In the prelude to early spring, a video of a youth soccer tournament on February 3 made waves on the Internet. In the video, the words and actions of a youth coach attracted widespread attention - what he taught his players was not skill and tactical subtlety, but rather the brutal execution of orders, even to the point of instructing his players to attack their opponents once they were free of them.
This worrying teaching attitude has angered many players' parents and soccer fans. At one point, I indignantly accused this coach of being the main culprit in destroying the foundation of Chinese soccer. Once the video came to light, it created a furor in the Chinese soccer community, sparking reflection and heated debate among practitioners. Yesterday, the CFA made an official response to the incident. Wu Gaojun, the coach of Shenyang Aosa Qixing Club (a former retired player of the Chinese Super League team Liaoning), was punished with a one-year ban for abetting the kicking behavior of his players, and the club will be disqualified from taking part in national competitions in the next three months.
Coincidentally, Lin Lin, the head coach of Chongqing Tongliang Dragons FC, who recently managed to be promoted to China's first division, was also sentenced by the court to three years' imprisonment for the crime of causing death by negligence for physically punishing youth players. After serving his sentence, he continued to devote himself to youth soccer training, leading Chongqing's U18 all-conference team to a third-place finish in the 14th (2021) National Games soccer tournament.
So where exactly is the future direction of Chinese soccer? While this strict, simple and brutal teaching model may bring short-term achievements, it cannot represent the overall development of domestic soccer. This requires careful consideration by all soccer practitioners. Returning to the incident itself, we can't help but ask: Is the FA's punishment severe enough?
