General Manager of Yanbian Longding Club, Li Guanghe, said in an interview, "Now we can only be based on the present, step by step to do a good job related to business development. If the time is ripe in the future, the market environment is getting better and better, of course we still hope to bring Yanbian soccer back to the Chinese Super League as soon as possible."
On the historical map of Chinese soccer, there has always been a saying that "South Meixian, North Yanbian", and Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture was one of the first regions in China to play soccer. Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is one of the earliest soccer regions in China, and at the beginning of the professionalization in 1994, Yanbian Aodong soccer team's high-pressure all-attack and all-defense style of play, the attendance rate of full house, and those who couldn't buy tickets to watch the game climbed a high tree to watch the "hanging tree" fans, were all Yanbian soccer at that time, leaving a deep imprint on the nation's fans. The game was a great success for the Yanbian soccer team.
As the professional league continues to become more market-oriented and competitive, Yanbian soccer has suffered to a certain extent and has been in the doldrums for some time. Now, however, Yanbian Longding "Heart", who have inherited the mantle of Yanbian soccer, have been reborn, with victory after victory, bringing joy on the pitch to the border town. It also provides a stage for the fans there to show themselves again.
The state and municipal governments support Yanbian Longding to do what the people like.
Traveling 20 kilometers south from Yanji City, the government of Yanbian Prefecture, you can reach the soccer town of Hailanjiang, Longjing City, which is the base of Yanbian Longding Football Club. Yanbian Longding U-17 team is training at the training base which is surrounded by mountains on three sides and a lake on the other side, with dozens of natural and artificial grass fields. Two fully enclosed winter training and match bubble stadiums stand in the center of the base, and auxiliary facilities such as fan culture shopping malls are under construction in an orderly manner.
"The soccer town you see now, which covers nearly 1,000 acres, is still being improved. We hope to build this base into a benchmark where not only the Yanbian Longding professional and ladder teams train and play, but in the future people and youngsters can also use it as a place for vacation, leisure, contact and enjoyment of soccer." The club's general manager, Li Guanghe, introduced the soccer town as he walked around.
In fact, Yanbian Prefecture, as one of the first cities in China to focus on soccer development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, has a strong atmosphere of mass soccer in schools and communities at all levels. It can be said that soccer is the first sport that people love and want to participate in throughout the country. As a result, there are Yanbian international players playing for the country in the recent national team.
In this regard, Li Guanghe said, "The overall development of soccer in Yanbian has been very good in recent decades. It is safe to say that children from every household, male and female, participate in soccer during school sports. This has led to a healthy bottom-up training and transportation channel and a steady flow of talent."
Of course, when talking about the development difficulties, Li Guanghe also admitted: "As we all know, Yanbian Prefecture is not an economically developed area. We also have a variety of difficulties, but the state and municipal governments are very supportive of us and have given great care and support. As the leader of Yanbian soccer, we still have to take the social responsibility of developing and further improving the level of soccer in Yanbian, and do our best to do things that more people like from all dimensions."
Team focuses on culture, relegates early, creates myth of undefeated home stand
As a promoted horse, Yanbian Longding's main goal this season is to stand firm and finish relegation first. On the basis of relegation, more local young players will be trained so that they can accumulate more experience in the Central League platform and thus achieve higher goals in the future.
At the same time, the club also focuses on team culture construction. Whether it is the management of personnel within the team, the spirit when going out to play, or creating a better playing environment and discipline, Yanbian Longding has always been strict with itself and demanded a lot from itself.
The team not only succeeded in relegation five rounds ahead of schedule, but also created an undefeated home record of 7 wins and 8 draws this season with the joint efforts of all the staff, players, coaches and fans of the club. This season, only Yanbian Longding realized undefeated at home this season. Among them, in the home matches against two teams, Sichuan Jiuniu and Qingdao West Coast, the team achieved an impressive result of 1 win and 1 draw.
On the other hand, the team is required to clean the locker room after each away game. And when visiting teams come to Yanbian to play, the club tries its best to help.
"Almost all visiting teams coming to Yanbian will provide free training grounds for each other, including racing. When fans of the visiting team come to Yanbian to watch the match, Yanbian Longding Club will also arrange for the four major fan associations in Yanbian to provide some help to the opposing fans as much as possible, including drinking water during the watching of the match. After the match, guidance services will also be provided for some fans who are willing to sightsee in Yanbian. We believe that by treating each other sincerely, these efforts can promote the friendship between both clubs and fans and purify the atmosphere of the whole Central League." General Manager Li Guanghe said.
