The first "Western Youth Training Cup": On the way to chase your dreams, see a better self!

Reporter Nan Nan reported from Wuhan On the morning of December 16, the first "Western Youth Training Cup" football exchange match (hereinafter referred to as the "Western Youth Training Cup") came to an end at the Gusaoshu Training Base of the Football Sports Management Center of the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau.

The first "Western Youth Training Cup" was held from the 13th to the 16th of this month at the Gusaoshu Training Base. At the opening ceremony on the 13th, the relevant responsible comrades of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Football Association, the China Football Development Foundation, and the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau, as well as representatives of the functional departments and bureaus of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, attended the opening ceremony and observed the games of the U14 men's football teams in Kashgar and Yanbian.

The first batch of pilot cities for the construction of the football youth training system integrating sports and education in the western region were selected in eight regions: Kashgar, Yili, Zhidan, Bijie, Liangshan, Yanbian, Meizhou and Ganzhou. The "Western Youth Training Cup" is also a demonstration of the achievements of the eight regions in the past year to adapt measures to local conditions, one city and one policy, and jointly promote the long-term and healthy development of the pilot work.

The tournament was guided by the Youth Department of the General Administration of Sports of China, co-sponsored by the Chinese Football Association and the China Football Development Foundation, and undertaken by the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau. A total of 8 teams and more than 400 young athletes and coaches from the U14 age group (born in 2010) men's and women's football teams participated in the event, training, seminar and on-site teaching, aiming to comprehensively display the youth training achievements in the pilot areas and improve the coaching ability and youth football skills of grassroots coaches in the western region.

The "Western Youth Training Cup" has been highly valued by all participating places. The Ganzhou area was led by Lin Quan, deputy director of the Sports Bureau, and sent the Dingnan team of the football new city to participate in the competition. Meizhou City, which has just welcomed Zhang Jiasheng, deputy director of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China and secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Football Association, attaches great importance to this cup and sends the strongest team of the same age group to participate in the competition, including many players who have been selected for the elite training camp of the national brand. High-level players have also laid a solid foundation for the quality of the "Western Youth Cup". At the same time, the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau and the Hubei Provincial Football Association also attached great importance to the competition. The referee and fourth official of the opening match are both active professional league referees who have officiated in the 2024 Chinese Super League and Chinese League A season. High-level referees play an important role in improving the level of youth competitions and connecting with professional leagues.

On the afternoon of the 14th, in the last round of the men's group A, the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture team missed a penalty opportunity in the final round of the group stage and unfortunately missed the semi-finals. After the game, the captain Ashu Duha pulled up his teammates who were tired on the court one by one, asked them to raise their heads, and cheered up to thank their opponents, referees and coaches. Ashu Duha from Jinyang County, Liangshan, is the core of the team's defense, and was selected for the Sichuan team in 2020 and often plays with the Sichuan team. Before coming to Wuhan, Asshuduha's goal was to win a medal.

Competition is what Asshuduha has experienced the most this year. In preparation for next year's Greater Bay Area National Games, the Sichuan team has been selecting players. Someone comes, someone leaves. "There are currently seven centre-backs in the squad, competing for four places, and a lot of people have already gone back, so I want to stay and work harder." Ashuratha said. Although only 14 years old, Ashuraduha has learned that playing football requires discipline, and he said that in the provincial team, many players choose to practice in the evenings, and if they don't keep up, then the next person to go home may be himself.

Ashuratha didn't want to go home. In fact, he went home very rarely. From home to school, Ashu Duha has to take a bus for seven or eight hours, and the same is true when he comes back, and Ashu Duha, who has to practice at school, usually only goes home during holidays and Chinese New Year.

When it comes to kicking football, Ashuraha says he was "tricked into playing". At that time, the coach came to choose people, and Ashuraha told the coach that he liked to play basketball. After testing, he was taken away by the coach, who asked him if he knew what football was. Ashduha still remembers that in the first week of training, he had never even seen a football before, it was all agility and flexibility training, and he only saw a football in the second week.

In five years, Ashuraduha went from being a kid who didn't know what football was to a player who wanted to play in a professional league. He has dreams and is working hard for them.

Many of the children in the Western Youth Cup want to play in the professional league, but most of these 14-year-olds do not have a clear understanding of the contours of professional football. Of course, there are also children who are very close to professional football. He Liangfeng and teammate Wei Yuqiang from Meizhou have both been selected for the elite training camp of the national brand, and currently play for the echelon of the professional team Meizhou Hakka, and they are the better players in this age group. Having been exposed to the training of professional echelons, He Liangfeng and Wei Yuqiang are more aware of the cruelty of competition in professional football. He Liangfeng once watched his best friend in the team leave in tears, and he knew very well that if he didn't work hard, he would only be eliminated.

Compared with other children, He Liangfeng and Wei Yuqiang have higher requirements for themselves, and they want to wear the jersey of the Chinese team. "Playing for the country is the dream that every kid who plays football should have!" Wei Yuqiang said.

After the opening game, Zhao Xuan, the goalkeeper coach of the Yanbian team, said: "Thank you to the China Football Development Foundation for providing us with such a good playing environment. Before the game, we told the children that when we came to Wuhan, we represented Yanbian football. This game is not only for yourself, Mom and Dad and Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, but also for the bus drivers, stadium security guards and volunteers who can play the game with peace of mind. When you get on the pitch, you have to do your best to give a great game to all those who serve you. ”

Zhao Xuan, who works at Dongshan Primary School in Yanji City, is currently seconded to lead the team at the Municipal Sports School. When Zhao Xuan played football, he could only take the so-called "green car" when he came out to play, and sometimes he had to take a three-day and two-night train to Beihai, Guangzhou, for winter training, which was very inconvenient. This time, the Yanbian team arrived in Wuhan in more than 5 hours of flight time. "The convenience of transportation over the years has laid the foundation for the children's excellent performance."

The goalkeeper of the Yanbian team, Kim Zhixian, is the shortest player in the team, and Zhao Xuan is the enlightenment coach of Jin Zhixian, who likes this little goalkeeper very much and thinks he is very smart. In this game, the Yanbian team was awarded penalties in two consecutive games in the group stage, and Kim Ji-hyun judged all the right directions, and he made the opponent miss a penalty.

Kim Ji-hyun's younger brother also plays football and is a striker, but Kim Ji-hyun likes to keep goal. 'It's a good feeling to stop my brother from scoring, it's a sense of accomplishment. Kim Ji-hyun said. Jin Zhixian reacted quickly, and Zhao Xuan said that he had a lively brain and liked to ponder. In a school match, Kim Ji-hyun saved four penalties in a row in a penalty shootout, "I would judge where they are kicking from their physical posture. “

Nanmei County, north Yanbian. Yanbian is a city with a long history of football and a profound football culture. "Every Korean child seems to have a certain talent for football, and the child's parents are also very supportive of them playing football. Zhao Xuan said.

In such a football atmosphere, good seedlings continue to emerge. Zheng Juxia, who has been practicing at school since he was 7 years old, is one of the core of the Yanbian team's midfield. In the opening game, he scored two goals alone, instigated the team's attack many times, and his light and agile movements left a deep impression.

can run and fight, mainly based on ground passing and cutting, this Yanbian team vaguely makes people see the style of the Yanbian team led by Gao Zhongxun in the A era of A. "Yanbian football is actually very similar to southern football, Xiao Kuailing is our characteristic, and our style is built according to the characteristics of the players." Zhao Xuan said.

"This cup has given us a good stage to show ourselves. It has been a long time since there has been a Yanbian team in China's top professional football league, and many people have forgotten the style of Yanbian football in the A-A era. We have always insisted on it, and we hope that our players can show everyone our Yanbian football style on this stage. Zhao Xuan's heartfelt expression is also the wish of all the coaches and players of the Yanbian team.

"The more games we play, the more experience we have, the more experience we have, the more we have the depth of our football skills, and I think this tournament will help us and all the teams a lot." Bijie women's football player Gao Ru Yuhan said. Gao Ru Yuhan's idol is the women's football international Wang Shuang, and she likes Wang Shuang's unyielding energy.

Coming to Wuhan to compete, Gao Ru Yuhan felt that she had grown. Also feeling that she has grown up is Xie Jiahui of the Zhidan Women's Football Team, who has represented Yan'an in the Shaanxi Provincial Games and has more competition experience than most of her teammates in the team. She was very accurate in her prediction of the ball, and in the final round of the group stage, she anticipated the pass of the opponent's defense in advance and seized the opportunity to score the only goal for the team. After the game, she thought most about what she still lacked in the game and how she could improve to avoid the same mistakes.

"The fact that we are able to stand on this stage is a victory in itself." Ding Changbao, chairman of the Zhidan Football Association, who led the Zhidan women's football team to participate in the competition, said. With a population of only 160,000 and a limited number of talents, they cherish the opportunity to participate in the "Western Youth Training Cup" in Wuhan. Coach Zhang Yuanyuan always grasps every detail that she thinks the opponent has done well, and teaches the players on the bench on the spot. 'We have to learn from other people's good things and the substitutes may also be on the pitch, so I want them to absorb a little bit more experience so that they can improve.' Zhang Yuanyuan said.

Only by seeing the excellence of others can we see a better self. Liu Jiahui, a Zhidan player who currently plays for Wuhan Chegujiang University Women's Football Team in the Women's Super League, went to the field during the offseason of the professional league to provide technical guidance for her little sisters. It is worth mentioning that when the Zhidan women's team eats, they will neatly place their schoolbags and training balls in a corner outside the restaurant.

Yu Zhenhai, the head coach of the Bijie women's football team, once served in the professional team, and led the team to Wuhan shortly after arriving in Bijie. He has a comprehensive idea of the creation of the Bijie women's football team: "I have communicated with the local leaders, for the next development of the Bijie women's football team, we have a detailed plan, hoping to get a certain improvement from all aspects, including the children's learning, training, going out to play, and we build a national youth training center platform in Bijie, etc., I hope that more children can enter the echelon of the national brand in the future, and I also hope that the team can rise to a higher level of platform in the future, which is the direction of our Bijie football people." ”

At the end of the four-day tournament, Ashuraha will go back to compete for his place in the provincial team, and perhaps by the time the "Western Youth Cup" is held next year, he will already have a firm foothold in the provincial team. In fact, not only Ashur, but on the way to chasing their dreams, every child will see a better version of themselves.