Except the match-fixing part, I think CSL itself is not bad. It has a great fan base, abundant sponsors to support clubs, and raw talents to supply. I think it's the attitude of the players that's hurting the Chinese soccer. I remember reading an interview with Lee Jang-su who coached a Jia-A club, where he said he was very shocked to see how players were unprofessional by smoking and drinking before and after the games. They make hundreds times more money than the average so they get complacent too easily. How about enforcing a lower salary cap?
not dashed. Guys like Sun Jihai, Li Tie, Fan Zhiyi, Yang Cheng, Shao Jiayi, Dong Fangzhuo go to Europe to play. So they are fortunate enough to play soccer at a better league. But it is a disadvantage to have most of the football players playing in a crappy league like CSL where they will hardly improve.
Did anyone check out that guy Wang Yang playing in Paraguay? Number two leading goal scorer this season so far.
Totally agree with you. What's worse is that they score goals in these fixed games and they get big bonuses. It's like............ hello? they purposely let you score?
He should get the attention. Olimpia of Paraguay won the Copa Libertadores just a few years ago. Their league should be better than CSL.
That fact that he's only making $300 is comforting to me for some reason. Unlike that bigshots in the CSL who's making millions, this kid will concentrate on playing soccer for a while.
I highly disagree with this, the CSL is crap! The fan base is very limited, having been to CSL games in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenyang this year its pitiful seeing the attendance. Abundant sponsers? Like Jianlibao who haven't paid their players in months? Especially in light of the events that have happened over the past month or so, the CSL has become a real joke and reform is absolutely necessary, but soccer has basically turned into a problem mirroring the problems and corruption among Chinese society...
China made a single attempt, the Jianlibao team, in sending players to Brazil and it produced some strong players, but didn't offer more hope for the national team. They definitely need to start sending young players overseas to develop them, but the problem is they have difficulty finding teams who want the players. Plus, as they get older, like in any developing league (a la the MLS) as players go abroad, the product on the field domestically gets worse and worse as the players who are worth watching all leave...
What China needs is 1 superstar. In basketball we have Yao Ming. In Soccer we need a Chinese version of rooney. A superstar that is respected by the world, if that superstar has the passion to change how soccer is managed and played in China, Chinese soccer will be saved. For sure, this superstar will play in other countries, but he will lead us to glory in World Cup qualifications and make a big impact in our national team. What we need is inspiration and motivation. A lot of the times 1 person can't make a difference, but Hockey has Wayne Gretzkey, Basketball has Michael Jordan. China is waiting for their superstar.
I totally agree with this. If you look at our internationals, they are defenders or midfielders, we really haven't had a forward who was successful abroad (Yang Chen included). I think thats part of the national team's central problem, its not about needing a superstar, its about developing strikers!!! We have some defense, we have some midfielders, but we have nothing up front. Hao Haidong should not still be playing, he should have retired after WC 2002, but it shows how little we have coming up. Zhang Yuning has some promise (especially now that Haan is gone), but he's not going to be a star, he's just going to be a potential replacement for Hao Haidong. Li Jinyu is a CSL superstar, but a national team bust! Li Yi isn't worthy of a starting position up front and what else do we have? Dong isn't ready to be a national team starter...Until we find a superstar attacker, or even a midfielder who has an attacking mindset, we'll never improve.
I disagree...just throw Dong on the field and see what happens. There's nothing to lose. And the more caps he gets, the faster he goes to the Man Utd reserve team.
You see, the problem is that China is disqualified for World Cup 2006. There isn't that many international games to play anymore. According to what Dong has to do to play for Man Utd, he must plya 75 percent of the Chinese National Team games. Where are they games going to come from? Don't tell me it's going to be those cheazy friendlies vs Germany's 2nd stringers. Their next real competition is going to be qualification for Asian Cup which won't happen until end of 2007. The olympics qualification in 2007 as well. So basically, they have nothing to do for the next 3 years. I have a question for you experienced football fans. How is Belgium's 2nd division compared to the CSL? could the best team in CSL I.E, Shenzhen beat the best team in Belgium's 2nd division?
Of course Shenzhen can beat Belgian 2nd division's best team. Shenyang Ginde beat Antwerp 2-1 in a friendly.
Okay, so you have just pointed out that the CSL plays better soccer if Shenzhen can beat Antwerp. Than, why is Dong in that division? might as well play in the CSL for Dalain Shide. Do you know what I mean? This is like a demotion for him to play in Antwerp from my understanding now.
Well, Dong wasn't even playing CSL matches when Man Utd got him, that's why it was such a surprise to everyone. I think the league's playing style probably suits the transition to the Premiership, but it also forces him to learn English. I guess Man Utd could have loaned him back to Dalian; however, he might not have been guaranteed first team experience. They probably want him to adapt to European culture. Also, Antwerp is closer to Manchester, so their coachs can keep tabs on him more easily.
Roomer says former Liverpool coach Hollier might be interested in coatching China for 800000 dollars a year until 2010. I say it's not the coach, it's the team. We need a superstar and we need it now.
Uh, Houllier is utter crap. He plays defensive counterattack, which I guess would suit the Chinese team's lack of a striker. But he's not a good replacement. Get a Chinese coach.
i hear many chinese people saying that they need to send youngsters oversea to train them. i think that is just a temporary fix to the problem. in order for the national team to become better, there needs to be a nationwide envioronment where kids can play and enjoy soccer ever since they are young. sending some "promising" teenagers to improve the national team is like trying to boil water with a lighter; it wont have much effect. But once the player reaches the national team level, they should easily be transferred to european and south american clubs for the national team and the players themselves.
Well said. It will only have a small impact. A comprehensive youth program (organized leagues at all age level) like US will have a major impact. Youth soccer is the number 1 sports American kids play (not basketball, baseball or football). It is no wonder that USA consistently ranks at top 15 in the world these days. They will likely to improve on their ranking as there are huge pool of young kids playing organized soccer.
A more comprehensive, national youth program would be beneficial, but is unlikely. China tends to pick out those who excel, the "stars", at a young age and groom them to be athletes. Those kids who aren't chosen have little or no chance to play organized soccer, that's the problem. Yes, yes, China is a nation of a billion people, but when you are narrowing down the field when kids are 10 or 12, there goes the huge population advantage, because by the age of 15, there are probably more youngsters playing organized soccer in the UK then there are in China. Then again, part of it is a cultural issue, parents who aren't convinced of their child's prowess won't let him "waste his time" playing sports. As for using the example of a friendly between Antwerp and Shenyang to prove CSL is better, I disagree. Friendlies have shown a lot, like when a squad of NY Metrostar RESERVES beat the Chinese MNT a few years ago. I can't say anything about the Belgian 2nd Division, because I've never seen a game of theirs, but having watched many CSL games this year, I don't think highly of it and would put the quality of play below that of the MLS.
I can certianly understand the government only paying attention to kids who excel at a very young age. However, they are also making the mistake of not looking at people that excel at a later age. The governmnet's logic is that if you don't show tremendous potential before the age like 10, then you are considered hopeless. Well, Michael Jordan did not make his high school basketball team and who dares to say he had no hope? Right off the bat, the government of china is operating their training program with a false logic. People show potential at different ages, people's learning curves are different. Just because you do not show potential at a very young age it doesn't mean you are hopeless. For that, I totally agree with. The Chinese government should implement a system in which soccer is accessible to everyone so they have the possibility to discover talents anywhere at anytime. Having said that, implementing such a system is very expensive. We can not compare China and USA, because GDP per capita gap is too high. The United States have the resources and money to produce talents, while China only have limited resources. After all, China is still considered a 3rd world country despite some rich cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing. With the limited money that China has, I guess they can only operate at a false logic. That is, take the little kids that show talent and ignore the rest of the population. Unfortunately, they don't have money to wait for everyone else to show talent.
First, I should have placed further emphasis on the cultural issue, because I think thats a major part of this. How many Chinese parents are willing to allow their kids to go out on weekends and kick around a soccer ball on weekends after the age of 10 or so? Unless the kid has potential of being a star, parents will focus on having them study. Beijing has some good, newer facilities like the Nike Park at DongDan, but you never see young kids playing there, its always college students (who've already fulfilled their academic burden) or people who are already working (who are finally able to spend their time the way they want to). Teens and younger don't have that option. I don't think the lack of programs has much to do with money as soccer is probably the cheapest sport to play. I think the problem is, even if leagues existed, there would be few people whose family would support them playing...
Wealth of a nation definately has a lot to do with this. Beijing is just one city. Look at the rural areas of China and some small and not so rich cities. Even looking at Beijing and Shanghai, there are districts where kids don't ahve access to good facilities. Also, organizing kids' soccer league can be costly. There is a lot of cost involved. In terms of culture, yes I agree. Chinese families has to start realizing that education is not as important as history of China emphasized. Most parents believe drilling kids hard in school is the only way. They seriously need to re-consider.