During the preparation period before the start of the new season of the Chinese Super League, a familiar name returned to the sight of Chinese fans - Li Zhangzhu coached the Shenzhen team.
This is the seventh Chinese team he has coached.
Regarding coming to China to teach again, Li Zhangzhu's wife did not understand very much, and even accused him: "You are at this age, and it is not for you to go out to make money. You can see how good your grandchildren are at home."
Lee Jang-soo felt that if he missed it, he might never have such an opportunity again, but the grandson and granddaughter can watch it again after a while.
He still couldn't give up his football career.
For Li Zhangzhu, who is about to turn 66 years old, the Shenzhen team is likely to be the last stop of his coaching career, and he also feels that he should slowly start making some preparations for retirement.
"But who can say for sure about the future?" Lee Jang-soo changed his words.
Li Zhangzhu, who came to China 24 years ago and wanted to regret it only a month ago, did not expect to have such a long-term relationship with Chinese football.
return
"Tired, too tired, not just tired." Lee Jang-soo said half-jokingly in Chinese.
Before accepting the exclusive interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com, Li Zhangzhu had just finished attending the team's meeting, and it was almost 9 pm.
Since the first stage of the Chinese Super League adopts the competition system, the intensive schedule and the closed environment, the pressure and work intensity are much higher than the normal home and away games.
Lee Jang-soo sometimes doesn't understand himself, why he still wants to be a head coach when he is old.
Li Zhangzhu, the coach of the Chinese Super League Shenzhen team.
Image source: IC photo
Before returning to China, the Korean Football Association and some Korean clubs had also invited Lee Jang-soo to take up some positions. When he was hesitating, the Shenzhen team of the Chinese Super League offered him an olive branch.
Lee Jang-soo thinks that the head coach is more suitable for him, and he also thinks that if he misses this opportunity, he may not have it again in the future.
"Let's love it, after all, I've voted for football my whole life, and I've done it for more than 50 years," he said.
The Shenzhen team is the seventh team that Lee Jang-soo has coached in China.
Image source: IC photo
a month
At the beginning of his coaching career, Lee Jang-soo worked at the Seongnam Ilhe Club in South Korea from an assistant coach to the head coach of the team, and he stayed for 8 years.
After leaving the team, Lee Jang-soo felt that he was lacking in coaching, so he went to Europe and Brazil to study for a year, but after returning to South Korea, he was unable to receive an invitation from the team.
After 5 months of unemployed, Li Zhangzhu waited for a contract from a Chinese team.
"I was married at that time. As a father of two children, I was in financial difficulties. In order to support my family, I decided to accept this invitation." Lee Jang-soo recalled.
This is a decision that requires courage. In the Chinese football world in the 1990s, there were not many successful foreign coaches.
Lee Jang-soo's friends also advised him not to come to China, as long as he waited a bit, he would have a chance in Korea.
But Lee Jang-soo believes that he is only in his early 40s, so he still has to seize the opportunity to teach abroad.
Li Zhangzhu led Qingdao Belet (now Qingdao Manatee) to win the FA Cup in the 2002 season.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
The cruel reality still exceeded Lee Jang-soo's expectations.
In the middle of the 1998 season, Li Zhangzhu took over the avant-garde Huandao (the predecessor of Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic, which was disbanded this year), ranking second to last among the 14 teams, leaving only 13 games for him to lead the team to avoid relegation.
The hot weather in Chongqing and the poor training ground also brought difficulties to Li Jang-soo.
He still remembers where the training grounds were at the time.
"In Yuanjiagang, a nearby university sports field is borrowed. There is no lawn on the field, it is just a dirt field."
Lee Jang Soo.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
What made Lee Jang-soo want to retire is the player's personal management and professional attitude.
"Is this different from Korean players?" I asked.
"It's not different, it's completely different." Lee Jang-soo replied directly in Chinese.
At that time, Lee Jang-soo had only been in charge of the team for a month. Since he had signed a contract, he still chose to stick to coaching.
Lee Jang-soo commanded during the game.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
At avant-garde Huandao, Lee Jang-soo stayed for four years, the longest in his coaching career in China.
When the three-year contract expired, Lee Jang-soo had the opportunity to coach Sichuan Quanxing.
However, he thought again and again and chose to renew his contract with Chongqing.
"The person in charge of the team came to Chongqing to meet me. At that time, the performance and player composition of the Sichuan team would be better, such as Yao Xia, and the annual salary given was twice as high as that of me in Chongqing. Heartwarming," he revealed.
But Li Zhangzhu always felt that he was a little sorry for Chongqing when he switched to Sichuan Quanxing.
"I have led the team for three years. Whether I have feelings with the team or the fans, there are also 'Derby' elements in both teams."
Lee Jang Soo.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
At the same time, Yin Mingshan's Chongqing Lifan acquired Qianwei Huandao, which was suffering from financial problems.
Lee Jang-soo and Yoon Myung-sun put forward three conditions when discussing the renewal of the contract, and the latter happily agreed.
"I still remember that it was in the Chinese restaurant on the second floor of the Marriott Hotel." In order to accurately express the location at that time, Li Zhangzhu said in Chinese.
However, none of the three conditions that Lee Jang-soo raised at the time was fulfilled.
"It's not really a big condition, but it still creates some friction."
Li Zhangzhu felt that it was time to leave the Chongqing team, so in the 2002 season he switched to Qingdao Belet (now the Chinese League One team Qingdao Manatee). After leading the team for two years, he decided to return to South Korea to coach.
At the end of 2006, Li Zhangzhu took office as the head coach of Beijing Guoan Football Club.
Image source: IC photo
fifteen years
Li Jang-soo, who embarked on his journey back home, would not have thought that this was only one-third of his coaching career in China.
After taking charge of the South Korean team Seoul FC for three years, Lee Jang-soo received an invitation from the traditional Chinese Super League team Beijing Guoan and started another journey in China.
After class in the middle of the 2009 season, Lee Jang-soo took office as the Guangzhou team's coach the next year, leading the team from the Chinese Premier League to the Chinese Super League, and won the 2011 season championship.
Then he also coached Chengdu Tiancheng and Changchun Yatai.
After finishing coaching Seoul FC, although he has returned to Korea several times, Lee Jang-soo spent his coaching career in China.
"Every time I go back and forth, I have feelings for China." He sighed.
Lee Jang-soo also jokingly revealed another reason for long-term coaching in China.
When coaching FC Seoul, he had a dispute with the referee and was punished by the Korean Football Association, but he has not paid the fine so far.
"It really wasn't my fault. There were some problems with the referee. If I go back to China to coach, I might have to pay the fine first." Lee Jang-soo said with a smile.
Lee Jang Soo.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
From avant-garde Huandao to Changchun Yatai, Li Zhangzhu has coached the Chinese club for 15 years. If he first came to China, he has been with China for 24 years.
Lee Jang-soo remembers the experience of the 6 clubs he has coached before, and even remembers the exact date of the get out of class.
He admitted that he also wanted to forget these things, but he didn't know why he remembered it so clearly.
After being dismissed from Changchun Yatai in 2017, Li Zhangzhu has not been in charge of the Chinese Super League team for nearly 5 years.
But he has been keeping an eye on the Chinese Super League.
Regarding the current difficulties facing Chinese football, Li Zhangzhu said that he is both anxious and worried.
Data map: Chongqing fans in the stadium.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
On track
Unlike when Changchun Yatai was in charge in 2016, Chinese football today is in the throes of the post-Jinyuan era.
Li Zhangzhu said that many friends asked him before why he chose to come back to coach at the "worst" time of Chinese football.
However, in his view, the current node of Chinese football is just very good.
"The Chinese football environment in the past 10 years must have been abnormal. Now there are sequelae. People in the football industry must admit this. In the first 10 years, including when I coached the Guangzhou team, it was all the benefits of Jinyuan Football. Now it's back on track, and many people don't think this is their position." Lee Jang-soo said.
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Chinese Super League.
Image source: IC photo
In the "sequelae" of the post-Jinyuan era, Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic (the predecessor avant-garde Huandao), which Li Zhangzhu once coached, collapsed before the start of the new season.
He regretted it.
"There are many fans in Chongqing. Although they are a little anxious, they are very simple, so this makes me feel even more sorry. I believe that Chongqing will not be without a team forever, and there will definitely be new clubs to continue to develop football."
Lee Jang-soo believes that there will be a process of returning to the right track, and now this is more in line with the laws of football and is more conducive to long-term development.
Lee Jang-soo (right) takes a moment before the Chinese Super League match.
Photo by Chinanews reporter Bian Liqun
However, in Li Zhangzhu's view, Chinese football has not been able to change in some aspects over the past 20 years.
"For example, a Chinese Super League player has some problems in the team, but the Chinese League One team will still invite this player, and the salary is even higher than that of the Chinese Super League team."
Li Zhangzhu believes that this kind of atmosphere is very bad for Chinese football. Players have no sense of crisis and no sense of responsibility.
So in the first 10 years, Chinese football has invested a lot, but the return is not proportional.
"As for the reason for this problem, it is definitely not suitable for me as the head coach of the Chinese Super League club, but for the future development of Chinese football, as well as the current situation and the regrets of some people, I will say it later. "Lee Jang-soo said.
Data map: Lee Jang-soo.
Image credit: Osports All Sports Photo Agency
Regarding future plans, Li Zhangzhu said that the Shenzhen team is likely to be the last stop of his coaching career.
"After all, the two places were separated before, and the family definitely didn't want me to go out and do some work. But it's much better than before. The children have grown up and are married."
"Although no one can predict the future, I also know that I have to slowly start to make some preparations for retirement." Lee Jang-soo said.
(Reporter Bian Liqun)