After a 1-4 defeat, the Chinese women's soccer team in the Spain training let many fans once again feel the huge gap with the strongest teams in Europe and the United States. Although last year's victory in the Asian Cup had energized the fans, the painful lessons from the Olympic Games were still fresh in their minds. Although the performance in the Asian range is not bad, but with Europe and the United States between the gap is deepening. Why is this?
While satirizing the men's soccer team, many people have cast a questioning eye on the Chinese women's soccer team. The competitiveness of the Chinese women's soccer team has declined, but is this only a problem of the women's soccer team itself? In fact, it seems that the Chinese men's soccer team should also bear part of the responsibility.
What does this mean? Chinese women's soccer was once strong in large part because European women's soccer had not yet entered the era of professionalization. In contrast, the U.S. women's soccer team dominated for a while with its school soccer model, while the Chinese women's soccer team achieved success under the national system. However, with the European women's soccer team joining the ranks of professionalization, this powerful force has risen rapidly, the advantage of the U.S. women's soccer team no longer exists, and the Chinese women's soccer team has been left far behind.
What is the reason behind the rapid growth of women's soccer in Europe? The answer lies in the help of men's soccer. The growth of women's soccer in Europe is due to the resources of the men's soccer clubs. It is no exaggeration to say that the growth of women's soccer in Europe is unstoppable because the men's soccer clubs are very well established. When a large number of female soccer players flocked to the Premier League and La Liga to receive the same training standards as the men's clubs, they were able to produce qualified players on a large scale. Therefore, the head start for women's soccer in Europe lies in the women's clubs. Modeled after men's soccer, these clubs have strong teams, markets, and good players, and the national teams are stronger as a result. This is why many fans feel that the European women's soccer team's style of play is biased towards the male side of the game. The current mass exodus of Chinese women's soccer abroad is also due to the lack of quality platforms in the country, making the gap widen.
Why is it difficult for China to produce good female soccer players? The reason lies in the weakness of men's soccer. Not to mention the fact that the Football Association has been dragging its feet in many ways. Take the Chinese Super League, China A and China B clubs as an example, they can't even get a foothold in men's soccer, let alone provide resources for women's soccer. To summarize, the success of women's soccer in Europe is entirely due to the experience of men's soccer, while the decline of women's soccer in China is entirely due to the failure of men's soccer to provide support for women's soccer.
So please don't be harsh on the Chinese women's soccer team. They have realized the gap between them and the world's strongest teams and have gone abroad to study in order to rise again. Overall, there is still a glimmer of hope for the Chinese women's soccer team. In contrast, the men's soccer team is so sick that players rarely even have the chance to study abroad.
