Cup. For the national football team, the Palestinian team is a more valuable opponent, as they share similarities in technical and tactical aspects with other West Asian teams, with players having closer physical fitness and playing style. The match against the Palestinian team is more like a warm-up match for the Qatar Asian Cup.
The wind and rain on the day of the competition witnessed the great battle between the Chinese team and the Palestinian team. After the game began, the Palestinian team showed a strong desire to attack, but their attacking route was repeatedly blocked by the Chinese team in midfield. The Chinese team, which had just won a big victory, played with confidence and frequently urged the attack on the left side. In the 34th minute, Chinese defender Gao Zhunyi suddenly increased his speed and inserted forward. After receiving the ball, he sent a cross in the opponent's penalty area, and the main striker Wu Lei snatched the ball into the open goal.
The coaching seat of the Chinese team instantly boiled, and Yangkovic, who had been watching from the sidelines, clenched his right hand and roared and swung a "five combo", showcasing the rare passionate side of this new Chinese football coach.
In the second half, the Chinese team used a corner kick opportunity to score another goal and secured the victory 2-0.
After the game, Yankovic first affirmed that the team had solved the technical problems that occurred in the previous match against Myanmar in the first half. He believes that the team performed well in this game, with each player contributing 100% of their efforts. This victory cannot be achieved without everyone.
Subsequently, Yankovic praised the Chinese players for their speed in accepting new things, believing that the team had learned from the previous game and made timely changes on the field. "If I could train with this team every day, I would be the happiest person." Finally, he revealed his thoughts on player selection and warm-up match arrangements, but did not share much about what preparations he would make for the Asian Cup next. "The road is long now, let's continue to work hard."
Perhaps in the future, Yankovic still needs to clarify the rules and regulations within the team, work hard to promote the rejuvenation of the Chinese team's lineup, and further refine the entire team through continuous adjustments. But the attitude, firm will, discipline, and spirit of dedication that he repeatedly mentioned at the press conference may continue to inject momentum into the Chinese team's progress.
