As we enter 2025, Chinese football has ushered in a new chapter. The national team's matches remain the top priority, with this time not only the national team's top 18 matches drawing attention but also the U series teams' competitions for younger age groups receiving unprecedented attention. The U20 and U17 Asian Cups are about to kick off, with both the national youth and junior teams being pinned with high hopes, as the better the results from the lower age groups starting from U21, the more hopeful it is for Chinese football.
Emphasizing youth training is the most significant impression given by Song Kai's current football association. After taking office, Song Kai re-established the guidelines and goals of Chinese football, focusing on improving youth training. This includes perfecting national teams across various age groups and, for the first time, preparing to create national teams for such young age groups as U11, U12, and U13. Additionally, he established a technical-centric football style and system, implementing a strategy of cyclically using coaches for U series teams, and hiring Japanese coaches for the U15 and U16 national junior teams, which is quite rare in the history of Chinese football.
Song Kai's actions have also attracted the attention of Japanese media, who conducted an exclusive interview with him. As the highest manager in the Chinese football industry, he showed great humility, discussing the gap between Chinese and Japanese football with a very low profile. He expressed that the gap between Chinese and Japanese football pains him, and the comprehensive use of Japanese coaches in the national junior teams is due to their meticulousness and patience in coaching. There are many precedents in the sports field for inviting Japanese coaches, such as the women's volleyball team hiring Japanese coach Daisuke Ono last century, which has achieved remarkable results. Now, the head coach of the U16 national junior team, Kenichi Kamura, has helped our players with his patience and attention to detail, not just in football but also in life.
Indeed, as Song Kai said, Japanese football is far ahead of us, and the level of Japanese coaches has been recognized by the Asian and world football communities, especially in terms of youth training, where their abilities are even more outstanding. After establishing a technical style, they are also more suitable in terms of details, so Song Kai began to use Japanese coaches on a large scale. What he said is true, but it is indeed rare for someone in his position to say so humbly to Japanese media, which is very commendable.
Now, Song Kai seems more willing to be the tree planter for Chinese football, not pursuing any immediate breakthrough achievements or resorting to drastic measures to stimulate the development of Chinese football, such as vigorously promoting naturalization. Song Kai focuses on long-term development and the future, and while there may not be any good effects in the short term, the benefits may gradually become apparent after ten years. Moreover, this approach cannot be changed in the next session; otherwise, the efforts made now may be wasted.