Recently, Chinese fans have been on a roller coaster ride, with the Asian Games matchup between the national soccer team and South Korea undoubtedly in the spotlight. Prior to the encounter, our soccer team and South Korea have met twice. In the first match, we lost 1-3, and we were still able to score under pressure from our opponents. In the second match, we narrowly won 1-0, and even though we were passive, we fought back. As a result, people are generally optimistic about our Asian Games campaign. Even though they may not be able to win, they will at least be able to show a fighting spirit.
However, such expectations might have been turned upside down in the first half. We found that we failed to pose any threat to the Korean team, with neither defensive firmness, nor offensive aggressiveness, nor counter-attacking intimidation. In short, we were like a target to be hit at will by our opponents, which undoubtedly frustrated many fans. Of course, the final score was reasonable given the strength of the two sides. However, our players missed the opportunity to show themselves against a high-level opponent because we lacked the "sword" to do so.
However, our players can actually learn a lot from this game. The opposing team has several players who play in the top five leagues, and they show a calmness, pace and confrontation that we can't experience first-hand in the Chinese Super League. Therefore, regardless of the result, as long as our players gain something, the game will be worthwhile.
Recently, this effect has been visible. Although the Asian Games team has finished its journey, the team's main striker, Qatar's hero Tao Qianglong, shared his thoughts and reset his goals in an interview with Sportsweek. He said, "There is a gap between us and the South Korean team in terms of skill, body, confrontation and mind, and Lee Gang-in is a representative of that. He is a player from the top league in Europe and the pace and intensity of the game is incredible. We have a really big gap, which motivates us to keep working hard."
Tao Qianglong and Li Gangren were jointly selected as one of the world's top 60 rising stars by the Guardian in 2001. However, the paths they took today are very different. Li Gangren is playing for Ligue 1 giants Paris, while Tao Qianglong can only play as a substitute in the Chinese Super League. This huge gap is embarrassing. As a result, Tao Qianglong realized the gap between each other and adjusted his goals. After all, Tao Qianglong is currently only 21 years old, and there are still unlimited possibilities in the future.
So, do we expect Tao Qianglong to go abroad one day? Chinese players are now in dire need of working out in high tempo, high confrontation, high level leagues. The only way to achieve this is to go abroad. Do you think Tao Qianglong will study abroad?
