There's one more round of the Chinese Super League to go before the break, and then the national soccer team will be counting down to intensive training and preparation. Therefore, in the recent rounds of the league, Jankovic, as the head coach of the national soccer team, has been extremely busy. He is always frequenting the major focus tournaments, paying close attention to the performance of key players and trying to do his homework for circling international players for training.
Unlike the last training session, Jankovic started off in a hurry and did not have a perfect overall knowledge of the players, so he basically chose some experienced or potential players. This, coupled with the fact that their own tactical intentions, did not fully penetrate into their consciousness, led to the final training effect and results, which can only be described as rather average (facing New Zealand, 1 draw and 1 loss, the process is not as good as it should be).
However, after two or three months of investigation and the baptism of the intermediate league, Jankovic has basically gained a full understanding of the knowledge of all players. Therefore, I have full confidence in selecting excellent international players into the second training. When asked by the media about Yankovic's selection criteria, Yankovic said bluntly: in addition to the overall ability of the players, they pay more attention to the "attitude to serve the country".
At first glance, there's really nothing wrong with these two selection criteria. But if we strictly follow this criterion, Jankovic can help the national soccer team to change the blood in advance.
There are two reasons why this is important:
Firstly, those old players who have been selected for the national soccer team many times, although they have good ability, honestly, they don't attach so much importance to whether they can be selected or not, instead, they are a bit rejected. Because they have participated in too many intercontinental matches on behalf of the national soccer team, but they have hardly achieved the desired results, and they are always criticized by the media and fans.
It's a foregone conclusion that the current national soccer team is of poor standard and basically won't play a decent game. Why go to the national soccer team when you can't play a great game, and you have to be questioned by everyone and suffer both physically and mentally?
And for many veterans, they prefer to focus on the club. It would have been nice to have a stronger league schedule beforehand, so you could have used the break to rest, get in shape, and work hard for the team again. But when you go to the national team, you simply don't have time to adjust. Going back and forth increases the risk of injury and can even cause trouble for your form at the club, which is definitely the last thing a player wants to see.
Secondly, the attitude of older players attending national football training, not to mention playing for their country. Those are scenarios that are basically all about the paycheck. You may not quite understand one thing. When a player signs a contract with a club, there's usually this sentence:Â "The player can be selected for the national soccer team and participate in as many intercontinental tournaments as he wants, and there will be a corresponding proportion of the salary". Clubs have this agreement because they want players to make progress in the team, because only by working hard to perform themselves will they have a chance to be selected for the national team. An increase in the players' own strength is also a good thing for the team and an intangible boost to the club's reputation.
In addition, if you make the national soccer team, you will not only be generously treated by your club, but you will also be handsomely rewarded by the national team. When the Asian qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup started, the daily training package for the national soccer team ranged from a few hundred to one or two thousand. Usually training for about a month, many players get tens of thousands just by training. This may not be much in the era of gold-dollar soccer, but it's a lot of money for Chinese soccer nowadays.
At the end of the day, the FA pay cuts are severe in the league and most clubs are always on the verge of defaulting on their wages, so these internationals must be greedy for that income.
So don't expect these old players to have what Jankovic calls "the attitude to play for their country". They are already afraid of being beaten in international matches. They have little chance of winning against Japan and South Korea, and every minute of it has been agonizing. They don't know how to play against Myanmar and Vietnam, who are generally inferior, including Vietnam before them. If they lose, they will suffer a flood of accusations. So don't expect these players to create the desired result.
So what should we do with Jankovic? Maybe, as we said above, we can only give up the concept of "iron fisted national football star", choose some talented young players, rebuild Yankovic's label, let these players build confidence, and establish a sense of honor and mission to play for the country. Don't believe in the "bring the old to the new, pass on the experience" nonsense. What lessons can those old national soccer players learn? It's all about failure and pain. What do you want these young players to learn?
