Pu Wei, one of the best of the Clanging Roses and a famous player in China's women's soccer team, wrote fondly in her WeChat circle of friends on March 24: "Chen guidance, go well. Thank you for your attentive teaching and selfless assistance to the Clanging Roses generation of players, your spirit will always be engraved in our hearts."
It was reported that Chen Chengda passed away in Beijing on the same day at the age of 93. The elegant and introspective footballer, who had set sail as an architectural student at Shanghai's St. John's University, eventually became the first generation of new China's international footballers, the head coach of the national football team, and an administrative official of the National Football Association (NFA).
Chen Chengda is world-renowned for his excellent foreign language skills and charming personal charisma, and has established a monumental feat in China's foreign exchange of soccer.
Chen Chengda, formerly known as Zhigang, was born in Shanghai in 1929 and was an outstanding player, coach and administrator in the Chinese soccer world.In 1945, he joined the Shanghai mini-football club "Lianxing" and the Shanghai Group A club "Jingwu", and in 1949, he entered the architecture department of In 1949, he was admitted to the Architecture Department of Shanghai St. John's University. After the founding of New China, Chen Chengda joined the Shanghai School League team in 1950, the Shanghai team and the East China team in 1951, the national team in 1952, and went to Hungary with the national team for further study in 1954, and became an international player in the first men's national soccer team of New China.
In 1958, he was honored as one of the first soccer athletes in China.
In 2015, the 60th anniversary of the national football team studying in Hungary was held on Chongming Island, where Chen Chengda reunited with soccer patriarchs such as Nian Weisi and the Hungarian soccer delegation to continue the Sino-Hungarian soccer friendship.
Chen Chengda was the coach of the national team for seven consecutive years from 1957, making him the fourth head coach in the history of the national soccer team. Under his leadership, the national soccer team won the China-Soviet-Hungarian Tri-National Match in 1959 and the China-North Korea-Vietnam-Mongolia Quad-National Match in 1964.
In 1974, Chan Seng Tat returned to the NFF as General Secretary and subsequently served in FIFA and the AFC, where he was Vice President. His solid foundation in English from St. John's University has allowed him to navigate the world of soccer diplomacy. Chen Chengda understands that China must strengthen its communication with FIFA and AFC to enhance the voice of the Chinese in international soccer.
On October 3, 1979, the FIFA Executive Committee voted to restore the legal seat of the People's Republic of China in FIFA.
In 1980, Chan Seng Tat began his tenure at FIFA, and in 1984, he was elected as a member of the AFC Executive Committee and a member of the Match and Emergency Committees.
In 1986, Chan Seng Tat was appointed Vice President of the Asian Football Confederation and in June 1994, at the FIFA Congress in Chicago, USA, Chan Seng Tat was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit.
After retirement, Chen Chengda still cares about soccer, especially in the development of youth soccer and the construction of youth competition system, and has made valuable suggestions many times. During the Spring Festival this year, Shanghai coach Shui Qingxia led the team to win the Asian Cup, while the Clanging Roses finished second in the 1999 Women's World Cup, and these brilliant achievements are inextricably linked to Chen Chengda's contributions.
The "old women's soccer" talk about Chen Chengda, all solemn respect: "No Chen guide, there is no women's soccer glory." Pu Wei coach learned of the news of Chen Chengda's death, said with deep emotion: "Our women's football team to fight in the 1999 World Cup, he has been in the team to give us guidance and help, he is for soccer seriously pay and efforts, really grateful, thank you, thanks to Chen's guidance on our assistance and guidance, which has our women's football today. "
