Looking back to march forward

Coach Jin believes there's still a need for the old values in today's soccer

Editor's note: Soccer is the world's No 1 sport, and China has its own aims for the game. President Xi Jinping has spoken about his soccer dream: China reaching the World Cup, China hosting the Cup and, ultimately, China winning the coveted trophy. However, the nation still lags far behind in the soccer world. The 2014 Brazil World Cup is just around the corner and we have selected 11 key figures from around the country to tell us about their soccer dreams. The interviews will be on RTHK Putonghua Channel at 4 pm on Sundays through June 8.

Almost every Chinese soccer fan has a foreign club side which it has adopted as its own.

Those great clubs, predominantly from Europe, include popular choices like Arsenal and AC Milan.

But in the '90s, there was one Chinese team that managed to conquer both those European heavyweights. Moreover, during that era it never dropped a game in its home stadium against foreign opposition. That team was Beijing Guo'an.

Jin Zhiyang, 70, was head coach during those heady days and his memories of that club have not faded over the years.

"We were born and raised in an era when people had a stronger sense of patriotism." Jin said.

"We played wholeheartedly for the nation and gave all we had - especially in games against foreign clubs. We felt we represented not only Beijing, but all of China."

Before agame against Arsenal in 1995, he told the team stories about how the British invaded China in 1840, forcing the country to sign unfair treaties. That took the team's will to win to a whole new level.

"China seldom defeated Britain in any wars and battles in modern history," Jin recalled of his words in the pregame meeting. "We can be the ones who can change history!"

In fact, Jin was very good at inspiring his players. Before a 1997 game against Japanese team Kawasaki, he talked about the Nanjing Massacre. It was so emotional that even Spanish forward Andres Rubio was moved by the speech. After the kickoff, Rubio made three consecutive sliding tackles to stop opposition attacks and the stunned Japanese team eventually fell 1-0.

Even today, fans take delight in talking about the team's exploits - and Jin also likes to recall the glory days.

Largely due to world-class friendlies, soccer became the hot topic in China and people continually talked about their city's team.

"Back in the day, soccer was sunny and healthy," Jin said. "Players and coaches were 100 percent devoted to the sport. The environment was pure."

Later, however, negatives like match-fixing and high-level corruption cast a pall over the league.

As the current head coach of the Beijing Old Boys team, a side made up of retired Beijing Guo'an players, Jin still sees and hears the fans' nostalgia for "the good old days."

Although many of his players retired years ago and are not exactly in peak shape, people still buy tickets to watch them play.

"It is not because we play better soccer than the current players," Jin said. "The fans are attracted by the sweet memories.

"Thinking back, it was really a pity that we didn't cherish the soccer craze and failed to stay on the right track.

"More importantly, we squandered the love of the fans and soccer was doomed by corruption."

In Beijing, Jin was hailed as a legendary coach. He brought the club Chinese FA Cup titles in 1996 and 1997 and was the first to shout out Guo'an's slogan: "Fight for the championship forever!"

However, no game compared with Guo'an's 9-1 triumph over Shanghai Shenhua in 1997, which remains the greatest score in China's top league - and a contentious talking point between the cities.

"For two first-class teams, it was no doubt a classic," Jin said. "The game was not as one-sided as the scoreboard might suggest. They had several opportunities which could have brought them back on track; maybe they wanted victory too much," Jin said. "It was destiny."

Although Jin downplays his talents, he was regarded as one of the nation's best coaches during those days. In 2002 he was selected as an assistant coach to national team manager Bora Milutinovic.

Many say China qualified for that year's World Cup through luck, but Jin disagrees.

"With Japan and South Korea absent, all the Asian teams had a better chance, not only us," Jin said. "We grabbed the chance and that's all."

Many attribute that success to Milutinovic who, as a famous Chinese saying goes, had the golden touch. But Jin does not agree with that - and he used another idiom to illustrate why: "Bringing the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes."

"The team was a dragon," Jin said. "It just need the eyes."

With a core of mature players and several rising stars, the team had the ability to advance to the Cup finals, according to Jin.

"Milutinovic managed to teach the players how to play the game," Jin said, commenting on what he thinks was Mulutinovic's biggest contribution.

"After he took over, we played 41 to 45 international games, 70 percent of which were A-level matches,.

"Before, the team's Achilles heel was an unstable psychology. It reacted badly to wins and losses. In Bora's books, mistakes made in the games should also be corrected in the games. He tried to relax the players mentally through improving quality and quantity of the matches."

During the period, China suffered a series of losses: 4-1 to Iran, 2-1 to the US and 6-3 to Lazio.

"But the team eventually reached a good metal state," Jin said. "During the qualifiers we didn't play any extraordinary games. But the most precious thing was we learned to perform normally in important games."

After the World Cup, Jin was approached by many Chinese clubs. He wanted to take a rest until he received an offer from a special team, which was not even in the pro league - the soccer team of Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT).

Jin longed for campus life but was unsure what he could expect from the team.

Preparing for the 2003 Daegu Universiade, the team lost to Beijing Guo'an's reserve team many times. Suddenly came SARS. The campus shut down and the team started a one-month closed training regime.

"I think the reason why student players advance so fast is that their ability to learn, to comprehend and to execute is much higher than professional players," said Jin. "That was when I started to consider more possibilities for Chinese soccer."

During the last group stage game of the Universiade, Jin endured the "toughest game" he had ever coached. BIT had to defeat a Uruguayan team by two goals to reach the knockout stage.

"Before the game I told them my strategy and they played exactly according to plan," Jin said.

The team scored an early goal and went up 2-0 in the 88th minute.

"My mind went blank during the final five minutes as the Uruguayans besieged our team. Finally we made it!" Jin said emotionally.

"After that win, I became more convinced that campus soccer was the way out for Chinese soccer.

"Sports should be a part of education, not like today - a totally separate system. In strong countries, campuses are the basis of their sportsmanship."

The BIT squad is now competing with professional teams in China's second division and Jin wants the experiment to expand even more.

"In Japan, pro soccer players are selected through two major ways: the pro youth teams and the school teams," Jin said.

"But on their national team, there are actually more players from the schools. This is something worthy of consideration.

"There are more than 3,000 universities in China. If we build up a healthy system in universities, how many middle schools will it influence?

"And can you imagine how many primary schools it will stimulate?

"The youth is the root which is the most important organ. I will dedicate myself to helping explore the way out, but I know it won't be easy and there are no shortcuts."

"I've already been in this cause for over 10 years, and I don't know exactly how long it will take to see the outcome - but I'm sure that I will continue my efforts."

At age 70, Jin Zhiyang, head coach of Beijing Guo'an during the club's glory years in the 1990s, still has a passion for the game. He says the future of Chinese soccer is in the schools. Wei Xiaohao / China Daily

(China Daily 05/31/2014 page12)