Recently, he became the center of an internet sensation when he visited China along with 77-year-old Brazilian President Lula. Lula revealed in a high-end CCTV interview that he is keen on following Chinese soccer and even watches Chinese leagues broadcast on Brazilian channels. The news is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the country's soccer, which has been repeatedly challenged in recent years and has seen its performance decline.
Looking back at the rise and fall of soccer in our country, especially with the overwhelming negative media coverage, we can't help but laugh bitterly. Is the attention of the Brazilian president affirmative or ironic? It is laughable.
On social media, Lula's concern triggered a heated discussion. Chinese netizens have expressed surprise, some people tease "this is to give face to Chinese soccer", some people tease "Lula's heart is quite good", and some netizens called for "talk about world peace! "The first is to make sure that you have a good understanding of the world's problems.
Speaking of which, one cannot help but recall the recent anti-corruption storm in the domestic soccer world. Since November 26 last year, China's men's football former head coach Li Tie was investigated, the Football Association Chairman Chen Xuyuan, Executive Committee Liu Yi, Secretary-General Chen Yongliang and other "big names" have fallen.
Recently, an exclusive investigative report from "Global People" revealed the many faces of Chen Xuyuan, "the exquisite but unknowledgeable chairman of the Football Association".
Chen Xuyuan, 67, reportedly worked his way up from dockworker to president of state-owned SIPG. Interviewees in the soccer world described him as a "stupid and sophisticated" layman, while old colleagues called him a "nice old man who doesn't know anything about business".
A soccer circle familiar with Chen Xuyuan revealed that Chen Xuyuan is an unfounded person. In a friendly match, the staff of the Football Association prepared seven kinds of drinks for him, but he asked to go to Dalian to watch the match, had extremely high requirements for the hotel, and named a kind of potato chips that were hard to buy on the market. This pressurized the local receptionist into thinking he was more of a successful businessman speculating in the South Seas.
The report pointed out that Chen Xuyuan loved mahjong. During the preliminaries, he even asked his staff to play mahjong with him, which affected the team's preparation. At the FA, he focused almost exclusively on the national soccer team, and other programs and leagues were ignored. As a result, the performance of the national soccer team has declined instead of rising, the performance of futsal, beach soccer, national youth and national junior youth has declined, and the teams in the Chinese Super League, the Chinese First League and the Chinese Second League have been disbanded every year.
In 2019, Chen Xuyuan had issued a statement saying that soccer is a noble sport that should not be tainted by money. However, former Hong Kong assistant coach Tse Fai had revealed over drinks, "I know they spent $12 billion in Hong Kong to win this championship." The remark triggered an uproar. Neither the Hong Kong club nor Chen Xuyuan has responded to this.
Numerous soccer professionals believe that Chen Xuyuan is an amateur. Since he took office, the FA has introduced many measures, not the least of which are good and bad. Perhaps he did want to do something for the FA in the first place, but the complex environment and his own shortcomings have put him in a difficult position.
With the former top executives of the Football Association falling one after another, the relevant details are gradually surfacing, Chen Xuyuan may just be the tip of the iceberg of corruption in the domestic soccer world. In the face of the future of Chinese soccer, we still can not see too much optimism content.
