Conduct a special interview
Li Tie ②
Under the command of head coach Li Tie, China men's soccer team won the second place in the group with four wins after the rematch of the Asian Top 40 in the preliminaries, and entered the top 12 with the second place in eight groups, thus completing the small goal of China Football 202 1. Li Tie also successfully completed the task when he took over the team, that is, winning all four games and qualifying. After leading the team to the final of 12, Li Tie accepted an interview with the author before leaving UAE for home, and reviewed his mental journey. We published the first half of the interview in the last issue, and the second half in this issue.
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Interview with Li Tie (1)-"Always instilling the goal of winning four games in a row"
①
"The incentive effect of veterans is obvious."
Author: What do you think is different about this national team?
Li Tie: There is only honor to come to China national team, but this honor is more important than anything else! This is what these players value very much now, which is unexpected to me. When we were playing football, some players even came to the national team for 12 minutes, or for other purposes, so I won't go into details. But now the players, especially the old players, don't have to say much about the attitude of the national team. More importantly, they can set an example in the team.
For example, Hao Junmin, due to injury, only played for Shandong Taishan Team for more than 20 minutes in the fourth round of this year's Super League. After the game, I called him and asked him about his situation. He replied, "No problem, don't worry!" " After leading five rounds, Shandong Taishan team left Guangzhou and returned to Jinan, while Hao Junmin chose to stay in Guangzhou to practice. A 34-year-old old player, he doesn't have to do this at all. He can say to me, "My leg is not good, Brother Tie, I'd better forget it this time. 12 finals I am waiting for you to play. " Even if he says so, I'm sure I won't have any opinions or ideas. After all, I have experienced athlete injuries before, and I know the pain and process. But he didn't! I can feel the players' strong desire to play for the national team. After he came to the national team, all the daily training and so on followed, without a word of nonsense. Do you think his behavior can't inspire other players?
Old players practice like this. Can the smaller one not understand what to do? There are old players like Yu Dabao and Wu, which are the same, so I won't go into details. Perhaps, in the past, these players' ability to speak and express was not strong, and they seemed inarticulate in appearance, but with the increase of age and knowledge, the main players in these national teams, such as Dabao, Artemisia, Wu and others, have become more and more important in the current team.
So, why do I keep saying that the mental outlook of the national team has changed a lot in the past year and a half? This change can not be completed overnight, but it takes a long time to precipitate. The construction of the team itself needs to run through every link and step of daily life, including the attention of the working team headed by captain Zhang He to details in daily work and life, and the attention of the leaders of the Football Association. If nothing else, it is said that this time it was a temporary sudden move to the United Arab Emirates. Du Ju (Deputy Director of the State Sports General Administration and Secretary of the Party Committee of China Football Association) and Chairman Chen (Chairman of China Football Association Chen Xieyuan) personally led a team to the United Arab Emirates. Whose life is not life under the current epidemic situation? These two leaders are over 60 years old, whether from the level or from other angles, if they stay at home, they only need a simple command and a phone call, and maybe everything will be OK, and outsiders will not say much. But the two of them chose to come to the United Arab Emirates with everyone, and they rushed to take this attitude. Whether it's our coaching staff, team members or players, what's there to talk about? Everyone rushed up together, and the leader personally went to the front. Of course, the speech is very convincing!
Team building and team spirit change involve all aspects. Of course, while emphasizing honor, Mr. Chen announced the reward system to everyone very early this time, which is also a very important link in team building. Moreover, just like tomorrow's injury, the two leaders will visit in person tomorrow and promise to provide the best treatment and protection after returning home. These tangible things are also indispensable in team building.
②
"I met many distinguished people along the way."
Author: At the post-match press conference of the Syrian team, you offered to thank Lippi. What is the consideration?
Li Tie: I thank Lippi from the bottom of my heart. To tell the truth, I have met many distinguished people along the way. For example, I am the head coach of the national team. If it weren't for President Chen's insistence, I might not have this opportunity. Because when I first chose a coach, many people said that I was young and inexperienced, and I had to finish the qualifying task of the top 40. I have to admit that President Chen's choice of me is risky, but also courageous. Maybe another coach can qualify this time, but I am lucky to be the head coach who has completed the task.
As for Lippi, in fact, I don't want to talk about it. Everyone knows that after Lippi came, many people wanted to be Lippi's assistant, but I was lucky that Lippi accepted me. I recommended many people to Lippi after I left, hoping to be Lippi's assistant like me, but Lippi didn't want any. So, how can you say that you are unlucky? Moreover, if you are someone else, you may think: to be Lippi's assistant, first, you don't have to take risks and bear too much responsibility, because once you lose, Lippi will be in front; Secondly, if you are Lippi's assistant at the club, you will get a lot of money. However, I thought about it over and over again that year, and I found Lippi and said that I wanted to go out and lead the team independently, which happened to be such an opportunity. Lippi said to me at that time: "First of all, I don't want you to go, and I don't have the heart to let you go. However, you must go, because if you want to achieve something, you must teach and judge independently, unless you don't want to achieve something. So, I agree with you to leave. "
As a young coach, if you really want to achieve something and become a good coach, you really have to lead the team independently and face all possible situations yourself. You can't be a good coach if you just work as an assistant. Therefore, I really appreciate Lippi's understanding and support. Imagine, if I hadn't left Lippi later and traveled independently, I'm afraid I wouldn't be here today. Because when a coach is not just studying, he needs to think, face all kinds of complicated situations, and make decisions and choices independently and quickly. Sometimes he may choose the right one, sometimes he may choose the wrong one. Afterwards, we will make an evaluation and re-quote. But if you're just an assistant, you'll never really understand the great invisible pressure, let alone what responsibility is.
But after a while, I felt that I owed the "old man" (referring to Lippi), because as we all know, Lippi's situation in the later period of coaching the national team was not very good, and one of the reasons was that I lacked a role of communication. After all, Lippi is a world-class coach. Many times, everyone is afraid to tell Lippi the truth. Due to poor communication, many problems have arisen. So, I called Lippi and said, I'll be right back if necessary. But Lippi reassured me about my work and said he could handle it himself. Unfortunately, he announced his resignation directly after losing to the Syrian team.
Lippi has made great contributions to my personal growth and the development of China's national team. No matter what happens, no matter what will happen in the future, from my point of view, Lippi will always be my teacher, my noble person and the person he helped him grow up. So, after playing the Syrian team that day, I really thanked Lippi, so I said those words from my heart.
In fact, it's not just Chairman Chen, it's not just Lippi. I really met many outstanding people along the way. Needless to say, the earliest directors and Zhu are now in the national team, like captain Zhang He and all the logistics support teams. Without them, can our national team go today? Besides, my entire coaching staff is a very important force for our national team to successfully complete the task this time. Especially my first teaching assistant Zheng Bin, according to his ability and level, I think he is fully qualified to be a head coach, but he chose to play a behind-the-scenes role with me. So, I really appreciate him. He is a very considerate person.
Sports: Yes, when Adriano Hahn was the head coach of the national team, there was the most criticism about why Adriano Hahn insisted on playing left-back with Zheng Bin, but Adriano Hahn took a fancy to him. In addition to his distinctive technical characteristics, the most prominent point is to play football with his brain.
Li Tie: Yes, you have experienced that history, so you know, so you know why Zheng Bin is very important to me. We are not only teammates of Jianlibao, but more importantly, we have the same football concept and agree on most issues. After receiving this task, the two of us traveled all over the competition area to watch the game. How many games have we watched? We can't explain it ourselves. After watching the game, let's analyze it together, make plans for some possible situations in the future, how to use players and so on. The team can complete the task, not one person's business, but the whole team's credit.
③
"Team spirit is our greatest gain"
Author: Next, we will face the 12 game. 12 did you consider adding some young players before the game?
Li Tie: I wonder if I will do it in the future. How should I answer this question? I'm telling the truth, it has nothing to do with the contract or anything, just to complete a stage of the task. After the stage task is completed, I can choose to continue, but others also have the right to make another choice. All this is normal. So, I'm not kidding.
From the moment I came to the national team, I made it very clear to the players, because our task is different from the regular task. The so-called "routine task" means that we sit down and talk with the association. I will say, can you give me four years to rebuild a team or build a team? Which direction should I go? What is my goal? What methods will be included, what requirements should be met at different stages, and so on. This is what I want.
However, our task this time is to win all four games, and there is no room for discussion. In this case, many things I consider are different from those under normal circumstances. I don't have any capital to make mistakes, and I'm not allowed to make even a little mistake. We must be very careful, or foolproof, and we must win the game. This is the only thing I need to consider, which is different from other times. We should do our work more carefully. In fact, as you know, we are all trying to give the team extra points in logistics and security, including the collection of intelligence information.
Before this top 40 competition, I told you that only by winning this competition can we go on. If there is even one mistake in the middle, there will be no next one. Therefore, I play every game as a final! Originally, the top 40 games were "step by step", because after the schedule came out, we played Guam, Maldives, the Philippines and finally Syria. This is the best competition order. But in the end, everyone knows that suddenly coming to the United Arab Emirates has disrupted everything. After playing Guam, everyone was in a good mood, but it was followed by a pot of cold water, and the home game directly turned into an away game.
In fact, when I played against the Philippines, I felt the passive pressure faced by the players. I'm a little worried. I am telling the truth. However, I think the players adapt quickly. Three days ago, you should know why I wear long sleeves all day. I am really better than the average person, and I can bear hardships than the average person. However, in the face of such hot weather, there is actually no other way at this time, that is, grit your teeth and fight for willpower. Do you think any of these national team players can't play football hard? No, but in the face of such objective conditions, sometimes it is useless to gnash your teeth! If you don't have good training, it's no use trying to stick to your teeth at critical times. However, the combination of the two is that you can train well at ordinary times and bite your teeth at critical moments, and the strength of this team will grow.
So whether I lead the team this time or before, I always feel that the spiritual aspect of a team is very important, and then it will be reflected in the physical aspect. Don't look at anything else. When I look at these things, I look at defense Who is defending? You may run 30 meters more by yourself, but maybe other teammates can run 100 meters less. When everyone is really willing to do this, he will not only think about himself, but will keep running back and forth, even for a while, in order to let his teammates run less and rest more. This is team spirit. I think at least this time in the United Arab Emirates, every player we played was willing to run more in order to let our teammates run less. This is our biggest gain this time!
Looking back now, from my own point of view, I tried my best anyway, I tried my best. In this case, I won't leave any regrets for myself! That's all that matters. Next, whether it is a summary or a generalization, I can say so. Suppose I conclude that I may not have experienced it, then you will regret it. But I have experienced it now, and I have completed the task. At least as far as this experience is concerned, I have nothing to regret. Otherwise, I may regret it all my life. At least so far, I can say so. As for the next 12 match, I think it's better not to think about it until I come back. Anyway, should you allow me to relax myself?
④
"Typing 12 is not the whole task"
Author: Of course, it is ok to relax, but I believe that with your personality, you will not choose to give up, will you?
Li Tie: Honestly, the last 12 is not good! This kind of "effort" is not only the case that the opponent is stronger, but we may lose the game. Around the 12 competition, it should be said that we have already started preparations, including the collection of intelligence and information of possible opponents. I won't elaborate on these. Let's say the team itself.
The more realistic problem now is that the average age of our national team is over 30. Do you think it is normal for a national team to be so old on average? The outside world has been talking about this. As the coach of the team, can I not consider it? However, why should we choose these players to play in the top 40 this time? In fact, I have said a lot before, because this is an unusual task, and you are not allowed to make any mistakes and mistakes. I am also cautious, so I chose some relatively experienced players, and there are many old players, in order to complete this task.
Then, after the 12 finals, we will go all out, and no one needs to say more about this. However, are you going to continue to use these old players to rush? Still need to pay attention to exchange blood? With young players, there are two possibilities, one is that there may be unexpected joy; Another possibility is a broken head. But this premise is: you must have high-quality young players with considerable strength and level. But what is the reality of our football in China?
There are many post-00 players in the national teams of other countries and regions, and the main players are 95-year-old or 97-year-old players. China's national men's soccer team is now dominated by 89-year-old players. As representatives of the 93-year-old age group, Han and Liu Binbin only scored the first and second goals of their generation in the national team in this Top 40 competition. You say, is this normal? How old are people in 1993 now? Do you think I don't want to use young people as coaches? However, how do our young players perform in the league? How many performance opportunities are there?
For example, Tianyu Guo is 99 years old. If he is called into the national team this time, I believe he will have a chance to play against Maldives and Guam, and he will also score goals, because "life and death" may be smashed in. However, I'm not sure if I can use him in competitions like the Philippines and Syria. Why? The nature of the national team's game determines. Moreover, affected by objective factors such as the epidemic this year, these young players have no chance to represent the national team and undergo exercise.
From the player's point of view, they need experience to grow, even if they fail. But now our problem is precisely that we have no experience. Players like Xing Wu Han and Liu Binbin are all in their twenties, and they have just started playing for the national team. Isn't this a reflection of the urgent need to improve the construction of our national team in recent years?
Let me give you an example. In fact, what I want to say is that I haven't considered the issue of 12, but now many things need to be further negotiated with the leaders of the Football Association, because this involves not only the impact of 12. For the 12 competition, if there is an opportunity, I will go all out to complete the impact task. On the other hand, as a China footballer, I need to consider not only completing the task, but also fulfilling my obligations and responsibilities as a footballer for the next all-round development of China football at this stage, instead of just focusing on the immediate future. The outside world has been criticizing China football, saying that it is "eager for quick success and instant benefit" and "only focuses on the immediate future without considering the long term". Now, I hope I can do my part in this respect.