March 24, Beijing time
The football world instantly set off waves, a sad news shocked the industry: China's soccer legend, former China's men's football coach, China's women's football founder, Chen Chengda old Mr. Chen Chengda died in Beijing due to illness at the age of 93 years old, it is sad.
Chen Chengda, formerly known as Zhigang, born in 1929, was a leading figure in China's soccer industry. He loved soccer since he was a child, and at the age of 10, he joined the seven-a-side soccer game, and in 1945, he joined the Shanghai mini-football club "Lianxing" team and the Shanghai A-group football club "Jingwu" team, and in 1952, he was selected to play for the national team, and after two years of service, he went to Hungary for further study with the team. In 1952, Chen Chengda was elected to the national team and served in the national team for two years, then went to Hungary with the team for further study. 1958, he was honored as one of the first batch of soccer athletes in China.
In 1957, Chen Chengda started to coach the national team and continued to do so for seven years. Under his leadership, China's men's soccer team won the Tri-National Match between China, the Soviet Union and Hungary in 1959, and the Quad-National Match between China, Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia in 1964.In 1983, he began to serve as the head of the Soccer Division of the National Sports Commission and the Secretary General of China's Soccer Association, and was elected as the Vice-President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1986.
Chen Chengda's life has always been dedicated to the development of our country's soccer. Although the development of our country's soccer is not as good as it should be today, the hard work and hard efforts of our predecessors deserve our respect and gratitude. Mr. Chen even promoted the development of China's women's football, without his strong support and promotion, China's women's football today would not be possible to talk about! His decades of hard work have earned him the respect and love of the football world. After learning the news of Mr. Chen's death, the football world have expressed their condolences, China's women's football Shui Qingxia even said: "No Chen guide, there is no later China's women's football."
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Chen Chengda. At the same time, we should learn from Mr. Chen's dedication, carry on the legacy of our forefathers and continue to contribute to the development of soccer in China!
