On June 28th in Beijing, former famous international footballer Sun Jihai was interviewed by the media on the occasion of attending a youth soccer training activity. He discussed the current situation of the national soccer team's preparation for the World Qualifier and the youth training of the Chinese Super League.
Reporter: According to statistics, in 2021, the Japanese players living in Europe has reached 451 people, compared to our country in Europe's top five leagues to stay in the ocean players only left Wu Lei one. Ten years ago, we are familiar with the foreign players including Li Tie, Fan Zhiyi and Zhang Enhua, etc., while the players who went to Germany are Xie Hui, Shao Jiayi, Sun Xiang also went to Austria for further study. Is it that the current Chinese players are not strong enough, or is it that the high income of the Chinese Super League has sapped their fighting spirit?
SUN Jihai: The root cause lies in the defects of our youth training system, so we must start to change from the roots. It is as if the height of a big tree does not depend on its leaves, but on the toughness of its roots and trunk so that it can grow taller.
The decrease in the number of Chinese players staying abroad is just one of the symptoms. The league, national team performance, amateur soccer atmosphere and many other aspects are all symptoms of Chinese soccer. The key to change the status quo lies in the registered soccer population, the youth soccer base, and the youth training system. I am taking practical action to push for change, and it will take time to see how effective it is. It's like playing soccer, you can't predict how you'll play today's game, but you have to stay focused and well-prepared, and that's something we can do.
Reporter: Do you still pay attention to the matches of the national soccer team? Do you often communicate with the manager Li Tie?
Sun Jihai: Of course. The CCTV ratings for the match between the national soccer team and Guam even exceeded the weather forecast, which shows that fans are still concerned about the performance of the national soccer team despite their expectations.
Li Tie and I grew up together and were in the same group of international players. He dared to take over the heavy responsibility of the national team in the most difficult time of the national football team, which deserves our applause and praise, and I wish him good results. Despite the difficult road ahead, I believe that as long as the national soccer team has more players like Li Tie to go forward and back, selfless dedication, success is only a matter of time.
Reporter: Regarding the controversy caused by Wu Lei's stay in the world, especially when he came on as a substitute, some people think he might as well return to the Chinese Super League. How do you feel about this view?
Sun Jihai: Everyone's character and destiny is different, which will also affect the choice to stay in the ocean. I don't know much about Wu Lei, but he is undoubtedly the hope of his hometown. In the youth soccer tournament we organized, I asked all the young players which Chinese player they liked the most. They all said "Wu Lei" in unison.
I think that at least Wu Lei's persistence in staying in Spain was recognized in the children's answers. These children know that Wu Lei fights for his country and is a hero in the hearts of children. In the Top 40, he scored 8 goals in 8 games, broke the deadlock repeatedly, and had a remarkable performance. Even, he risked the possibility of breaking his leg to fight for penalties for the national soccer team. We need to see the sparkle in him.
