＂I hope the children will enter the World Cup from here!＂
Xinhua News Agency, Changchun, October 26th
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Haofei Xu Ziheng
Three generations of grandparents and grandchildren will go out from generation to generation. Over the past year or so, "three generations of goalkeepers" have often appeared in the same venue: 76-year-old Xue Shuhua is an audience. While watching his 42-year-old son Xue Zhiguang teach U15 team by example, he watched his 10-year-old grandson Xue Bowen take a high position in front of U10 team’s goal-a rare "three generations in the same box", appearing at the youth training site of changchun yatai fc base.
In 1960s, Xue Shuhua represented Changchun Tractor Factory Team in the National Second Division, and Xue Zhiguang played for Changchun Team before the professionalization of football in China. Li Weifeng, the deputy general manager of Tianjin Quanjian Football Club, is both a classmate of Xue Zhiguang and a neighbor of Xue’s family. In 2002, when "man next door" represented China in the World Cup, the Xue family and his son were both envious and regretful.
"He hopes to do what our father failed to do!" Xue Shuhua looked at Xue Bowen who saved the ball in front of the door and said, "I hope that children will enter the Super League from here, and I hope that children will enter the World Cup from here!"
Group photo of the three generations of Xue family goalkeepers in 2017.
On this pitch, like Xue Shuhua, there are not a few parents who hope that their children will become talents by football. This is not only because of their unfulfilled wishes, but also because of the physical and mental changes brought to children here.
Just after first frost, the weather is getting colder, but the bleak autumn wind can’t blow away the children’s passion for playing football. Watching 11-year-old Zhang Boxuan run with the ball, the parent Wang Chunhua said with relief that his son was "unsociable" in the past, but now he is cheerful and sensible under the influence of the team effect of football. "The key is that children have been training in Yatai base for one year, and their bodies are getting better and better, and they are becoming more and more obsessed with football. I hope that he will win glory for his hometown and country one day. " She said.
Ge Zhanxi, from the Experimental Primary School affiliated to Northeast Normal University, has been training in Yatai Base for three months. He said that his dribbling, footwork and confrontation have made remarkable progress, and he dreams of being able to shine like Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup when he grows up. His mother, Chen Huan, said that the country has attached importance to football, especially youth football, in recent years, which made her and her lover see the hope of children playing football.
Gao Jinggang (second from right) and Du Zhenyu (first from right) are watching the children’s training.
Good "time, place and people" has also made Gao Jinggang, director of Yatai Youth Training, see more light. Since the establishment of changchun yatai fc in 1996, this fertile football ground has trained more than 3,000 football talents. Over the past 22 years, Yatai Youth Training has gradually formed a talent selection and training model with Yatai characteristics from detours to exploration and summary.
"Choosing seedlings not only depends on the skills of the ball, but also considers the child’s ball dealer, character and attitude. The quality of parents is also used as a measure. It is often difficult for selfish families to produce reliable children; Choosing a coach depends not only on the professional football resume, but also on whether he has a strong desire to prove himself on the court again. " Gao Jinggang said that at present, Yatai Youth Training has 10 echelons from U9 to U18, with a total of more than 200 players and 40 coaches.
Since 2015, the effect of Yatai Youth Training has become more and more obvious. In 2017, among the 31 names reported by the first team to China Football Association, 6 people met the criteria of "U23 New Deal". In 2018, He Chao, Zhou Dadi, Xiao Yufeng, Cao Ziheng and Seongbyong Kim (U21 team), as well as Li Shuai and Liu Weidong who were active in the Super League, all graduated here.
The children are training at the youth training site of Yatai Base.
"Young players of one age group will affect the league performance of the first team for two or three years." Gao Jinggang said that although the "1996 Generation" represented by Du Zhenyu, Dong Wang, Cao Tianbao, Xiaofei Zhang and other players was cultivated at the beginning of the club’s establishment, this generation of players succeeded in overtaking, winning the champion and runner-up of the Super League and representing China in the AFC Champions League twice. However, relying too much on them also delayed the upgrading of the first team, which made Yatai’s Super League record fall into a trough.
Gao Jinggang told reporters that Yatai has the goal of building a century-old club, and youth training is the most valuable "investment" of the club. In the past 22 years, the club has invested more than 2 billion yuan, and the training, competition, travel and accommodation of all echelon players are borne by the club. The annual investment in youth training accounts for nearly 20%-higher than the 15% standard stipulated by the China Football Association. The future rebound of Yatai team will depend on the new force.
Du Zhenyu, who has faded out of the main lineup because of his age and state, is now changing his role-Deputy Director of Yatai Youth Training. He said that in addition to the talent selection and training mode and investment ratio, Yatai Youth Training has the advantages of hardware guarantee such as a new base covering an area of 21 square kilometers and nine football fields. "These artificial venues are also first-class in the world, which is much better than when we were wearing rubber shoes to practice on the dirt."
The children are training at the youth training site of Yatai Base.
Speaking of his "deputy", Gao Jinggang said that the care of "export" is also very important in the youth training system. "Du Zhenyu grew up in Yatai, and he can continue to work in Yatai after retiring, and so are many other players. This is our advantage. This not only warms the hearts of players, but also reassures parents who send their children to play football. "
As the sun sets, the green turf is covered with a layer of orange-red light. Looking at the little players who still enjoy flying on the court, Du Zhenyu said: "I have been to the national team and won the Super League champion and Mr. Super League. The only regret is that I failed to represent the national team in the World Cup. I hope these children can achieve my unfinished goals."
Video & Photo: Wang Haofei
Editor: Zhou Xin
Issued by: Zheng Xu
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