Historically, the Chinese Youth Super League has only heard the sound but never seen the ground.
As early as 2011, knowledgeable people in Chinese football called for the establishment of a formal Youth Super League, just like the English Football Youth Super League, which would add three to four U19 players to the U18 echelon of each club.
Organize a regular league with a divisional home and away system.
This problem can solve a huge pain point in Chinese youth football - the number of games.
According to Zhang Sheng's understanding, before 2011, the average number of games played by young players of all ages in China was only about 20 games per year. After 2011, the Chinese Football Association integrated and adjusted the youth competition system, and this dilemma began.
It was about this time that many people of insight, including Xu Genbao, who had always been concerned about the training of Chinese football youths, proposed the idea of the Chinese Youth Super League.
However, due to various reasons, this idea has always been mentioned. At the annual Football Association meeting, the proposal was put forward more than once, only to be put down again.
Although football has become popular in recent years, many invitational tournaments and competitions have emerged. Youth teams participating in the Chinese Football Association's "U-headed" competitions can usually reach nearly 30 games a year, but this is not enough.
Because the world's current standard for the number of annual youth games is about 60, the number of games played by China's youth teams is less than half of this standard.
Take China's two neighbors as an example. In Japan, a youth team participates in nearly 30 nationally organized competitions a year. However, they also participate in a large number of regional-level competitions. Over the course of a year, 50 to 60
The number of games should be guaranteed.
In South Korea, youth football matches have been played on a home and away basis for a long time. The average number of games a team plays each year is between 60 and 100.
As for comparison with the British Youth Super League, it is even worse.
The British Youth Super League has 28 regular games in the round-robin stage every year, as well as play-offs and knockout rounds, various regular invitational matches every year, and a lift system.
When Zhang Sheng mentioned a lower-level competition similar to the British Youth League, Zhang Jian also said a little helplessly: "We also want to get it right in one step, but the actual situation does not allow it. Software and hardware facilities, competition quality, youth football
The population base is not something that can be achieved overnight. This Youth Super League was not proposed on the first day. We have been preparing, arranging budgets, and negotiating with local football associations, clubs, and football schools. This year, the rights to the Chinese Super League were sold
The price was sky-high, and we were relatively comfortable, so we officially put this matter on the agenda."
What Zhang Sheng didn't know was that the Chinese Football Youth Super League was officially held in 2017. The enthusiastic registration that year scared the Chinese Football Association, which organized the event. Many teams were blocked due to insufficient preparation for various conditions.
Outside the door, but it is conceivable that it will get better and better in the future, and its influence will become greater and greater.
In fact, for a large-scale event to be held, as Zhang Jian said, many external conditions must be met before it can be successfully organized.
The first is the issue of funding.
The Chinese Super League is attracting more and more attention, and copyrights are becoming more and more expensive, so funding has improved.
In fact, in the past, everyone always said that the Chinese Football Association did nothing and took money for nothing. In fact, the National Sports General Administration is the most powerful in drawing blood from the Football Association. Every year, most of the sponsorship and other expenses received by the Football Association are
The profits were shared by those projects in the "Olympic Strategy" that were likely to produce good results.
It’s a blessing to be able to use 20% of the sponsorship fees raised by the Football Association every year.
The current sky-high price of copyrights and the mandatory share ratio of youth football in copyright fees have finally allowed the Chinese Football Association to have enough money to host it. You must know that referee fees, organizational fees, and team subsidies are not a small amount.
Secondly, there is the issue of personnel.
Many fans who don’t know much about Chinese football think that it is a complete waste of money for the Chinese Football Association to support “so many” people in the Chinese Football Association because the performance of Chinese football is so poor. However, those who really understand the situation know that the Chinese Football Association does not have too many people, but too few people.
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When FIFA came to the Chinese Football Association this year to assist in its work, they were all shocked when they heard that the Football Association only had 68 staff members. This was not the kind of shock that shocked people in UC News and Tencent News. It was really shocking, because relatively
For a populous country like China that is interested in developing football, this number of people is really too few.
You must know that the number of people in Japan and the Korean Football Association are about 150 and 120 respectively, and the Football Association of England has more than 300 people.
Although in addition to the Chinese Football Association, there are also local football associations, which seem to be extremely bloated. However, the local football associations are truly non-governmental organizations. The staff are all part-time and the office location is also random. Among the local governments in China, there are no
The full-time organizational structure of the Football Association is basically filled by people from the Sports Bureau and the private sector.
For example, there are only five people in the Youth Department of the Chinese Football Association. It would be impossible to organize a nationwide event with thousands of people with just these people. Without support from many parties, it would be a fantasy. If such a task could be accomplished, go to a
Being a senior leader in a large company and earning an annual salary of one million is a matter of minutes.
In addition to money and people, China's vast territory is also a headache. According to Zhang Jian, without the development of China's roads, railways, especially high-speed rail and intercity high-speed rail in recent years, the players' round-trip time alone would take up the game.
a large part of.
Moreover, the lack of base of young players and youth training coaches is also a big problem. When the Youth Department of the Chinese Football Association received the task of implementing the regional home and away game system, the Youth Department once became the target of ridicule. Many people, including
The old staff of the Football Association all ridiculed the director of the youth department: "How can you complete such a huge project with such a small number of people and such a foundation?"
This time, the Chinese Football Association has spent a lot of money. It recruited 15 contract employees at one time, allocated a budget of 50 million, communicated with local football associations and governments, and divided the competition into five regions.
They are divided into North China Region, South China Region, Central China Region, Northeast China Region and Western Region.
After the first stage of the weekend league, there will be the second stage of the regional finals, followed by the third stage of the reserve elite selection.
Moreover, since the beginning of the event, there have been four age groups: U17, U16, U15, and U14. The current preparation is for 8 teams in each age group, and it will develop to 10 to 15 teams in the future. Once the conditions are mature, U17
There will also be a lift system for this age group, and coordinated competition for the U19 age group will also be put on the agenda.
Of course, because the tournament has just been established, the previous U-series events and National Games events will be retained. When the Youth Super League gets on track, all these scattered events will be merged.
Once the Youth Super League gets on the right track, it will be of great significance to the training of young players.
Historically, the England Youth Super League started in 1997. As the competition became more and more formal, after the training of the Youth Super League, the level of young players has improved a lot, and the results of England's youth teams are getting better and better.
Especially in 2017, England's U17 and U20 youth teams lifted the World Junior Championship and World Youth Championship trophies in South Korea and India. After twenty years of hard work, England's youth training, which has been criticized, has also been criticized.
It has finally come to fruition.
In Zhang Sheng's view, as long as Chinese youth football can continue to develop in this way, the future of Chinese football will be extremely bright, and the news gained from participating in the award ceremony this time is far more valuable than the awards the club has received.
After the award ceremony was completed, the national team's game against Bhutan became the highlight the next day. On Double 11, Singles' Day, a day when the entire Internet was selling heavily, the Chinese national team also ushered in a huge victory.
Since the Dragons had just finished playing in the AFC Champions League and had traveled thousands of miles to return home, and their opponent, Bhutan, was very weak, head coach Perrin put most of the Dragons players on the bench. Guangzhou Evergrande players
The Chinese team became the main force on the field, and finally came out as a substitute lineup and defeated their opponents with a score of 15:0.
After defeating Bhutan, the Chinese team will face the Hong Kong team of China. This opponent is much more arrogant than Bhutan.
In order to encourage the team, the Chinese Hong Kong team offered the highest winning bonus in history. The Hong Kong Football Association's winning bonus alone was an unprecedented 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars. In addition, the Hong Kong team's suit sponsor provided another 500,000 Hong Kong dollars.
The winning prize of 2 million Hong Kong dollars is even higher than that of the Chinese team.
Moreover, because Hong Kong separatists booed the Chinese national anthem in previous games, FIFA punished the Hong Kong Football Association. The stadium that can accommodate 6,000 spectators is only allowed to sell 3,000 tickets, and security is also facing a formidable enemy.
Compared with the usual 12 police security personnel, the Hong Kong Football Association and the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department hired 200 security personnel this time to be responsible for on-site security. In addition, there are 1,200 police officers outside the stadium to participate in crowd diversion and control.
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At the same time, the entrance channels for home and away fans are separated, and the stands are separated far away. There are also separate snack shops and toilets under the away team's stands. This is the first time that the Hong Kong Football Association has made similar arrangements.
During the game, except for Nie Jiang who was put on the bench just 3 days after returning to China, all the national team players of the Longteng team appeared. In addition, the captain of the Chinese team Zheng Zhi was even more criticized because of previous conflicts with Hong Kong players.
The fans of the home team booed wildly, and the game was just like history. In the first half, the Chinese team hit the goal frame 5 times, of which Qin Minghao contributed two, Ding Huaiyi contributed one, and Qin Minghao contributed one.
A valid goal by Minghao was disallowed by the referee.
The TV broadcast frequently focused on Nie Jiang on the bench, and the commentator also said anxiously: "Qin Minghao and Ding Huaiyi are both midfielders. Shooting is not their strong point. As Zhengyin's forward, Nie Jiang should be sent
Come on."
During the halftime break, Perrin made adjustments as expected. Nie Jiang replaced starting center Yang Xu. This substitution quickly paid off. Only three minutes into the second half, Nie Jiang received Qin Minghao's ball in the penalty area.
After a through ball, he caught the ball and got rid of the shot. The ball flew straight into the upper right corner of the goal. The Hong Kong team's goalkeeper Yip Honghui, who had performed very well before, and the Hong Kong team's goal frame raised their hands and surrendered.
Seeing this goal, the commentator was very angry: "Nie Jiang has continued his hot state into the national team. This talented young player under the age of 18 broke the deadlock. He is worthy of being the best player in the World Junior Championships."
A double winner of the Golden Boot and the Ballon d'Or."
After the goal, the Chinese team seemed to have opened a valve. With Nie Jiang's first goal, subsequent goals followed one after another. First, Wu Lei, who had just become a father, expanded the score to 2.
:0, then Qin Minghao and Ding Huaiyi also scored a goal each, and finally Nie Jiang scored twice before the end of the game.
In the end, the Chinese team made the score that the Hong Kong Football Association hoped for become a reality. The score of 0:5 was indeed five goals, but the home team was in front and the away team was behind. The Chinese team scored five goals.
Compared with the 0:0 score in history, a penalty kick and a goal were blocked by the referee. This time, the Chinese team with more Longteng players once again proved that making some small moves is ineffective on the playing field.
, when the difference in strength is too big, how to lose or how to lose.
Contrary to the praise from various media, Zhang Sheng, who had long expected this result, did not have any fluctuations in his heart. If he summoned so many good players and could not change the result of the game against the Hong Kong team, then he might as well find some noodles.
Go hang yourself.
Compared with the two weak opponents of the Chinese team this time, Zhang Sheng is more concerned about the Four Nations Tournament held in Jiangcheng. The opponents invited by the Chinese Football Association for this Four Nations Tournament are all good, including Colombia, Morocco and South Korea.
The Olympic team is included.
There are as many as 10 Longteng players in the Olympic team's training team this time (including players on loan), which is a good opportunity for Zhang Sheng to examine their abilities.
Judging from the performance of the Olympic team in the game, they performed pretty well. After defeating Colombia 1:0 in the first game, they swept the previous match with the Olympic team in the Toulon Cup 6:0 in the second game.
In the last crucial game of the match, the Moroccan team faced the Korean Olympic team with all its main players. The Chinese Olympic team relied on Xiong Jian's long shot and Zou Weijia's header to defeat the opponent 2:1.
Although it is only a warm-up match, it can be seen that this Olympic team has a slight advantage over the Korean Olympic team with the help of the overseas players of the Longteng team and the players of the right age who have been selected for the national team. The only point behind may be
The head coach, Fu Bo, a local coach who has always been highly regarded by the Chinese Football Association for some reason, has once again become the coach of the Olympic team. Rick Link, the youth team manager, is also very familiar with the Olympic team. Just now
The coach who helped the national youth team win the World Junior Championship has returned to the position of general manager of the youth team.
However, Zhang Sheng didn't have much thought to worry about this matter, because as time passed, the date of the second round of the Dragons' AFC Champions League game was getting closer and closer, and Zhang Sheng needed a good "treat" for the long journey.
