introductory
Chen Xuyuan shoulders the responsibility, but his weak body can't support the heavy responsibility alone. The plight of Chinese soccer is far from being explained by soccer itself. It would be too narrow-minded and naïve to discuss it only from the soccer field.
At the end of the year, Chinese soccer is still wandering in the predicament, looking forward to the dawn of the New Year. Compared with the past, the situation has not seen any improvement, but rather sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.
The Chinese men's soccer team has faded from the public eye in the chaotic year since the top 12 tournaments came to an end. The World Cup fever has no connection with the Chinese men's soccer team. The epidemic is certainly one of the influencing factors, but blaming it all on the epidemic seems too one-sided.
Former national team coach Li Tie was taken away for investigation on suspicion of major violations. It is rumored that Li Tie is also involved in other soccer players. Perhaps after many years, we will witness another anti-corruption and anti-triad storm in Chinese soccer.
The Chinese Super League is also waiting for the final act to be played. The former Evergrande dynasty has collapsed, leaving behind a lonely back. The birth of the champion could be full of drama. The two teams that could be in contention for the title may have finished their last games at the end of the season. Affected by a massive fever, the Chinese Super League has seen many teams forfeit matches in the final stages. The champion teams are waiting for their opponents to give up while waiting for the final verdict of fate.
Prior to the start of the crucial penultimate round of matches, Wuhan Sanzhen condemned the CFA and said in a statement that they should be uncompromising in their fight against the dark forces of the Association. The CFA quickly responded by asking Wuhan Three Town to submit relevant evidence.
Not long ago, the CFA also publicly penalized the Guangdong Provincial Games for match-fixing. Xie Zhiguang, president of the Guangzhou Football Association, Wang Yajun, president of the Evergrande Football School, Zhang Xiuyu, vice-president, and Cai Guanghui, director of the player management department, were engaged in football-related activities under the jurisdiction of the CFA. This result is alarming because match-fixing has penetrated to the youth level.
For a long time, Chinese soccer has been struggling in a quagmire, and now it seems to be even more flawed. The players' winter seems to have just begun, and the footsteps of spring are out of reach.
Neighbors such as Japan and South Korea have achieved global success at the World Cup. Even old rivals such as Saudi Arabia and Australia performed well, highlighting the embarrassment of Chinese soccer. The plight of Chinese soccer is not only reflected at the level of the national team, but also in the humiliation it suffers in every aspect.
In addition to the Chinese men's soccer team, Chen Xuyuan, the chairman of the Football Association, disappeared from public view. One of his right-hand men was fired back in late October. All indications are that it is highly unlikely that Chen Xuyuan will stay in his post, but no accurate news about the change of the FA has been announced.
The problems of Chinese soccer are intricate and many practitioners should be held responsible. How many people seek personal gain in the name of soccer. Li Tie and others may be just the tip of the iceberg. We have no way of knowing what lies beneath the silent iceberg.
Chen Xuyuan needs to shoulder his fair share of the responsibility, but it's hard for his frail body to carry the load alone. The problem of Chinese soccer has never been purely a soccer problem. It would be too simple and naive to discuss it only from the field of soccer.
Numerous articles have explored the rise of Japanese soccer. In the final analysis, the path of development of Japanese soccer is clear and simple, i.e., following the law of development of soccer itself and steadfastly implementing the established strategy.
Chinese soccer wants to learn from Japan, but it always stays on the surface. A fundamental problem is that Chinese soccer is not a simple professional soccer. There is an invisible hand manipulating both the national team and the Chinese Super League. The president of the Football Association is not the absolute leader of Chinese soccer.
The Chinese Super League is not a purely commercial league and it faces many restrictions. Take the restoration of home and away matches this season as an example, the Chinese Super League has made great efforts, but very few matches are really accessible to fans, and it has also encountered a lot of resistance.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA), which is modeled after professional leagues such as the English Premier League and La Liga, still has the words "Preparatory Group". The CFA cannot unilaterally decide when to actually go public. The unique system of Chinese sports has led to many historical problems, many of which have become "dead ends".
Chinese soccer also epitomizes society as a whole. Due to the unique position, high level of interest and influence of Chinese soccer in the eyes of the Chinese people, the resources it absorbs are not proportional to its commercial prospects.
As we all know, Chinese soccer is not a lucrative industry and it should not be tilted by so many resources. However, there are always some companies that fall into it with unrealistic fantasies and their own purposes. Their purposes may be many, but they have nothing to do with improving the level of Chinese soccer. When the real estate industry was booming, the Chinese Super League had become a real estate league. After the real estate industry went cold, real estate companies withdrew, leaving behind a lot of noise and rotten debts.
Chinese soccer is a huge vortex of interests involving numerous companies and practitioners. By interests, of course, I am not referring to the profit potential of professional soccer (which is certainly a bleak prospect), but rather the opacity of the soccer industry and the professional threshold that provides opportunities for many to seek personal gain. Fake gambling blacks are quite prevalent in Chinese soccer, and with Li Tie being taken away for investigation, the investigation seems to have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
The funny thing is that the jungle always has people taking risks. This is also in line with the environment of society as a whole. In recent years, the country's anti-corruption efforts have increased, but greed has never really disappeared. The deep-rooted reason is self-evident; huge interests always become a hotbed of corruption.
In short, the problem of Chinese soccer is a complex and systematic one. Rome was not built in a day. It is not a one-man job. If we cannot truly unbind Chinese soccer from the system and return to the pure essence of the industry, Chinese soccer will invite more foreign coaches and foreign aid. In fact, learning from Japan and South Korea is very simple, but learning from them is an almost impossible task.
Next door, China's basketball team has just completed its term as president, with Yao Ming re-elected. But will the future of Chinese basketball be brighter than that of Chinese soccer? In fact, Chinese basketball and Chinese soccer are not twins. "People's Basketball" Chinese basketball will dance in heavier shackles, just like Chinese soccer, and become the guiding light of the basketball industry.
All wild industries, such as eSports, are doing better; in all regulated industries, survival has become narrow and difficult (except for niche programs such as table tennis). This is the fate of Chinese soccer, not just Chinese soccer.
