On the morning of August 5, the sad voice from Dalian, a generation of soccer giants, the pride of Dalian soccer - Gai Zengjun, due to illness passed away at the age of seventy-seven. Gai Zengjun, is the "Gai's four masters" in the death of two of its outstanding talent in the football world. Dalian soccer star Zhu Yuanbao conveyed the sad news through his personal social media platform, expressing his condolences for the death of Gai Zengjun.
After verifying the news, the Beiqing-Beijing headline reporter confirmed that Gai Zengjun passed away in the early morning of the same day. Gai Zengjun was an international footballer in the 1980s, and all four of his brothers have made a name for themselves in the soccer world.In 2017, Gai Zengjun's eldest brother, Gai Zengsheng, passed away in Shanghai due to illness.
Zhu Yuanbao wrote on social media platforms, "Hearing that coach Gai Zengjun unfortunately passed away after a long illness, his heart was saddened. I just received the sad news conveyed by the old national football coach Yan Qun: coach Gai passed away this morning. I hope that Mr. Gai will rest in peace, and I also hope that we can take good care of ourselves. Not long ago, I learned that Mr. Gai Zengjun was admitted to the military hospital after surgery, and I visited him with Mr. Gao Huichen. At that time, he was thin but hale and hearty, still talking and laughing as before. Unexpectedly, he passed away so suddenly, which is a great pity."
In 1994, Dalian Wanda won the first A-League title, and Gai Zengjun became the team's head coach the following year, becoming one of the founding fathers of the glorious years of Dalian soccer. However, his coaching career did not go smoothly and he was soon replaced by Chi Shangbin. Since then, Gai Zengjun has worked as a coach at Bayi, Shenzhen Jinpeng, Guangzhou Songri and other teams, accumulating rich coaching experience.
In 2001, Gai Zengjun served as the head of the technical research team for the preparation of the national football team, responsible for collecting intelligence about the opponents and reporting to the coaching team, reflecting his excellent ability in affairs and his influence in the national football team. In recent years, he has served as a special lecturer for the FA and participated in coach training. After leaving Dalian Yiteng, Gai Zengjun has been serving as the coach of Dalian Shide's ladder team, and in 2011, he took over as the acting head coach of Dalian Shide after the departure of Park Sung-hwa.
Gai Zengjun has had a colorful coaching career; in 1994, he assisted Zhang Honggen to become the coach of Dalian Wanda, and briefly served as the head coach in the following year; in 2000, he led Bayi back to the first division, and in 2008, he became the head coach of Dalian Yiteng and led the team to be ranked No.1 in the first division of the Central League at one time; in 2011, he took over the Dalian Shide team after Park Sung-hwa left the team.
The four brothers of the Gai family, all professional soccer players in the last century, have participated in the domestic First Division League, two of them have also been selected for the national team, so there is a "Gai's four masters" reputation.
