Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- He Yang, a famous soccer player and former member of the national team of Chengdu Rongcheng, shared his insights at the end of his career in Rongcheng as well as his views on present-day Chinese soccer in an interview with Cover News.
--Reasons for joining Chengdu Rongcheng in the first place
He Yang chose Chengdu because of the broad development platform provided by the club and the team's determination to reach the Super League. 2018, the team was just established, starting from the Chinese Championship League, and despite the low level of the league, the team was united and courageous, with a strong belief in reaching the Super League. After bouncing from team to team, Chengdu's fan atmosphere makes him feel unique, whether it is losing or winning, the fans give the team great support, and this feeling is unforgettable.
--Career Review in Chengdu Hibiscus City
He Yang started his career in the Chinese Super League, and progressed through the Chinese League One and Chinese Championship, gradually dropping down the league levels as he got older. However, after joining Chengdu, he has seen an upturn in his career. The two times he made it to the first division and the Super League gave him an unprecedented joy that far exceeded his previous wins of the AFC Cup and the second place in the Chinese Super League. The two promotion battles in Chengdu became unforgettable chapters in his career.
--Retirement and experience as a reserve team assistant coach
One of the reasons for his retirement was the club's recognition of him as a meritorious player, which gave him great encouragement. After transitioning to coaching, he has not only served as a coach, but also participated in many club management tasks and actively engaged in building the future of the team. Cultivating the reserve force of Chengdu soccer has become his future focus.
--Comments on Chinese Football
Chinese soccer is currently experiencing an unprecedented low, and all soccer practitioners are on a difficult path of change. Despite the unsatisfactory results, Chinese soccer continues to progress in self-denial. After his retirement, He Yang deeply felt that this process of change is bound to be arduous, just like the wheel of history, Chinese soccer must also go through this stage in order to achieve a qualitative leap. Now we see the negative phenomenon of Chinese soccer, in fact, is a good phenomenon, it can inspire, influence our generation of 80 soccer people to put more effort, for Chinese soccer and fans to bring more hope. Call on everyone not to give up.
--Views on Youth Training
He Yang's motto was, "You want to get what you never had, you have to experience what you never experienced." In the face of his players' hard training, he would say, "How can you get what you never had if you don't experience what you never had." He emphasized that as a professional player, he should discipline himself before others and set a good example to train more virtuous and talented people for the club. There is no shortcut to success, the only way to laugh at the 81 difficulties is to practise the 72 changes.
