Saburo Kawabuchi dissected the lack of cohesion and strong sense of place among Chinese players as constituting an obstacle to development. Japanese coach Takeshi Okada has personally described this phenomenon as particularly significant during his time coaching Hangzhou Greentown (now Zhejiang).
"Coach Okada told me upon his return that coaching a Chinese team is a difficult challenge. Players tend to form cliques based on geographical boundaries. If you look at the country as a whole, unity and cohesion are weak. The country is vast and has a long history, but it lacks symbols of unity. Without a shift in the players' consciousness, the rise of Chinese soccer will be a long way off."
Saburo Kawabuchi pointed out that the Spanish team has faced a similar dilemma, even with giants such as Real Madrid and Barcelona, the cohesion of the national team is still lacking. While the clubs were able to win the world championship, the national team failed to achieve this feat, much like the Chinese team. "They therefore resolved to strengthen the national team and finally won the 2010 World Cup."
Saburo Kawabuchi believes that Chinese soccer needs to start from the basics if it wants to achieve a breakthrough. Firstly, Chinese parents need to change their mindset to make their children love soccer; secondly, soccer administrators should set up national competitions for all age groups to explore soccer talents.
"Compared to Japan, there are far more parents in China who don't want their children to play soccer. In Japan, parents don't think that playing soccer will affect their children's future. We need to set up dreams for our children so that they can participate in sports in addition to their studies and become well-rounded personalities.
I think China should start from this perspective and make parents realize the importance of sports for their children's growth and that sports stimulate brain development. It is vital for a long-lived society and for older people to stay fit and healthy, and Chinese parents need to move away from the idea of 'learning first'.
"Through national competitions, players will develop the belief that they will win, one victory at a time, and eventually represent China against the world's strongest teams. Winning the provincial, regional and municipal championships first, the final winners will be decided through league and knockout formats, thus stimulating national soccer enthusiasm. By selecting national team members in this way, the players will be trained to have the belief and will to fight for their country."
Despite a slightly pessimistic tone, at the end of the interview, Saburo Kawabuchi said, "Chinese soccer will eventually rise, and that day will come."
