On November 9, 2013, Guangzhou Evergrande wrote a brilliant book on the AFC Champions League, winning the team's first title and marking a new chapter for the Chinese Super League in the AFC Champions League arena. Since then, the Evergrande dynasty and the glorious years of the Chinese Super League have been nearly ten years as one day. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the AFC Champions League, even though the Guangzhou team failed to organize a grand celebration, the former champions have shared their joy on social media, and Rong Hao has shown the commemorative images of core players such as Zheng Zhi, Paulinho, Ekerson, Zeng Cheng, etc., which have evoked warm memories for countless fans.
However, in this commemoration, the Guangzhou team also encountered a lot of criticism and disparagement. Some media people even made harsh accusations against Evergrande, calling it the main culprit for the regression of our country's soccer. Admittedly, Evergrande had brought a short-lived prosperity to the league, but this prosperity was as fragile as a bubble. They spared no expense in bringing in international players and formed a super team, which in turn triggered a vicious cycle of teams blindly burning money.
In addition, this "gold dollar soccer" model has also had a serious impact on youth training. Although the Evergrande Football School has achieved outstanding results in youth training, but the joining of big-name players has compressed the growth space of young players. At that time, China's young international players rarely highlight. As a matter of fact, the disadvantages of gold dollar soccer far exceed its benefits. Ten years later, the current situation of Chinese soccer, especially the league, has shown a serious slide. Evergrande's gold dollar soccer has consumed the vigor of soccer for ten years, leaving only two AFC Champions League trophies and a period of the past.
As a matter of fact, Evergrande's bosses may have already had selfish motives when they implemented the gold-dollar soccer. Nowadays, a large amount of capital investment is not from the group or the owner, but borrowed. If not for the huge debt, Evergrande might not have suffered too much blame. But now, the owner is in trouble, and his past mistakes have done harm to the soccer world. Golden dollar soccer has become a tool for him to make mistakes.
Of course, we should look at Guangzhou Evergrande and today's Guangzhou team objectively. The club itself is not at fault, and today's Guangzhou team is not the problem. Today's team is more pure, focusing on soccer rather than profit. The club and the soccer school have become autonomous without the need for group intervention, which is even more admirable. It may take some time for our league to recover, and we hope that clubs will pay more attention to soccer itself when investing.
