August 16th Express, Sun Wen, vice president of China's soccer association, in an exclusive interview with Football News, discussed in depth the development status of China's women's football, and analyzed the gap between the European soccer.
Spotlight on the Spiritual Power of the "Rose"
Sun Wen said that the spirit of "Clanging Roses" is the core of all female team sports. Only by demonstrating this spirit can our women's soccer team hope to reach the world stage. 2022 Women's UEFA Women's Cup promotional video is themed "Soccer is my heart, my heart carries all things". According to Sun Wen, focus, team, perseverance, challenge, courage, these qualities constitute the spiritual connotation of the team, rather than a single word can be summarized. To convey these spirits, it is more important to let everyone experience them firsthand so that they can deeply understand their meaning.
Reflections on the role of the Vice-Chairman
Sun Wen said that a full of vitality, growing sports program needs constant reflection and learning. Although the performance of women's football in the Asian game has been recognized, but in the technical level and the European women's football is still a big gap. In the face of the full rise of European women's football, China's women's football needs to enhance the sense of crisis, pressure and sense of responsibility. She emphasized that the road ahead is long, need to have patience, and "a long time for success" is the current women's football in China's true reflection.
The Journey of Retirement
Sun Wen looks back on her rich experience after retirement and emphasizes that learning and curiosity are the keys to a successful transition. Growing up in a closed environment, she was eager to try new things, including knowledge structure and social experience. Eventually, she chose to return to soccer. Sun Wen believes that continuous learning, transcendence, reflection and self-awareness are indispensable qualities for athletes.
Player to Coach Transition
Sun Wen believes that the growth of coaches also requires continuous learning. Both players and coaches need to grow, otherwise it is difficult to enjoy the process of growth. She believes that coaching is a challenging and fun position, and is able to gain different insights in learning. Coaches should keep learning and improving themselves instead of being shallow.
In the case of wingbacks, for example, the physical demands have increased from being responsible for the back half of the field to now being an inside edge forward. Coaches need to get into the habit of continuous learning to improve themselves.
The importance of building club culture
Sun Wen emphasized that the construction of club culture is crucial. In the past, we have neglected the construction of soft cultural content in the development of soccer, and have not paid attention to the preservation of physical objects with emotions, such as jerseys and shoes. The physical objects in the club's honor room, such as jerseys and shoes, can make people feel like they are there. Sun Wen believes that the construction of soccer culture has a long way to go, and it is important to keep the past shoes, shin guards, and coaches' explanatory diagrams for the construction of culture.
Challenges in youth training
Sun Wen believes that soccer is a systematic project that requires professional talents. China's coaches in soccer understanding compared with European countries, Japan, South Korea and other neighboring countries, there is still a large gap. Enhancing the level of coaches is the core issue of the current youth training work in China.
Implications of the "men's soccer with women's soccer" model
Sun Wen said that the success of men's soccer can drive the development of women's soccer and achieve complementary advantages. Women's soccer has a relatively small investment, which is complementary to the club's culture and helps the interaction between youth soccer, campus soccer and community soccer. Female players are more approachable and help spread club culture.
