On November 8, in a media interview, Gao Hong, China's well-known female soccer player and training director of Evergrande Soccer School, gave an in-depth explanation of the school's strategy for competition and its approach to nurturing talent.
Hello, Coach Gao Hong. Since you took the helm as the Director of Competition at Evergrande Soccer Schools, the soccer world has witnessed your pace of change. What are the results today? Which reforms have been the most significant, and which are you most satisfied with?
In the 12 years since the establishment of Evergrande Soccer School, we have gathered the wisdom of top coaches from Real Madrid of Spain, Brazil, England as well as domestic coaches, and accumulated rich "soccer wealth". Among them, the athletes cultivated through the youth training system have grown up to be the backbone of the professional field and the national team, which is the fruit of the youth training of Evergrande Soccer School.
When I first became Director, I was uneasy about the position and aware of the challenges. The reform was not a simple continuation of past experience, but rather an expansion and innovation based on it. Especially in the selection of material, we not only strengthened individual technical training, but also focused on the players' understanding of the game and their decision-making ability, while assessing their learning ability, curiosity and willingness to embrace new knowledge.
Why Evergrande Soccer Schools chose the U17A team to participate in the CYCL U19 tournament?
Our U19 team performed impressively in last year's CYC. In view of the FA's schedule, we decided to send a young team to participate in the tournament as a whole. After rigorous evaluation and selection, we assembled an elite team of 06 and 07 year old players with the aim of upgrading the standard of the players. The team started from Group C. Under the leadership of Coach El Salvador, the team managed to advance to Group B with the boldness of the young players and the excellent ability of the coach.
In May, Salvador was reassigned as head coach of another team. After much deliberation, the school decided to let Zhu Liwei, who was the head coach of the U17B team at the time, take over the baton. Zhu took the team from B to Championship Division. I was involved in some of the work as the director, but the main responsibility lay with Zhu. in October, Zhu attended the CFA coaching training course while shouldering the team's tasks, and I was temporarily in charge of the U17A team's trainings and matches.
Are there any players in this team that stand out to you? Do they have the potential and qualification to enter the Guangzhou first team? According to the promotion mechanism, when can they expect to enter the first team?
The selection mechanism of Guangzhou Football Club and Evergrande Football School is mainly based on daily training and matches. We focus on the players' aggressiveness, desire to win in adversity, and practical ability under the tactical system. Currently, most of the U17A players are growing up in the U19 league and are expected to become the backbone of the club in the future. Six to seven players are expected to have the potential to break into the first team.
Whether it is the club or the school, we uphold a soccer philosophy that insists on passing and control and reinforces aggressive defense; on a spiritual level, we advocate aggressiveness and encourage progress and self-confidence.
What is your outlook and vision for youth training with the U17A team and Evergrande Soccer Schools? What is the ideal scenario and model you expect in the future?
Our vision is to develop athletes holistically in four dimensions: technical, tactical, player, physical and mental. These four dimensions can be developed in a balanced manner or layered according to age. For example, younger players need to focus more on skill and tactical development, while players over the age of 15 should focus more on overall ability. In addition, the development of players in key positions is crucial, and this is the most important task for the school at the moment. We are not only expanding the soccer population, but also increasing the number of elite players.
On the other hand, it is crucial to match high-quality matches with content, which is the value of the tournament. We look forward to the school organizing more high-level tournaments at home and abroad, providing more growth platforms for children with soccer dreams and contributing to Chinese soccer. This is both the school's vision and our endeavor.
