June 28, Beijing Times, once famous soccer player Sun Jihai attended a youth soccer training activity and accepted the media interview. When talking about the Chinese national team's preparation for the World Qualifier and the current situation of Chinese soccer youth training, Sun Jihai expressed his insights.
Reporter: According to statistics, in 2021, Japan's travelers in Europe's top five leagues has reached 451 players, while our country has only one player Wu Lei playing in Europe. More than ten years ago, we are familiar with the players who stayed in the world, such as Li Tie, Fan Zhiyi and Zhang Enhua, while Germany has Xie Hui, Shao Jiayi, Sun Xiang also studied in Austria. Is it that Chinese players are not strong enough now, or is it the high income of the Chinese Super League that causes them to lose their fighting spirit?
Sun Jihai: The root cause is that there are problems in our youth training system, so we need to start from the basics. Just like a big tree, its height depends on whether the root system and trunk are strong, not on the leaves.
The decrease in the number of Chinese players who stayed in China is just a symptom, and the league, national team performance, amateur soccer atmosphere and other aspects are just the surface of Chinese soccer. The key to change the status quo lies in the registered soccer population, youth soccer foundation and youth training system. I am using practical actions to change, as for how effective, it will take time to verify. It's like playing soccer, you don't know how you're going to perform today, but you have to take it seriously and be prepared.
Reporter: Will you still pay attention to the matches of the national soccer team? Do you communicate frequently with Li Tie, the manager?
Sun Jihai: Of course. The CCTV ratings for the match between the national soccer team and Guam were second only to the weather forecast, which shows that fans across the country are still concerned despite their disappointment with the national soccer team.
Li Tie and I are childhood friends and he is from the same group of international players. In the most difficult period of the Chinese Super League, Li Tie has the courage and boldness to take over the national team, which deserves the praise of Chinese footballers, and I wish him good results. Although the road ahead is long and difficult, I believe that as long as more players like Li Tie go forward and back, selfless dedication, success is sooner or later.
Reporter: Wu Lei's stay in the ocean has sparked controversy among the media and fans, with some arguing that he would be better off going back to his home country to play in the Chinese Super League. How do you feel about this issue?
Sun Jihai: Everyone's character and destiny is different, which will also affect staying in the ocean. I don't know much about Wu Lei's specific situation, but he is really the hope of the whole village. In a youth tournament we organized, I asked all the young players which Chinese footballer they liked the most. They all said "Wu Lei" in unison.
I think at least Wu Lei's perseverance in Spain is recognized in the children's hearts. They know that Wu Lei is fighting for his country and is a hero in the hearts of children. In the 40 strong match, he scored 8 goals in 8 games, broke the deadlock repeatedly, outstanding performance for all to see. Even, he risked the danger of a possible broken leg to spell penalty kicks for the national soccer team. We need to see the flash point in him.
