On the night of August 1, the temperature at the New Demarche Stadium plummeted to below zero, and the 1-6 score flashing on the LED giant screen was like a cold reality, announcing the end of China's blessed women's soccer team.
In the face of this painful loss, Shui Qingxia, the head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team, firstly expressed her gratitude to the players for their hard work and made a request to summarize the lessons learned. She repeatedly emphasized, "I look forward to having more little girls devote themselves to soccer in the future." This brief wish spoke to the profound meaning behind the score.
soccer population
After the match, a senior women's soccer practitioner revealed to us this set of data: at present, the number of registered women's soccer players in China is only about 8,000, while our rival England has 1.8 million people. This year, the number of spectators at the England Women's FA Cup final was as high as 77,390, while the audience at our Women's FA Cup final was zero. Behind this is a pyramid system difference of thousands or even millions of people.
The competition between picking 23 out of 8,000 versus 23 out of 1.8 million cannot be overstated. And what is the talent pool in domestic soccer? It's all obvious.
On the eve of the match, I interviewed England fans on camera and asked them to predict the score. The fans in front of the camera hesitated for a long time, while the fans outside the camera shouted out without hesitation: "China Women's Football Team 0-7." At that moment, I actually felt that they were a bit overconfident. How could the Chinese team, the fourth and fourteenth in the world, who had only conceded one goal in their first two matches, lose so badly? After all, you averaged one goal a game and injured four of your core players.
When the final whistle blew, as England fans predicted, their team won 7-1, including an offside goal.
It wasn't until someone in the industry mentioned the 80 million vs 1.8 million that I suddenly realized how reasonable the 1-6 score was. If we squeak out a win or a draw, is it fair to the regions that have worked so hard to develop women's soccer with their feet on the ground?
In a country of 1.3 billion people, it is incredible that women's soccer has a registered population of only a few thousand.
I once interviewed an international player, "If you had a daughter, would you let her play soccer?" He replied firmly, "No. Girls should learn piano, chess, calligraphy and painting and stay away from soccer, let alone professional soccer."
Many of China's professional female soccer players, who could almost go on to a professional career, often had initial soccer initiation that had nothing to do with their parents. Instead, their parents occasionally discourage them when they fall in love with soccer and are determined to become professional players.
It all comes down to quality educational resources, the only thing that is available is higher education. If soccer can be combined with education and contribute to future higher education, perhaps some parents will be willing to let their daughters participate in it. Otherwise, we can only rely on our children's initiative or enlightened coaches to fish out the gems that are about to sink to the bottom of the sea in the vast ocean of soccer.
Therefore, China's women's soccer team hopes to return to the ranks of the top teams in international competitions such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games, rather than widening the gap with the world. The only way to do that is to get more girls into soccer, which is what is known as the "foundation".
Team Issues
Then, the "foundation" is naturally the big family of Chinese women's soccer.
In another press conference, England coach Wigman spoke of the Chinese women's soccer team's tactics: "They pressed a bit, but not consistently enough, and then went back to the way they are used to playing."
During the game, we often saw Chinese women's soccer players in front of the ball struggling to grab the ball, such as Lou Jiahui and Wu Chengshu. In contrast, England's high press was collective and sustained, which led to more mistakes and frequent possession changes for the Chinese women's soccer team. The transition between offense and defense is often the peak time for scoring and conceding goals.
When I saw 32-year-old Lou Jiahui unable to hold on due to cramps in the 100th minute, no one was moved and no one sympathized. This is the embodiment of the spirit of women's soccer, but also the result of the accumulation of high-intensity running.
Unfortunately, there are too few players like Lou who consistently press the opposition.
So what is high intensity running? According to the women's soccer industry standard, over 19 kilometers per hour is considered high intensity running. The top teams in the world, like England, run at a high intensity of about 800 meters per person per game, or even more than 1,000 meters.
The average high intensity running standard for the Chinese women's soccer team is about 600 meters. The best statistic in the team is left back Chen Qiaozhu, who can run at high intensity up to 900 meters, which is comparable to England. This is the reason why she is one of the candidates who cannot play three games in the World Cup.
The high intensity running stats reflect a change in the tempo of the game. England women's soccer team runs better on the basis of skill, naturally they can control the rhythm of the game and even change it at will until the opponent can't keep up. At this point, the Chinese women's defense will be less effective and the score will become disappointing.
In light of this deficiency, Coach Shui Qingxia led 27 disciples through rigorous training as early as last winter in Hainan. Tens of thousands of meters of training every day until the players were unable to stand and fell directly to the ground. Some players who could only run tens of meters or even more than a hundred meters gradually reached two or three hundred meters through these trainings. Players who were initially at two or three hundred meters were also able to reach about five or six hundred meters through these trainings.
If some players cannot even reach the most basic average level in the team, no matter how good their skills are, can they still play on the field? Just like a Ferrari, no matter how good the engine is, the car can't run without oil.
For many coaches, players with ability and attitude are always their favorites, such as Zhang Lin Yan and Wang Shan Shan. Coach Shui Qingxia is no exception. But if one has ability but lacks attitude, and the other has attitude and tactical discipline, how would you choose as a coach?
1-6 is not the end of the road, lying on the credit book of the past. Looking forward, not proud of the victory, not discouraged by the defeat, the Chinese women's soccer team will eventually come to a better tomorrow.
