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Soccer needs youth training instead of binging on big names
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What does Chinese soccer have in common with cancer? Answer: They may well be incurable.
But now a savior may finally have arrived. He seems to have a big plan to lift Chinese soccer out of the morass in which it has wallowed.
On January 20, Cai Zhenhua, former national table tennis coach, took over as the chief of Chinese Football Association, the sport’s governing body, and inherited the mess that is Chinese soccer. China is 92nd in the latest FIFA ranking.
From table tennis coach to football chief, Cai made a huge leap. Two years ago, when he was still the deputy director of General Administration of Sport, Cai was already given the thankless portfolio of football. Hence, his official anointment shouldn’t surprise many.
Cai’s appointment was met with both applause and skepticism. Some argue that his strong-willed leadership will get Chinese soccer back on track.
Skeptics, however, say the mandate could ruin his impeccable record as a champion paddler, as nobody seems capable of turning around a perennial failure. After all, former FA chiefs like Xie Yalong and Nan Yong — who are now jailed for match-fixing scandals — know soccer better than Cai does. If they could not turn it around, there’s no hope for an outsider like Cai to pull if off, according to some observers.
Chinese soccer has been desperate for a quick remedy. But there’s none to be found. Changes of the guard at the very top are frequent. FA chiefs come and go. So do coaches. But all of these efforts have been for naught.
Naturally, many are skeptical about Cai’s mandate and what he can achieve. In response, Cai brushed aside the cynics and demonstrated enormous courage. “There is no going back and I’m willing to be the paving stone (for future generations). No more messing about for Chinese soccer.”
Indeed, Chinese soccer has had enough. The sport has been in an ever-steeper decline. To the satisfaction of many, the FA has stopped muddling along and outlined a few specific targets this time: for instance, in 10 years’ time, the men’s national team become one of the best in Asia, and the women’s team should regain its glory.
At last, there is a clear goal, not just some empty pledges and braggadocio. The question is, if the FA fails to deliver, will the leadership, including Cai, resign? Besides, it’s one thing to set a goal, but quite another to strive for it, and how to strive for it. Alas, Cai may have sent a wrong message.
At the meeting when he was sworn in, he praised the club Guangzhou Evergrande for lifting the profile of Chinese football. The Guangzhou side made history by winning last year’s Asian Football Championship. Its performance was spectacular. But without the contribution of its foreign players, would the team have won the trophy? I doubt it, and so do many.
Guangzhou’s recipe for success can be summed up as bigger signings, greater output. But so what? It is those skilled foreigners, not the mediocre Chinese teammates, who led an otherwise lackluster team to victory.
Fig leaf for deeper mediocrity
How Chinese is their victory? A championship built entirely on capital is the last thing Chinese soccer needs. It’s just a fig leaf for deeper mediocrity.
The money splurged on big-name signings could have been used to fund training of younger players, where China has lagged far behind its neighbors.
Statistics show that China’s newly registered young footballers in the past five years are outnumbered 45 times by Japan’s. Of course, the number of kids playing football has decreased greatly, due largely to the test-oriented education system. Thus, the new and future FA chiefs need to play down money-oriented football, and promote more youth involvement.
When we lament the fact that China lacks its equivalents of Keisuke Honda of AC Milan and Shinji Kagawa of Manchester United — both world-class Japanese footballers — we should note that Japanese football has come a long way over the years.
At one time, Japanese leagues also thrived on big signings, but when that spending spree petered out, Japanese football emphasized youth training, which is the key to its success today.
Cai may have no way of influencing the education system, but he certainly can, and needs to, roll out schemes encouraging more youth participation in the game to expand the talent pool.
His lavish praise of the Guangzhou team, which cruised to victory all because of money, bodes ill for the health and development of Chinese football. The spending binge in Chinese leagues ought to be curbed to leave more room for local talent to grow and mature.
Our leagues can afford to be starless at the moment. When he looks back on his years as FA boss in the future, Cai will be proud to take credit for encouraging the right trend.
This column is named after the head-butting bird that feeds on pests.
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