Soon, the Chinese men's soccer team will gather again for a new period of preparation, but so far, there is no conclusion on who will coach the national soccer team. Just recently, a South Korean coach volunteered to take over the national soccer team. He also praised the "unlimited potential" of Chinese soccer!
The coach is Seo Jung Won, the Korean coach of the Chengdu Rongcheng team. He took over the Chengdu team from the end of 2020 and led the team to successfully complete the Super League. Last season, he led the team to a fifth place finish.
Now that the Chinese Super League is in its off-season, Seo Jung-won has returned to South Korea to enjoy a rare vacation. Not long ago, the South Korean coach was interviewed by local media and he talked a lot about Chinese soccer.
China's men's soccer team has never made it to the World Cup since 2002, and our rivals in Asia are growing in number, so many fans believe Chinese soccer is on the decline, but Xu Zhengyuan disagrees. "I think Chinese soccer has great potential," he said in an interview. In the teams I coach, the players are improving. From this perspective, I think Chinese soccer is still very promising!"
Considering that the national soccer team is currently in the stage of coaching selection, the reporter also asked Xu Zhengyuan if he wants to coach the Chinese team. To this, Xu Zhengyuan replied, "It's not easy. You need to understand the culture, habits, character, etc. of Chinese players. Considering the self-esteem of Chinese soccer, I don't think they will invite me to coach. But if there is a chance, I really want to challenge. I hope I can continue to learn and progress in my position in the Chinese team!"
According to several domestic media reports, the selection criteria previously set by the CFA had a very clear prerequisite, which was familiarity with Asian soccer. In this regard, Xu Zhengyuan is undoubtedly a perfect fit. However, his coaching resume is somewhat unlikely. He only has coaching experience in South Korea's K-League and Chinese Super League, and has never led a national team. If Chinese soccer did invite him to coach, it would certainly cause a lot of controversy. After all, Chinese soccer pays more attention to the fame of foreign coaches. I'm afraid it will be hard to convince the public if Xu Zhengyuan takes the job.
From the current situation, the local coach Li Xiaopeng's hope of staying in the job is getting bigger and bigger, and the future of Chinese soccer is still not optimistic.
