In a recent interview with Wang Song, a veteran player of Nantong Zhiyun team, he made some remarks that provoked a heated discussion among the media and fans. Despite being close to 40 years old, Wang Song confidently said that this season's performance in the Chinese Super League has been easier than ever.
In the 11th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League (CSL), Wang Song scored his first goal in the CSL after four years when he completed a fatal strike in stoppage time to help Nantong Zhiyun beat Qingdao Hainiu in a come-from-behind victory. Despite being 39 years old, Wang Song firmly believes that age is not an obstacle. In my opinion, I was more tired when I was playing soccer in my twenties, and sometimes I even feel that my life is easier now," he said. Nowadays, the level of foreign aid in the league has declined compared to the past. The soccer market is about value for money."
Talking about the development of young players in China, Wang Song believes that the overall level has declined, not that there are no good players, but very few of the best. Due to reduced investment, the Chinese Super League lacks world-class coaches, and even coaches who have never coached a professional team are in charge of the team, all of which has led to a decline in the level of the Chinese Super League.
Recalling the era of golden dollar soccer, Wang Song lamented, "I remember when I played in the Chinese Super League a few years ago, I often faced world-class players, and the difficulty was far greater than now. Even though I am getting older, I feel that the league is getting easier and easier to play."
Although Wang Song's remarks were a bit harsh, they revealed the real situation of the Chinese Super League. With the end of the golden dollar soccer, high-level foreign aid and foreign coaches have left, the overall level, rhythm and quality of the league have plummeted. In such a background, Wang Song thinks that as he grows older, his performance in the league is more relaxed.
This triggered a topic worth pondering. In the era of gold dollar soccer, Guangzhou Evergrande ruled the Chinese Super League, and many media and fans expressed their dissatisfaction with this phenomenon, believing that the arrival of high-level foreign aiders and coaches crowded out the time and space for local players, and even believed that it lowered the chances of local coaches to excel, which in turn affected the development of Chinese soccer.
However, now that the era of golden dollar soccer has passed, the level of Chinese soccer has declined further. In the golden dollar soccer era, the national football team can still use Guangzhou Evergrande to develop players and invite world champion coach Lippi to coach, which is unimaginable in the past and present.
In the post-golden dollar soccer era, the national football team can only invite local coaches like Li Tie, Li Xiaopeng and other local coaches, as well as Yankovic, such as the "three no" foreign coaches.
After another anti-gambling crackdown, it seems that Chinese soccer is still not back on track. Although the list of candidates for the presidency of the CFA has not yet been officially announced, the known candidates are not the experts such as Gao Hongbo and Sun Wen that fans and the media were expecting.
It will take a long time to improve the overall level of Chinese soccer, but it is important to start with the right things, such as abolishing the policy of neutral names for professional soccer clubs and restoring the naming rights of sponsors as a way of galvanizing the enthusiasm of investors and getting them to pay attention to Chinese soccer again. In addition, if we want to improve the strength of the national team in a short period of time, we should learn from the model of the Chinese men's basketball team, planning players and hiring high-level foreign coaches. These methods and measures can be thought of by the media and fans, but the key lies in whether the FA is willing to take action.
