As the flame of the U23 Asian Cup went out, the national Olympic team failed to break into the knockout rounds, but still defended their dignity with a victory. However, Madsen's interview with Sung Yeo-dong unexpectedly set off a public outcry, with Sung Yeo-dong's comments being bombarded by the media, who accused him of being inaccurate. At that moment, another media personality stepped forward and hinted that Sung Yiu Tung might face criticism.
Cheng Yaodong revealed in the interview that his coaching career will also come to an end after the National Olympic tournament. Previously, he had to lead the team in long hours of closed training due to the players' lack of playing opportunities at the club. In recent years, his tactical system has evolved with different stages of goals. He looks forward with confidence, hoping that Chinese soccer will be steadily ranked in the second tier of Asia, and will be committed to promoting the revitalization of soccer in the future, no matter what kind of football-related work he is engaged in.
In short, Cheng Yaodong has implemented a long-term training program in order to solve the problem of players not having a ball to play. In response, some people couldn't stand it anymore, such as media personality Pan Weili, who bluntly accused Cheng Yaodong of talking nonsense. Pan also provided detailed evidence, listing the list of players who participated in overseas training from March to June 2023 and comparing it with their match data in the 2022 season, in which players who played more than 20 matches in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A included Liu Zhurun and Hu Huotao, while those who played about 10 matches included Tao Qianglong and Abdul Meisuli, among others.
Pan Weili's comments dealt a blow to the National Olympic team's coaching hierarchy with his detailed and comprehensive account. During this year's U23 Asian Cup, some players have publicly expressed their displeasure with Cheng Yaodong, such as Guangzhou player Xu, who took to social media to blame him after consecutive losses for the National Olympic team. Xu, who was not given a chance to play in the three matches, might have been able to play a bigger role in Guangzhou's Central League matches instead of watching from Qatar.
Coincidentally, Pan Weili's dissatisfaction with Cheng Yaodong is not an isolated case, as another media person also exposed the controversial incidents of Cheng Yaodong and the National Olympic team through social media. Xu Zexin broke the news that Cheng Yaodong had mysteriously disappeared from time to time during normal training; what's more, there was a player in the National Olympic team who put on airs and made his own rules, and the whole team needed to be seated before he could eat. In a late incident, another player was dissatisfied and took the lead in moving chopsticks, nearly triggering a conflict.
If the revelations of these two reporters are true, and combined with the exclusive interview arranged by Ma Dexing for Cheng Yaodong, one cannot help but sigh that the environment of Chinese soccer is full of gossip and drama, and it seems that the best is yet to come.
