China's Jingchuan Wenhui have been in the spotlight in the last two days of social media frenzy, and their popularity is almost unrivaled. The team from the Chinese Champions League knocked out historic Beijing Guoan on penalties in the second round of the FA Cup in a thrilling battle to advance to the last 16.
This team is not only a strong team, but also a pure county team. Many people were pleasantly surprised by the victory, which also brought attention to the place name Jingchuan for the first time. After learning of his hometown team's victory over Beijing Guoan, a Jingchuan man left a message saying, "Although my hometown Jingchuan is small, it only takes an hour to walk around. Walk, I'm proud of my hometown!"
In the interview, Yin Youyou, the head coach who led Jingchuan Wenhui to create this miracle, recalled the game: "At that moment, I was so excited that I burst into tears. We didn't have a good record in the championship game, and this victory made up for our regrets and was a recognition and reward for the team's efforts this year. I said to the coaching team, this is soccer!"
It's the mindset that determines success or failure.
In the face of Beijing Guoan's loss, Guoan head coach Stanley was frank and introspective in the post-match conference, "This game, I first want to self-criticize. Tactical arrangements and lineup selection are problematic, I will look back at the video to summarize the experience."
Yin Youyou revealed that he didn't think he could beat his opponent before the match: "As a player, I have to pursue victory. Everyone has the desire to win, but the idea of beating the opponent is just a fleeting thought. Because in order to win, we need to take into account the actual situation, whether it's the overall strength of the team or the individual ability and experience of the players, we can't compare with the opponent."
In fact, as Yin Youyou said, few could have predicted that the biggest upset of the FA Cup this season would come between these two teams. Jingchuan Wenhui is a little-known name in China's professional soccer leagues, with just over 300 followers on their official social media accounts, the result of an unexpected burst of popularity. However, it was such a little-known team that managed to finish in the top 16 of the FA Cup with a win over Chinese Super League stalwart Beijing Guoan.
For Yo Yo Yoon, the key to the team's blowout was mentality: "We went into this game with a learning mindset. I told the players before the game that the game is about showing yourself and your ability. The players showed great patience on the field. Of course, we had a high success rate on the counterattack."
Looking Ahead: Embracing the "Jiangsu Derby"
After advancing to the Round of 16, Jingchuan Wenhui's next round opponent is Jinan Xingzhou, who are the champions of the China B team. In this round, Jinan Xingzhou also unexpectedly eliminated Changchun Yatai of the Chinese Super League. From this point of view, the match between Jingchuan Wenhui and Jinan Xingzhou can be described as a "dark horse duel". The game has also been dubbed an alternative "Jiangsu Derby" by some veteran fans, as both coaches worked together at the Jiangsu Shuntian team.
Yin Youyou said he had a good relationship with Jinan Xingzhou head coach Tang Jing: "At the end of 2001, I was promoted to the first team of Shuntian, while Tang was already the team's main defender. We often played against each other in training and matches and had a good personal relationship."
It is worth mentioning that Jingchuan Wenhui and Jinan Xingzhou have already played two warm-up matches this year, getting to know each other better. In the face of the upcoming match, Yin Youyou said in a low key: "There is not much chance of winning." He believes that after Tang took over Jinan Xingzhou, the team has a strong momentum, balanced offense and defense, and the overall strength is higher than Jingchuan Wenhui.
Talking about the "Jiangsu Derby", Yin Youyou is full of expectations: "Maybe only in the FA Cup, teams of different levels have the opportunity to meet. This 'Jiangsu Derby' also reflects the details of Jiangsu soccer. For me, it should be very special to be reunited with my former teammates and big brother on the pitch. I'm very much looking forward to this match."
After the match at Beijing Guoan, Jingchuan Wenhui's players started a celebration, enjoying the joy of the victory. Yin Youyou also wore a big smile as he was happy for his team members, "The kids put in the effort on the field and reaped the best rewards."
After the joy, Yin Youyu's mood quickly calmed down. He told the New Yellow River reporter: "The FA Cup does provide a stage for our team to show itself. For us, it is a shortcut to increase our popularity. But we only won one game. Whether it's for my personal coaching career or the future development of the team, it won't have much impact and we still need to move forward steadily. Chinese soccer is currently in the doldrums and we soccer players still need to keep our feet on the ground."
