"Tell me about your research work. I'm curious. Are you doing research for the Football Association?" After chatting and laughing for a while, Shui Junyi directed the topic to work: "The next step of the Football Association's work is to focus on football culture.
Construction?”
"I don't know, after all, I'm just an external expert." Wang Ai said with a smile, "But this research was indeed entrusted to me by the leader."
"Is it football and culture? Interdisciplinary?"
Wang Ai tasted and nodded then shook his head: "Theoretically, it is of course an interdisciplinary subject, but we don't think that far ahead. It's not a two-pronged approach, a combination in the middle, or something that starts from football and extends outward. Because I'm not very good at culture.
I understand. We may invite cultural experts to do follow-up work after certain results are achieved in the future, but we can’t talk about it right now.”
"Then what is its purpose? Is it to enrich the football system?"
"To put it simply, take root." Wang Ai said with a clear voice: "Actually, many of us have been doing this in the past in terms of culture. For example, our club will inspect the fan organizations of European giants, fan activities, and peripheral product development. This is actually all part of
It is part of football culture. The Football Association has issued many documents in this regard, and the social development department has also conducted some explorations, but overall it is not a very important position. For example, our society as a whole does not pay attention to this area. You are very
I don’t hear much news about football culture.”
"Yes, this word is a bit unfamiliar."
"The reason why I brought it up this time is mainly because I discovered some phenomena in practice, that is, Chinese football currently mainly relies on two major forces and one small force." Wang Ai paused: "The two major forces are the power of the country and the masses.
The power of patriotism is a small number of fans who really understand football and love to watch football. It is a purely technical force. This situation is different from what is native to Europe, or what we once pursued. I just said
European football is a social activity, a temple fair once a week, and a carnival. Our league also has this kind of nature, but it is not strong. You see, the main body of Chinese fans is always the national team. For the situation of professional teams, you can see on the Internet
You will know the search volume, and together they are not as much as a fraction of the national team. This shows that most of our football enthusiasts have placed their patriotism on the national team, hoping that the national team can bring glory to the country. For this reason, no matter how good the football is,
It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look good, as long as you win. Of course, this is also a common phenomenon in the national team. I call national team events honorary events, and that’s how it is. But the difference between us and Europe is that our area is too big, and the national team
The basis of the team is that professional teams are too small.”
"That is to say, forces in the non-pure football field are mainly driving the growth of football?"
"Yes, that's what it means. When our country was weak, sports were entrusted with the function of removing the sick man of East Asia. We ordinary people could not see that the country was as strong as developed countries for a while, but at least we must see that our people are not bad.
"Is it possible to directly observe people through what means? Sports? Face-to-face competition, it is clear whether it is possible." Wang Ai gestured: "We are a civilization with a history of five thousand years, and the people have a simple sense of national pride and cultural pride.
Although the reality is a bit poor, we still believe that sooner or later we will be able to move forward in reality. Our shortcomings are not because we are incompetent, but because we did not go the right way for a while. For example, in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, we closed the country to the outside world and were blindly arrogant. We don’t do it now
Arrogance, knowing that you can’t do it, but you don’t think you will never be able to do it. This kind of power supports the folk foundation of sports, so of course football, the world’s largest sport, has more to entrust.”
"But what does this have to do with the task assigned to you by the Football Association to study football culture?"
"It does matter." Wang Ai smiled: "Because sooner or later our country will become stronger, and sooner or later our people will see with their own eyes that the gap between us and developed countries has been shortened or even leveled in some areas, surpassing us.
So what will happen to football by then? People no longer have a strong need for sports to prove their national pride. Football is no longer entrusted with strong patriotism. The force that has always supported and nurtured our football will
Gradually leave, but at the same time, our football ecology based on football itself has not been fully established. The result is likely to be a baby who has left a nutrient-rich womb but has no milk to feed him."
Shui Junyi nodded frequently while thinking. After a while, he remembered and asked: "Use football culture to create a football ecology, and then in reality, after the situation changes, take over the function of football development and nurturing? Let Chinese football have its own power."
?”
"right."
"But it will take a long time for our country to catch up with developed countries, maybe decades, especially in terms of per capita? That means that this force of support for football will not disappear in a short time. It seems that this research is somewhat...
I’m not saying it’s not necessary, but maybe it will be solved naturally when the time comes?”
"Hmm..." Wang Ai thought for a while: "This will explain the development of this research."
"I didn't pay attention to football culture at first. At that time, maybe I and many colleagues thought it was simpler. Culture is not very important, because football is a competition. It determines the outcome on the field and builds strength off the field.
What does it have to do with culture? The focus on culture is actually clubs, because clubs want to make money, there is economic pressure, and to create culture, there is consumption, peripheral products, such as souvenirs and so on, I recognize this thing. At that time
My appeal to the club is simple. I think about it from a macro perspective. That is to say, after our per capita income reaches a certain level and the proportion of basic subsistence needs decreases to a certain level, the people will increase their income in entertainment.
Consumption will naturally be dispersed into various fields. Our football will definitely get the biggest piece by virtue of its own influence. What is there to worry about? Will everything fall into place?"
Seeing Shui Junyi nodding frequently, Wang Ai continued: "So what I focused on at first was the personal aspect, personal growth. Later, after I became the captain of the national team, I paid attention to team building, such as strategy and tactics, training system, organization and cooperation.
These are still focused on football competition. Later, the Football Association hired me to be an expert in the youth department, and I noticed the youth training issue. The professional reform attracted the most attention in the league, but the most profound thing is actually the youth training. We
This generation of players grew up in this process, it is our roots, we understand it very well, and of course, we are also worried about it."
