Small player, big game player, this is less than 1.7 meters tall player u17 national soccer team captain Li Ming. Few people may know that this young man named "Li Ming" experienced the so-called "dark moments" during his growing up process, but with the encouragement of his teammates, he finally got out of the trough. Now, with a small body carrying heavy responsibilities and a big heart encouraging the team to move forward bravely, Li Ming is the core of the trust of the coach and teammates.
Understanding team power, for the captain, for the captain
At 1.67 meters tall, Lai Ming is one of several small players in the National Junior Yuxi Training Camp, and one of several small players in the National Junior Yuxi Training Camp. u17 Asian Preliminary Tournament pivot of offense and defense. In the words of head coach Yang Chen, "As a bridge between strikers and defenders, Lai plays a connecting role in the midfield position." During the national junior training, he was not only a role model on the training field, but also a bridge between his teammates and the head coach.
Facing the other four midfielders on the 40-man practice roster, Dawn wasn't proud of his accomplishments and was never at ease. "Everything is zeroed in. I don't think I'm going to have an easier time than my teammates. Every training session before that came like that." As a midfielder, he believes he has to improve in terms of size, confrontation, long passes and vision. His favorite star is Xavi. "It is also a small body with good awareness and unexpected passes.
Captain-elect doesn't rely on height, he relies on strength, he relies on power.
Lai still remembers u in the final round of the Asian Cup qualifiers, recalling, "The second goal conceded was caused by me because I kicked in the air." While bravely taking responsibility, he immediately reminded himself to stop thinking about it and that the match was not yet over. It wasn't until after the match that he seriously reflected on the fact that the mistake was completely avoidable, saying, "The truth is that there were better ways to deal with it.
A growing midfielder, Lai is also a trusted captain for his teammates. A few years ago, he had a tough time at the Genbao soccer base. He said, "The form was poor and the mood was low. I can regain my confidence on the pitch, which depends entirely on the support of my teammates." Having realized the strength of the team, Lai's responsibilities on and off the pitch have grown. In the early days of the 2021 national youth team, which had been divided into red and blue teams due to its large numbers, he was chosen by his teammates to captain the red team. When the two teams merged, he was accidentally designated captain by Yang Chen.
In life, he had to enter the room as captain, summarizing the team's problems and encouraging his teammates as friends; in matches, he would remind some of his teammates to "not be nervous" and passively yell "wrong, come again". He admitted that he was inevitably nervous during the match against Australia, "After all, he had rarely had the chance to meet such an opponent before and represented his country in the match." But he soon got into the swing of things, infecting his teammates with the actions expected of a captain and boosting morale through his constant reactions.
One step away from the dream of making it to the pros.
When he was in the third grade, Lai was influenced by his neighbors and children for playing soccer. From there, he began to enjoy school soccer at Nanzha Experimental Primary School in Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province. Two years later, he was favored by the coach of the Jiangyin Sports School for his outstanding on-field awareness, and transferred to the school to receive semi-professional training.In July 2018, a friend from the first step's sports school sent a phone call to try out for Genbao's soccer base - the captain of today's national team is only five years old.
With the gradual improvement in the level of training in schools, sports schools and soccer schools, the direction of soccer has become more and more firm in the minds of young people. It is now clear to him that he is no longer considering any other life choices other than becoming a professional player. With this experience and training, we have a better chance than others of our age to become professional players," he says.
Eight years ago, the whole family could not have imagined such a life plan. Lai's parents had nothing to do with soccer until their son played at a certain level and they started to try to watch soccer matches. Lai recalls, "Luckily, my parents have always supported my hobbies and ideas, so it was possible for me to play professional soccer." When the Genbao Soccer School's 2006 ladder was bought out in a one-time deal, the students, including Lai, added another identity - as ladder players for Shanghai Port FC.
Every student knows what is in front of the "ladder", but not everyone can discipline themselves. The Li family is from Loudi, Hunan province. After his son went to Shanghai, his parents had no reason to continue to live in Jiangyin to make a living, so they settled back in their hometown. Whenever he goes home to visit his family on vacation, Li always remembers that "professional footballer" is what he wants to be, so he often goes to the nearby park to do ball-less training.
Like most of his teammates in the national youth team, Lai is in a training agreement with the club and must know within two years if they can become professional players. He also captained the club's ladder and saw where the older ladders ended up:either promoted to the first team, transferred or eliminated. "The national youth experience will help us a lot in the future. I want to go all out along the path of national youth, national Olympics, and national team, and move up in the national brand one step at a time.
u17 Asia Cup winning opportunities come from hard work
As one of the first Junior National players this year, Dawn is used to the competitive atmosphere of the team and the comings and goings of many players. Take the field positions, for example. There are seven or eight midfielders who have participated in National Junior training, "Each of them cherishes the opportunity to train, and every player who comes here is actively competing for every position.
He knows the national youth jersey he wears is hard-earned.A month before the first training session in May 2021 at the Xianghe soccer base in Hebei, a large group of 13- and 14-year-olds are divided into four teams, led by four coaches, with the final decision to stay in the team for games and regular training performances. No matter how long I've been selected, everyone I've seen cherishes the opportunity and takes a positive attitude toward learning," Lai said.
He was more than aware that the captain's armband meant a "heavier burden" and a "bigger mission" for the whole team. No matter what," he said, "no matter who the opponents are in the Asian Cup draw, as long as we can show the usual training content, we will have hope of winning." As for Yang Chen's goal of "entering the World Youth Championship", he responded with words and deeds: "The World Youth Championship is the biggest stage for our team and the best chance to win honor for our country.
In the No.1 field of Yuxi Highland Soccer Training Base, Yang Chen's advocacy of "Attitude, Discipline and Execution" can be seen everywhere, always reminding the 40 new and old players. In this regard, captain Li Ming shared his understanding: "Attitude is to maintain a brave and tenacious style of play on and off the pitch, and the confidence to win; discipline is to do what you are told to do, and not to have other ideas; execution is to do your best to meet the usual training requirements and tactical requirements of the game.
