As we all know, the performance of Chinese soccer in recent years has been worrying, and the national team's status in Asian tournaments has been reduced to third-rate. Teams made up of young players have struggled to excel in Asian tournaments, and some age-group teams have even struggled to qualify for top-level tournaments.
However, an unexpected surprise crept in earlier this year. That was our U15 national soccer team, made up of players from schools such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong Luneng, assembled temporarily, and led by Japan's Masaki Nakamura, who won the East Asia Cup with back-to-back victories over Japan and South Korea, which is the only championship for Chinese men's soccer in recent years, highlighting the potential and strength of youth soccer and giving people hope.
But the joy of the championship didn't last long, as the makeshift team disbanded after winning the title. Due to the excellent results, the Football Association began to consider building a national brand in this age group, so Evergrande Soccer School's foreign coach Masaki Nakamura became a popular candidate in the minds of the fans.
However, the latest news comes in the form of a report in Soccer News stating that the selection process for the 2008 and 2009 National Junior Teams is being carried out in parallel, and that Masaki Nakamura will not be coaching the 08 National Junior Team.
Masaki Nakamura's outstanding performance at the U15 East Asian Cup, as well as his rich experience and expertise at the Evergrande Soccer School, made him the ideal candidate to coach the National Junior Team. However, the FA's successive mistakes in selecting the manager have made fans question this.
However, the FA's process of selecting coaches this time is reassuring. The FA decided to let the head coaches of the two national junior teams be foreign coaches, a move that demonstrates the openness and international strategy of the FA towards the development of youth soccer. Through the introduction of foreign coaches, Chinese soccer hopes to draw on advanced international soccer concepts and training methods to improve the competitive level and overall quality of domestic youth players.
It is reported that the 2008 age group national training team will depart from Shanghai on December 18, to Japan for a six-day training, during which four friendly matches will be played. 2024 February, the team will also go to Germany for a three-week short-term "overseas study", and the exchange of games with local youth teams. These international exchanges are important for improving the vision and competitive level of Chinese youth players.
Meanwhile, the 2009 National Training Team is also in the midst of intense preparations. They have had more time to prepare, laying the foundation for future matches. Although the 08 National Junior Team was established later than expected due to a series of changes in the Football Association, the team has gradually improved through this year's training camp and showed good strength and potential by winning the U15 East Asia Cup in September.
Overall, the CFA's commitment and determination to the development of youth soccer is obvious. The CFA hopes to create a more favorable environment and conditions for youth soccer by introducing foreign coaches and strengthening international exchanges. We expect Chinese soccer to show more outstanding performance and strength on the international stage in the near future.
