On the evening of the last day of March, a message was posted on the website of the Chinese Football Association stating that on this day, the association held the third meeting of the 11th Executive Committee.
The Chairman of the Football Association Chen Xuyuan said a meaningful word at the meeting-
"We must continue to promote the development of Chinese football through hard work, so that the people can see progress and hope every year."
The players warm up.
Photo by Zhang Hengwei
At this point in time, hearing such a statement from the Football Association, many fans may be suspicious of it.
Not long ago, the Chinese Football Association announced the three-tier league entry list, a total of 6 teams were out.
Among them, the most heart-ache for fans is that last season's Super League champion Jiangsu team broke up directly this season and withdrew from the history of Chinese football.
The football fans are most concerned about the National Football Team. After Lippi, the head coach of the age who "ran away" in 2019, there was no official game in the past year due to the epidemic, and the road to the World Cup was still uneven.
As "the only hope in the village", Wu Lei is becoming more and more marginalized in the West Second Division, no longer the glory when he broke the Barcelona gate.
From this point of view, can Chinese football still improve?
Is there any hope?
Data map: Jiangsu Suning is the ninth team to win the top league championship of domestic professional football after Dalian Wanda, Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Luneng, Shenzhen Football, Changchun Yatai, Beijing Guoan, Guangzhou Evergrande, and Shanghai SIPG.
Image source: ICphoto
In the 31st round of La Liga, the Spaniard challenged Castellón away.
In the province of Castellon, in addition to the Spanish second team Castellon, there is also a La Liga team Villarreal.
Over the years, Villarreal has been in the upper reaches of La Liga, while Castellon has been hovering in the low-level leagues all year round.
Wu Lei mentioned in his weekly diary that when he passed the home court of Castellon, he found some graffiti outside the court.
His teammates told him this was to commemorate Castellón's first entry into La Liga in 1941 after his establishment in 1922.
Wu Lei is in the game.
The graffiti on the wall is a way for the players, fans and clubs of that team to record the historical moments of the team and to inspire all new players.
Wu Lei sighed that this club may not have a huge fan base or strong financial resources, but relying on the support of the fans and its own operation, it still has a history of nearly a hundred years. I believe they must have experienced countless crises to this day.
Perhaps, Chinese football is just like Castellon. The goals that the strong teams think are not difficult, for our Chinese football, it takes several generations of hard work to achieve.
But who can say that such an effort is meaningless?
In 2012, the Chinese men's football team hit the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup commemorative bronze sculpture reappeared in Shenyang, Liaoning Province for the first time in 5 years.
The picture shows local citizens passing by the sculpture.
China News Agency issued in the ocean photo
The graffiti outside the stadium of Castellon can remind fans of the glory of the team.
The Wulihe Stadium has also been remembered by countless fans forever.
Wu Lei sighed that the history of Castellon reminded him of the recently disbanded Jiangsu team. He felt sorry for Jiangsu football.
This sentiment may be the common aspiration of most fans and players in recent times.
The influx of capital during the Jin and Yuan era created the prosperous scene of Chinese professional football, but it did not bring the expected development of Chinese football.
The clubs did not have much successful business development, instead they relied more on blood transfusions from investors, and lost themselves in a false prosperity and drunkenness.
In this way, the sub-health business model collapsed suddenly, and the pain is inevitable.
But everyone who has been injured knows that only a thorough cleansing of the wound and a complete pain can heal it completely.
Data map: Li Tie led the players to start winter training in Haikou to prepare for the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian qualifiers preliminaries (forty rounds).
The picture shows Li Tie giving players a meeting before training.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
The tragedy of the Jiangsu team is not just the disappearance of a team that is loved by fans. It is the result of the abnormal operation model of Chinese professional football in the past period of time-the single equity model has huge risks.
Like the Jiangsu team, the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, who were rumored to be disbanded, finally pressed the line and obtained the qualifications.
In the future, the club will take mixed ownership equity reform as its development goal.
According to media reports, this season, the Tianjin Tigers will compete in the Super League in the form of temporary trusteeship by the Tianjin Sports Bureau and the Football Association. Through the introduction of new funds, the club’s equity structure will be optimized and the government, enterprises, and individuals will be diversified in investment.
Shandong Taishan team members took a group photo with the fans after the FA Cup award ceremony.
Photo by Yang Bo
In the third-tier league, Shandong Taishan, Cangzhou Lions, Kunshan FC and other clubs will be operated in the form of equity diversification or mixed ownership next season.
While people watched the Jiangsu team's "sudden death" and slandered Chinese football, they should also see that many teams have found "hope for life."
Perhaps, as "the only hope in the village", Wu Lei's experience is like a reflection of Chinese football.
He is experiencing major challenges in his career, but he has not overcome such challenges.
Wu Lei has defeated injuries and the New Crown. He has experienced the brilliance cheered by fans across the country, and he has also experienced the loneliness of being a marginal man.
The only constant is that he has been firmly walking on the path he wants to go.
Wu Lei is in the game.
At the end of the Zhou Ji, Wu Lei said that our football culture may not be as good as Europe, but I think whether it is domestic or foreign, professional players have truly paid for the club where they belong, and these hard-working days will be remembered.
This sentence can be adapted in the overall Chinese football environment: Chinese football may not be as good as many football powers, but no matter where they are, some people are still paying for Chinese football. These days of hard work should be respected and remembered.
On the last day of March, Chen Xuyuan gave the Chinese fans a promise.
I hope this is not FLAG.