Recently, Nantong Zhiyun veteran Wang Song's comments in a media interview caused a lot of buzz among the media and fans. He said that although he is now almost 40 years old, he feels that playing in the Chinese Super League this season is easier than before.
In the 11th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League, Wang Song helped Nantong Zhiyun beat Qingdao Hainiu with a stoppage time winner. It was his first goal in the Chinese Super League after four years. Wang Song is 39 years old, but he thinks age is not a problem. Wang Song said: "I think it was very tiring to play soccer in my 20s, sometimes even more so than now. The level of foreigners in the league now is not as good as in previous years. The soccer market is worth every penny."
For China's young players, Wang Song said that in general, the level is a little lower than before. It's not that there are no good players, but there are only a few good players. Also, after less investment, there are no world famous coaches in the Chinese Super League, and some coaches who have never led a professional team are leading the team. Due to these reasons, it's not surprising that the level of the Chinese Super League has dropped.
Thinking back to the era of golden dollar soccer, Wang Song said:Â "I think when I played in the Chinese Super League in the first few years, I often faced some world-class stars, and it was much harder than now. Although I'm getting older, I think it's getting easier to play in the league."
Although Wang Song's words sound harsh, they also illustrate the real situation in the Chinese Super League. With the fading of gold-dollar soccer and the departure of high-level foreign aid and foreign coaches from the Chinese Super League, the league's overall level, tempo and quality have dropped dramatically. Under these circumstances, Wang Song will find it easier to play in the Chinese Super League than before as he is almost 40 years old.
So this brings up an interesting topic. When Guangzhou Evergrande dominated the Chinese Super League in the past, many media and fans criticized the wave of gold dollar soccer triggered by Guangzhou Evergrande, arguing that the arrival of a large number of high-level foreign aiders and foreign coaches took up the playing time and development space of local Chinese players, and that high-level foreign coaches would also make it difficult for local coaches to excel, thus lowering the level of Chinese soccer.
But now it seems that after the retirement of golden dollar soccer, the level of Chinese soccer is further lower than that of the golden dollar soccer period. During the golden dollar soccer period, the national football team could still rely on Guangzhou Evergrande to plan players to improve their fighting power and invite world champion coach Lippi to coach the national football team, which was and still is unthinkable.
In the post-golden dollar soccer era, the national football team can only invite like Li Tie, Li Xiaopeng, such as local managers and like Yankovic, such as the "three no" foreign coaches.
After yet another anti-gambling crackdown, it seems that Chinese soccer is not yet back on track. Although it has not been officially announced yet, the candidate for the president of the CFA is already known. Unfortunately, he is not the expert like Gao Hongbo or Sun Wen that Chinese fans and media expect.
It will take a long process to improve the overall level of Chinese soccer, but the process must start by doing the right things, such as abolishing the policy of neutral names for professional soccer clubs and restoring the title teams for sponsors, so as to inspire investors and make them willing to return to Chinese soccer. In addition, if the national soccer team wants to improve its strength in a short period of time, it should try to plan its players and hire high-level foreign coaches, just like the Chinese men's basketball team. Many media and fans can think of these methods and measures, but I don't know if the FA is willing to do so
