2-8! The unusually eye-catching numbers on the scoreboard brought people who dreamed of winning before the game back to reality in an instant.
On the evening of July 27th, Beijing time, the Chinese women lost 2-8 to the European powerhouse Dutch women’s football team, which sadly ended the trip to the Tokyo Olympics.
On the field, Wang Shuang, the number one star of the Chinese team, looked up at the sky, his eyes full of unwillingness. On the sidelines, the coach Jia Xiuquan has his hands on his hips, his eyes lagging behind. But what everyone can’t forget is the picture of the Dutch coach sitting on the coaching bench hiding his face and laughing, which is far more heartbreaking than the score.
In the three games of the group, the Chinese women’s football team scored only 1 point with one draw and two losses and swallowed 17 goals, setting the team’s worst record since participating in the Olympic Games.
The Chinese women’s football, the once “sonous rose”, has become the target of everyone’s sighs and even verbal criticism?
After the elimination of the Tokyo Olympics group stage, Wang Shuang was full of unwillingness. (Source Visual China)
The confusing list of expeditions
April 13, 2021, Suzhou.
In the second round of the Tokyo Olympic Women’s Asian qualifiers play-offs, with Wang Shuang’s long shot from outside the penalty zone in overtime, the Chinese team won a total score of 4-3 and won the last Asian women’s ticket for the Tokyo Olympics.
In this game, the top star Wang Shuang was still dazzling, captain Ma Jun, forward Tang Jiali, full-back Lou Jiahui and other veterans performed well and made great contributions to the Chinese team’s Olympic qualification.
However, in the list of 22 participants for the Tokyo Olympics announced on July 10, Ma Jun, Tang Jiali, Lou Jiahui and others all lost the election, which surprised the fans. Even the AFC commented that this list is unexpected.
So many fans and the media questioned why such a selection of people? Head coach Jia Xiuquan explained, “We want to give Mesozoic players more opportunities to show the spirit, image, and technical and tactical qualities of the Chinese women’s football team in the Olympics,” adding that “this is the best choice.”
But the result was not as he hoped. The Chinese women’s football team at the Tokyo Olympics had no fight back under the impact of Brazil and the Netherlands. Even in the face of Zambia, which is ranked only 104 in the world, the Chinese women’s football team did not take the slightest advantage, if it were not for Wang Shuang. “Big Four Happiness”, perhaps the Chinese team will swallow the bitter fruit of all three defeats.
The Chinese women’s football team played against the Zambian women’s football team. (Source Visual China)
Should the head coach take responsibility?
With a score of 1 point and 17 goals lost in three games, the head coach will inevitably not escape. Jia Xiuquan himself admitted, “It has nothing to do with the team members, the responsibility lies with me.” But when asked about the topic of whether to end get out of class, he also said stiffly, “Whether I will do it in the future depends on the Football Association and it depends on me. I haven’t thought of this step yet.”
In fact, looking back at Jia Xiuquan’s three years of coaching the Chinese women’s football team, the results are really good: the 2018 Asian Games lost Japan and won the runner-up, the 2019 World Cup group stage qualified, and the Tokyo Olympic qualification in 2021. This is almost the best result of the Chinese women’s football in recent years.
It’s no wonder that Jia Xiuquan asked reporters at the press conference: “I lead the team to qualify for the Women’s World Cup. This is one of the best among Asian teams. This time we have two places in Asia for the Olympic Games. We grabbed the second place. Do you think I am Success or failure?”
However, the past achievements are not the capital of pride. In the arrogant world football, the Chinese women’s football team does not have any reason for self-affirmation.
Chinese women’s football 0-5 Brazil women’s football. (Source Visual China)
Throughout the several games in this Olympics, Jia Xiuquan’s formation and on-the-spot command have also been questioned.
For example, the poorly played young player Li Qingtong, in the first match against Brazil, made three fatal mistakes in a match, which became the object of fan criticism. However, this is only her second appearance on the national team. A young player born in 1999 should not bear such a heavy burden.
In the second game against Zambia, when the Chinese team took a 3-1 lead in the first half, Jia Xiuquan unexpectedly replaced the starting high center Yang Man in 33 minutes and replaced Uzhmugula who participated in the competition for the first time. , The final result was that the Chinese team drew with their opponents 4-4 and lost a good game.
The last game against the Netherlands was a more complete collapse after the first two games were laid.
After the match with the Netherlands, the players dropped out. (Source Visual China)
Chinese women’s football has long roads
This time the Olympic journey, the ending is bitter, and the status quo of the Chinese women’s football team has been infinitely magnified.
Perhaps many fans have impressions of the Chinese women’s football team that are still in the glory of the generation of Sun Wen, Liu Ailing, and Gao Hong. In fact, since entering the 21st century, the strength of the Chinese women’s football team has begun to decline significantly and gradually surrendered its position as the Asian hegemon.
Was eliminated in the 2004 Athens Olympics group stage, the 2008 Beijing Olympics stopped the quarter-finals, the 2012 London Olympics were absent, and the 2016 Rio Olympics were the quarter-finals. The Olympic Games had been highly anticipated, but the outcome was bleak.
Taking a closer look at the Olympic team members of the Chinese Women’s Football Team, 22 people have an average age of 26, which seems reasonable, but the experience of participating in the competition is seriously insufficient. Without Ma Jun, Tang Jiali, Lou Jiahui and other veterans, except for Wang Shuang and Wang Shanshan, the players of this team are relatively mediocre. When facing strong teams in Europe and America, they seem even more powerless.
Chinese women’s football newcomers are unable to come out, to a certain extent, they have committed the same “mistakes” as men’s football, that is, professionalism and weak youth training. The professionalization of men’s football for 27 years is still facing difficulties and obstacles. It is conceivable that women’s football has a lower degree of attention.
For football to develop, the league is fundamental. The professionalization of Chinese women’s football began in 1997, but the road was bumpy. In 2007, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Football League merged, but there is still no improvement. In 2011, the Women’s Super League was renamed the National Women’s Football League. In 2014, the Chinese Football Association implemented a restructuring. It was not until 2015 that the Women’s Super League began to have a fixed promotion system, and it began to develop steadily in the following years.
However, an epidemic has changed everything. The women’s football league is already unstable. Because of the impact of the epidemic, the league is fragmented, players can’t get the chance to play, and young players have no chance to get exercise. After the collapse of the Tokyo Olympics, the future of the women’s football league will surely receive more attention and thinking from the Chinese football authorities.
However, in recent years, under the promotion of campus football policies, many provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China have established their own campus football leagues from elementary school to high school, and there are also women’s football players. For example, in Zhejiang, Zhejiang Province Primary and Middle School Students Campus Football League (women’s group), Hangzhou Mayor Cup (women’s group) and other games are in full swing, and many good seedlings have emerged.
I believe that in the future, as long as we promote campus football, establish a complete development system for women’s football such as youth training, leagues, and national teams, and introduce qualified investors to improve professional leagues, Chinese women’s football will return to the top of the world. It is still worth looking forward to.