Recently, the highly regarded soccer youth training guru Tom Byer, an expert who has left his footprints in China's youth training field, was talking about the plight of China's men's soccer team in the sports media "sports". Bayer bluntly said that the crux of China's men's soccer is the lack of teamwork, players generally lack of commitment, this stubborn disease makes China's men's soccer team in domestic and international tournaments in the repeated defeats.
Tom Beyer was employed by our Football Association in a key position to promote school soccer. However, he soon gained insight into the inadequacy of the FA's youth training program. "In countries such as Brazil and Japan, children love soccer for the love of the sport; whereas in China, soccer has become a means of educating children." Bayer lamented, "Numerous children are forced to participate in soccer training rather than out of interest. In reality, a sound education system is far better than a youth training system."
"Our players seem to lack basic training in teamwork, and it shows in the game. I refer to it as 'robot soccer' where players pass the ball to their teammates but don't know how to move into position, there is a lack of understanding of time and space on the field, and more importantly, everyone tries to avoid responsibility." Bayer noted.
Faced with this phenomenon, Bayer also offered his opinion, "Fear follows as a shadow; it is a psychological barrier for our players. They are afraid of making mistakes because they are afraid that they will invite blame; they are convinced that it is better to do nothing than to make mistakes."
Tom Byer is known as the "godfather" of Japanese soccer youth training, and has produced soccer stars such as Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa. However, after years of working in the Chinese soccer field, he has not found any remarkable soccer stars and eventually chose to leave. This seems to prove that the current environment of Chinese men's football is indeed full of problems for the cultivation of real talents; it is for this reason that Bayer's criticism of China's men's football is more in-depth and reflective.
