With the U23 Asian Cup tournament coming to an end, the National Olympic Team defended its honor in the final game, even though it did not advance to the knockout stage. But immediately afterward, Madsen's interview with Cheng Yaodong accidentally set off waves of public opinion, and Cheng's comments sparked widespread controversy in the media circle.
In an interview with Madsen, Sung Yiu Tung revealed that his contract will expire after the tournament. He explained that the players have taken long training sessions as they do not have many club matches. In recent years, he has adjusted his techniques and tactics according to the tasks at different stages, hoping that Chinese soccer can reach and maintain the second tier level in Asia. Regardless of where the future takes him, he is committed to revitalizing Chinese soccer as long as he is in the soccer circle.
Sung Yiu Tung's long-term training model, which aims to solve the problem of players not being able to play football, has met with strong opposition from some members of the media. Pan Weili is one of them, who pointed out that Cheng Yaodong's statement is nonsense and listed a number of players who will be training overseas from March to June 2023 and questioned it by comparing their match statistics in the 2022 season.
Pan Weili's comments constitute a resounding slap in the face to the National Olympic team's coaching hierarchy, with their detailed descriptions and vivid accounts. During this year's U23 Asian Cup, there were players who expressed their displeasure with Cheng Yaodong. A Guangzhou player took to social media to publicly blast Cheng Yaodong, who, having not been given a chance to play for the second consecutive game, might be able to do well for Guangzhou in the Central League instead of sitting out in Qatar.
Another coincidence is that Pan Weili and another media person Xu Zexin almost at the same time exposed the scandal of Cheng Yaodong and the national Olympic team. Xu Zexin broke the news on social media that Cheng Yaodong had mysteriously disappeared from time to time during the usual training; what's more, a player in the team put up a fight and made personal rules that the whole team needed to wait for him to take his seat before eating. In one late incident, another player was not satisfied with the rules and moved his chopsticks first, nearly triggering a conflict.
If the two reporters' revelations are true, then the interview arranged by Ma Dexing for Cheng Yaodong can't help but make people sigh, the Chinese soccer circle is really a stage full of gossip and drama, and the excitement continues to be staged.
