The day has finally come.
In the conference room of the Xinhua Road Stadium in Wuhan, the then president of the Football Association, Nian Weisi, announced to the public in a steady tone:
"On behalf of the Football Leading Group of the National Sports Commission and the CFA, I announce that Gao Fengwen will be the head coach of the Chinese soccer team."
History handed the baton to the usually quiet northeastern man, and the Chinese men's soccer team ended nearly two years of chaos.
A lot of people know what happened after the game.
For a while, the condemning, questioning, and even more strangely brainwashed Western media called the incident:
"The riots prove that China has completed its return to the world stage."
Fortunately, the Chinese authorities were not that brainy at the time, and they quickly moved in to arrest several rowdy thugs. Hu Yaobang even personally instructed the matter.
The riots in Chinese society have subsided, but the chaos in Chinese soccer has just begun.
Zeng Xuelin, head coach of the Chinese men's soccer team at the center of the storm, submitted his resignation after struggling.
In fact, the day after the 519 loss, Zeng Shuai spoke with Li Menghua and Yuan Weimin, the heads of the National Sports Committee. At that time, Li Menghua did not show leadership dignity to Zeng Shuai, but comforted him by saying:
"Think calmly and summarize carefully."
This deeply moved Zeng Shuai, he beat the spirit, thinking to re-enter the work of the head coach. But he didn't realize that the king of hell is a good man, but the devil is hard to deal with. In the next few days, several colleagues from the soccer department of the Sports Commission approached Zeng Shuai and said to him in a conspiratorial tone.
The 1981 World Qualifiers were, arguably, washed away by the West Asians, but this time, the loss was to Hong Kong, a major Chinese city, which can't be said in any case. Even after so many years of managing soccer, repeated defeats have calmed the elderly. But the 519 is so unusual.
In the face of this unprecedented defeat, only he can pick up the pieces.
So the old man and his old superior Yuan Weimin made a conditional promise:
"Take over the National Football League, but only for one year, as a paving stone."
One of Nian Weisi's first acts after taking over was to move his pupil, former national youth team head coach Gao Fengwen, into the lineup.
The old man never hid his admiration for Gao Fengwen because he dared to fight in his player days and sometimes filled with blood in order to grab the ball. In a game, Gao Fengwen's leg was hit by the ball, but he endured the severe pain and opened the ball. At that time, Nian Weis always said to the players around him:
"Look at other people's Gao Fengwen, that's called kicking!"
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is the successor the old man is looking for for himself.
Of course, Gao Fengwen also knew the significance of the teacher's choice of coaching staff. For the next year, Gao Fengwen devoted himself to his work as an assistant coach. He worked with his teacher, Nian Weisi, to select international players and lead team training.
But the efforts of the master and disciple had little effect.
519 years later, the national soccer team was first swept 0-3 by Australia in the Safety Cup; on his return, he was beaten by a local team on National Day night; and was eliminated by Kuwait at the Seoul Asian Games, finishing only eighth, the only three-team team at the Games without a gold medal.
But the old man was convinced that he had not misjudged the man. So at the end of one year, he officially handed over the whip to his beloved pupil.
Strictly speaking, it was the first time that Chinese soccer broke out of Asia and reached the stage of the World Championship. As a result, people remember the names that will shine China's soccer in the future - Jia Xiuquan, Li Huayun, Mai Chao, Liu Haiguang ......
Just before entering the national team's coaching staff, Gao Fengwen also led the Chinese national team into the last eight in the Kodak Cup. Slightly dispersed some of the things that shrouded the Chinese soccer at that time "519" haze.
In fact, when Summit Man made a name for himself by leading a group of kids, many people called for him to take over the national soccer team. But at that time, Gao Fengwen kept this a secret. Whenever a reporter asked this question, Gao just smiled:
"Is that possible?"
But all these "problems" were skillfully solved by Nian Weisi, who, in the face of all kinds of verbal criticism, handed over the whip to Gao Fengwen. Why is Nian Lao so determined?
This easy-goingness is a sign of good personal character, but for a team that relies on performance, it's certainly a disaster.
And Ko Fung Man is the complete opposite of Tsang Suet Lin, no one can change what he thinks, no matter how big you are.
In this way, Gao Fengwen with the teacher's trust and the expectations of the people of the country, began the reconstruction of the national team. According to his own idea, he touched the soul of the Chinese men's soccer team to "set things right".
Zeng Xuelin used to focus on individual skills and pass control, but Gao Fengwen believes that one of the major reasons why Chinese teams repeatedly fall down at critical moments is that they don't pay attention to defense. Therefore, Gao Fengwen pays a lot of attention to physical quality when choosing players. Technical players such as Li Huayun and Gao Hongbo are either not used or not used at all. Tactically, Gao Fengwen also focuses on defensive counterattacks and quickly passing through the half-court.
Less than a year later, the Gauchos were born!
May 20, 1987, two years after the 519 incident. Ko Fung Man led the national soccer team to beat Hong Kong 1-0. The match not only shamed the national soccer team, but also earned Ko Fung Man a ticket to the 1988 Seoul Olympic qualifying finals.
Five months later, at the Tokyo National Stadium, in front of thousands of Japanese fans, the Gauchos lost in the first round and beat Japan 2-0 in unfavorable conditions on the road to enter the Olympic slogan:
With a one-goal lead, Saudi Arabia began to pounce, and Fu Yubin failed to pounce on a penalty kick, but showed great form, blocking left and right to settle the three necessary Saudi Arabian goals.
Back in the half, Gao Fengwen replaced midfielder Wu Qunli, and the national soccer team blew a counterattack. In the 18th minute of the second half, Wu Qunli broke through the penalty area with the ball and was brought down by a Saudi defender, and Mai Chao scored from the penalty spot.
In the 21st minute of the second half, it was another tricky shot from Mai Chiu that knocked the door off Saudi Arabia again.
A rare reversal for the Chinese men's soccer team occurred on a rainy night in Singapore.
The final whistle sounded, the media called "cold-faced man" Gao Fengwen rare smile, as if across the threshold of Saudi Arabia, the Chinese team can touch the turf of the Apennine Peninsula.
The last match of the final round of Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup in Italy was played 14 days later before China and Qatar.
Despite a 2-1 comeback in the last three minutes of the second match, the UAE lost to South Korea by one goal in the third match; however, Xie Yuxin kept his hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive with a 1-0 win over North Korea in the fourth match.
In the final match, China will be on Italian soil as long as they beat Qatar and South Korea don't lose to the UAE!
In order to prevent a repeat of the tragedy created by Saudi Arabia eight years ago, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) put pressure on the AFC and South Korea through various channels. AFC Secretary General Virapane said that if there is any indiscipline in the final round, it will be severely punished! South Korea's captain Oh Man-kyun also said that South Korea will abide by the Olympic spirit and strive for victory in every match.
Black for three minutes.
Summit Man, who saw everything from the sidelines, was stunned as he sat in the coach's box. Nyanvis, who saw everything from the stands, suddenly felt a weakness in his legs and he seemed to lose his ability to stand immediately, so he hit his right leg.
So far, the person in question can't explain why this behavior occurred in those three minutes. But any explanation pales in comparison. Because public opinion, has surged.
"Why don't you use Gao Hongbo!"
"Gu Guangming played so well in Germany, why not use him!"
"Nepotism in Ko Fung Man! Sidelining players from other places!"
Vicious words were spewed on the man they once considered a hero. Overnight, Gao Fengwen's hair turned gray and his wrinkles increased. On the way home, no one from the national team spoke.
