While the hustle and bustle of Chengdu's Phoenix Hill Professional Football Stadium is still ringing in our ears, the Rongcheng soccer team's preparations for the new season are also getting better and better. 9, the team will soon embark on an overseas training trip.
Today, we exclusively visited the training base of the Rongcheng team at the Green Axis Xingcheng Soccer Park for an in-depth interview with Korean head coach Seo Jung-won.
Reporter's question: In the long off-season, you chose to travel to Europe, what are the rewards and insights?
Answer by Jungwon Seo: The season finale is always accompanied by physical and mental exhaustion, so I chose to take a European vacation to get a taste of the new style of soccer. This year, I set foot in Germany and visited old friends such as Oliver Glasner. Soccer is changing rapidly and I know the importance of continuous learning. Germany, a country with a large number of Asian players, has advanced coaching concepts, and the Korean national team's hiring of Jurgen Klinsmann as the new manager is a sign of the KFA's thoughtfulness.
Reporter pursued: the new season team in the introduction of internal and external reinforcements, focusing on strengthening the strikers and defenders, whether it meets your expectations?
Response from Xu Zhengyuan: The signing process is nearly complete, and the team is focusing on improving the strength of the forwards and defenders. There were too many draws last season, and there were deficiencies in both offense and defense. The new recruits will enhance the stability of the team and they need to integrate as soon as possible. With the current budget, the team's signings are cost-effective, and a superstar would be the icing on the cake.
The reporter asked: Does the team's unexpected fifth place finish last season mean that the pressure on you has increased this season? What are your specific goals for the new season?
Seo Jung-won admitted: The new season will be the most challenging year in my coaching career. But I value the team's progress and growth more than results. The Chengdu fans have high expectations and we will do our best to fight for every game in the second year of the Chinese Super League. The players train hard every day and it's with this goal in mind that the team will be able to climb up the ladder.
Reporter's query: Can you reveal the next phase of the training program?
Seo Jung-won revealed that the team has been training for nearly three weeks and after the vacation, the players need to quickly adjust to the fighting condition. We will immediately travel to Korea for three weeks of training, including technical and tactical training and warm-up matches against Suwon Samsung, Seoul FC and teams from the K2 League.
Further question from the reporter: You have expressed your willingness to take on more challenges, such as becoming the head coach of the Chinese national team. What are the obstacles in your coaching career?
Xu Zhengyuan said: The Chinese Super League has many promising young players, many of whom still need to be awakened. Players such as Hu Huotao and Mutalifu are already starring in the national youth team. Coaches are looking for "gems" to send more of these players to the national team, but it takes time. If there is an opportunity in the future, I would like to take on the challenge of being the head coach of the Chinese national team. However, this would require me to have a deeper understanding of the culture, habits and character of Chinese players. We need to continue to learn and meet new challenges.
