As we all know, Chinese soccer has plummeted in recent years. Our national team has been reduced to third-rate in Asia, with young national teams struggling to get decent results in Asian competitions, and even some age groups failing to make it to the top Asian competitions.
However, just at the beginning of this year, a national name surprised us. That is our U15 national soccer team. They used Guangzhou Evergrande Football School and Shandong Luneng Football School as the team, plus some players from other teams to form a temporary team. Japan's Masaki Nakamura was temporarily organized by the foreign coach of Evergrande's ladder team to participate in the U15 East Asian Cup.
In an unpromising situation, Masaki Nakamura led this team to win consecutive victories over Japan and Korea, and eventually won the final championship. This championship is the only championship of Chinese men's soccer in recent years. It can be said that this championship shows the potential and strength of Chinese soccer at the youth level and brings hope to everyone.
However, this team disbanded after winning the championship as it was a temporary team. Because of the team's good results, the Football Association also began to want to form a national brand at this age. As a result, Evergrande soccer school coach Masaki Nakamura became the most vocal candidate among fans.
However, the latest news came. According to Football Daily, the selection of coaches for the 2008 National Junior and 2009 National Junior is being carried out at the same time, and the relevant candidates are being investigated. Nakamura Masaki, who once led the 08 national training team to win the U15 East Asia Cup, will not coach the 08 National Junior.
For Chinese soccer, it is a great pity to choose Evergrande's foreign coach Masaaki Nakamura to coach the national junior team. Masaaki Nakamura's outstanding performance in the U15 East Asian Cup, as well as his rich experience and professional ability in Evergrande Soccer School, make him an ideal candidate to coach the national junior team. As a result, this has caused some fans to question. Because our FA has made a lot of mistakes in selecting coaches in the past few years.
However, some aspects of this coaching selection can still reassure everyone. The FA has decided that the head coaches of the two national junior teams will be foreign coaches. This decision reflects the FA's open vision and international strategy for youth soccer development. Through the introduction of foreign coaches, Chinese soccer hopes to absorb international advanced soccer concepts and training methods to further improve the competitive level and comprehensive quality of domestic youth players.
It is understood that the 2008 age group national training team will depart from Shanghai on December 18 for a six-day training in Japan, during which they will hold four friendly matches to test the results and gain experience. During this period, they will hold four friendly matches to test the results of training and accumulate experience in the game. 2024 February, the team will also go to Germany for a three-week short-term "overseas study", and exchange matches with local youth teams. These international exchanges are of great significance in improving the vision and competitive level of Chinese youth players.
Meanwhile, the 2009 National Training Team is in full swing. Their preparation time will be fuller than that of the 2008 National Junior, which undoubtedly lays the foundation for them to achieve good results in future competitions. Currently, due to a series of recent changes in the FA, the 08 National Junior was formed a little later than before. However, through a series of training camps this year, this team has gradually gelled into shape and showed good strength and potential by winning the U15 East Asia Cup in September.
Overall, the CFA's commitment and determination to the development of youth soccer is evident. The CFA hopes to create a more favorable environment and conditions for the growth of the national junior team by introducing foreign coaches and strengthening international exchanges. We expect Chinese soccer to show better performance and strength on the international stage in the near future.
