Interview with Shao Jiayi: The experience of the national brand has helped me a lot I was touched by the trust of the West Coast

Reporter Chen Yong reports After the 13th round of matches, the Chinese Super League entered a break. With one less game, Qingdao West Coast is ranked 8th with 4 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses, only 2 points away from Tianjin Jinmen Tigers in 6th place, and only 4 points away from Shandong Taishan in 5th place.

This is only the second season of Qingdao West Coast in China's top professional league. Many people remember that the team, which made it all the way from the amateur league to the Chinese Super League, struggled with relegation last season. That is, at the most critical moment of relegation, Qingdao West Coast chose Shao Jiayi, who finally led the team to relegation.

In the new season, Qingdao West Coast can be described as a rebirth: with only a slight increase in investment, the club and the coaching staff have optimized the team in an all-round way, made every effort to introduce high-level foreign aid, and expanded the local player lineup with experienced veteran players combined with more young players.

In the 12 league games that have been played, although Qingdao West Coast has lost to Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua by a large score, it has also drawn with Shanghai Port and Chengdu Rongcheng with a score of 3-3 and 1-1.

Compared with the current ranking, what is more gratifying is that the younger trend of local players in the starting lineup of Qingdao West Coast is obvious: in the first round of the Chinese Super League, the six local players are 36-year-old Zhao Hongluo, 34-year-old Sun Jie, 32-year-old Wang Peng, 29-year-old Zhang Xiuwei, 24-year-old Chen Yuhao and 21-year-old Li Hao, with an average age of 29.3 years old; 24-year-old He Longhai, 21-year-old Xu Bin and Li Hao, and 20-year-old Yang Xi, among the seven local players, there are as many as 4 post-00 players, and the average age has dropped to 25.9 years old.

On the west coast today, the defensive line, especially the central defenders, is played by veterans. In addition, players such as Zhang Xiuwei and Duan Liu Yu of the Mesozoic Era, the younger He Longhai, and Xu Bin, Li Hao, Liu Xiaolong and Yang Xi around 20 years old have played stable and performed well, and the team's rejuvenation process is stable and orderly. Shao Jiayi, who has been coaching the professional league for less than a year, has shown shocking courage at this level.

At the technical and tactical level, Qingdao West Coast dares to be high-pressure, dare to convert, and also have moderate passing and control, which is not only consistent with the mainstream tactical development direction of world football, but also breaks the stereotype of the outside world for local coaches to be conservative.

◆Football: Qingdao West Coast's tactics for the new season are refreshing, and there has been a complete overhaul compared to last season, how did this change come about?

Shao Jiayi: Our generation of young coaches has experienced a lot, for example, I have followed a lot of foreign coaches, I also have overseas experience, and after returning to China, I have been paying attention to German football, as well as the Premier League and La Liga. Coaches like Antonio have also helped me a lot in my work experience. I think we should follow European football and play as a whole, the most developed place in world football is Europe, and we must continue to learn and understand.

The national youth team, the national youth team and the national team, I have participated in the Asian competitions at three levels, what we lack and what we need at the Asian level, especially what the opponent is afraid of, these experiences are very good accumulation. During the national youth and youth years, because of the head coach's trust in me, I was given more responsibilities and allowed me to participate more in various tasks, which was a very good experience and experience for me.

For example, during the period of the U20 national youth, when we played the Asian Youth Championship in Uzbekistan, it was a pity that two of our important players were suspended in the quarter-finals, and the bullets were all used up in the end, but we drew in 90 minutes and lost in extra time. Including the game against Japan, we led for more than 60 minutes and ended up losing 2-1, in fact, we were a little wronged in that game, and the referee of that game was later suspended. In addition, we beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Kyrgyzstan.

None of this was unimaginable before the game. These experiences have taught me what Asian opponents are afraid of, Asian opponents are afraid, and domestic opponents are even more so. Under the current tactical system, the players may not be suitable at first, but I made it clear to everyone that we are a team, the game is a game of 11 people, and there is no difference between old players and young players, only suitable and unsuitable. At this level, the club has been very supportive from top to bottom and the players have given it their all, so my work has been very smooth.

For us, how to build an organizational structure in the attack is the key, so that we can quickly block the opponent's counterattack when we switch from attack to defense, and then form a second or even three attacks, which is the most threatening. In world football, no team can keep an attack and succeed, Barcelona and Manchester City are all about creating a threat through efficient attacking and defensive transitions, all of which need to be repeated and practiced, and this is what we are doing at the moment and doing better and better.

◆This season's match with Shanghai Port made everyone really realize a new Qingdao West Coast, what kind of preparation was made at that time?

Shao Jiayi: The concept I instilled in the team is that no matter which team in China, as long as it dares to fall in the backcourt, we dare to force it in the frontcourt. We studied Harbour carefully, and I told the team before this game that Harbour is one of the best teams in China, and one of the best teams in the back, and they did that last year, in fact, last year we were also high-pressure, but at that time they were really capable, and we couldn't hold it down and had to go back to the low position.

This season we have a new squad and we have worked very hard throughout the preparation period, so we have more confidence to press the opponents. It was a really good press and I didn't expect the first half to be so successful.

In general, pressing and switching is a very important football philosophy for me, but it is by no means something that one or two people can do, there has to be a whole, 11 people have to try to stay at a reasonable distance, which is what we ask of the most in normal training.

◆This tactic has very high requirements for the three local midfielders Zhang Xiuwei, Duan Liuyu and Xu Bin, which require very good running ability and comprehensive improvement of the ability to handle the ball in multiple scenes.

They have to embrace such ideas and trends. Football is a confrontational sport as well as a holistic sport, so each player needs to adapt to different scenarios. The opponent gives you stronger confrontation and pressing, how to use technology rationally in this situation, how to make the most reasonable decisions in the rapid transition, these are all areas that need them to grow, especially our young players need to learn, understand and grow and improve, and then they can be competent when it comes to the international game. For example, Xu Bin is now starting to be selected for the national team, and others will oppress you so much when you go to the international arena. We have been afraid of the Korean team for decades because they oppress us so much, and when we oppress him with the same pressure, he will not adapt to it, and he will be confused, and they will not understand why the Chinese team will oppress us.

◆Football: A team prepares for a game, it takes 16 people to start and substitute, and then you need 18 to 20 players who can fully implement your tactical system when you consider injuries, and there is a lot of pressure on the Qingdao West Coast defense at the moment: the capable ones are older, the younger players are inexperienced, and you also mentioned at the press conference that you need stability when pressing, and the team is actually experiencing some difficulties at the moment, right?

Shao Jiayi: In fact, we have to practice in the high, middle and low positions, such as how to return to the middle and low positions if the high pressure fails, there is systematic training. The first goal was lost in the game with Shandong Taishan was an accident, and it was not without chance after the second goal, but at that time, everyone's psychological level changed, and at this time, the coach should remind the players more and let them maintain a good attitude. The most important thing in the game is to stay calm, only calm can make better decisions, if the head is hot, then the game is difficult.

On the other hand, we still need to work hard and improve in the future, because at the beginning the opponent may not understand and adapt to our style of play, but as the game progresses, the opponent will definitely have more in-depth research and more targeted tactics, so we also need to keep improving ourselves. In the previous games, we also did not do well, and after the game, I also reviewed them with the players one by one, in order to make everyone improve better, so that the whole team can improve better.

◆What did you say to the players after the match with Tarzan?

I said to the players, we are not satisfied with the loss, we are not satisfied with our performance, the coach will take the responsibility for the defeat in this game, I believe you can do better, everyone put the defeat last night, from now on, we will prepare for the next game.

◆It might be another to choose a utilitarian style of play, but you don't choose that way.

In fact, our possession rate was higher in that game, and the Taishan team also used a lot of fouls to curb our offense, but the final result was a gap in team strength, and it was also a gap in individual ability. The Taishan team is one of the strongest teams in the Chinese Super League, and many friends comforted me after the game and said that they were replaced by international players. However, we don't make excuses for our losses, and we don't deny ourselves because of a loss. From this year's winter training to the present, I am very satisfied with the team, and I am very touched by everyone's input in the winter training, team cohesion and execution.

What I keep saying to the players is that you gave me confidence. But at the same time, I told the players that I have to rotate, even if you are a core player, I can't make you play 90 minutes a game, you can understand it, you can understand it, you can't understand it, because we are a team, we have to play 30 league games, and a lot of times the schedule is very intensive.

◆Football: I just talked about the confidence that the players give you, there is no time for systematic training after taking over the team last season, so this year's winter training is very crucial, right?

Shao Jiayi: Actually, we already had tactical requirements in this area last year, but there was a lack of systematic training in the middle of the team at that time, and this year, after the winter training with better preparations, this set of tactics has also begun to be implemented. In this winter training period, everyone worked very hard, and there were also systematic warm-up games, for example, in Haikou, we played 5 to 6 high-quality teaching games with Shenhua, Zhejiang, Dalian, Nantong and Tianjin. Everyone is familiar with tactics and improves themselves in actual combat.

The club has a lot of trust in me and they do everything they can to help me with some of my ideas. I can say that I am really happy with the club and the players, everyone trusts each other and supports each other, and I am very happy to work in this situation.

◆Qingdao West Coast is a young club that has no historical baggage and travels light.

Yes, the execution is very strong, I don't know how the club was before, since I came, whether it is the club's investor Xu Shang or the general manager Shen Jun are far away from me. A lot of things, they let me decide. Did I say that your greatest support for me is far away from me? I couldn't find you even if I wanted to look for them, and they were happy to hear it. I was particularly touched by the trust they placed in me.

After the match with Taishan, Mr. Xu arrived at the base the next day, but he didn't look for me, but had a discussion with the fans. In fact, from the perspective of human nature, it is normal for investors to ask the manager to understand the situation after a big loss, but he trusts me very much and leaves it to me, and he himself thinks more about the long-term planning of the fans to build these clubs.

◆Are you familiar with Mr. Shen?

He was younger than me, and I later learned that Mr. Shen used to sit on the bench, but now he is also keeping his distance from the team. He told me that if you have something to call me, call me and I will go immediately. I can feel that not only the construction of the team, but also the construction of the club, Mr. Xu and Mr. Shen have made great efforts, and they have taken professionalism and standardization as the direction. In fact, you may not feel that we are a new club, a second-year freshman in the Chinese Super League, all of which includes but is not limited to a good base, perfect security measures, systematic team building, standardized team management and so on.

◆About your team?

I'm also very grateful to my team, we talked a lot about Reiner Maurer in our last interview, he has a wealth of experience as a head coach and is one of the pioneers of video analysis in German football. He has been very, very helpful to me, and we as a coaching team have a high value for video analysis. In the development of modern football, a single head coach cannot fully practice his own philosophy, and there must be a composite team that can track the world's advanced football concepts. I'm lucky to have this team and I'm grateful to every coach and staff member on this team.

◆"Football": There are many outstanding young players on the west coast of Qingdao, such as the main goalkeeper Li Hao, Yang Xi, who is less than 20 years old, has also been playing recently, and Xu Bin, who was previously selected for the national team, is a young player that everyone pays great attention to.

Shao Jiayi: That's for sure, I started taking them when they were 15 years old. We qualified first in the group in Indonesia at that time, because we had not qualified from the group for the previous two consecutive national junior teams, so I was very impressed, Xu Bin, Li Hao, including Xiang Rongjun and He Xiaoke were in the team at that time. Li Hao performed very well in the Asian Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup main match of the national youth team and the national youth team, and his psychological quality in international competitions is very strong, which is very important for a goalkeeper. For Li Hao, including Xu Bin, Yang Xi and many more young players, I have very high requirements for them, as long as you work hard and gradually meet the technical and tactical requirements, you can have the opportunity to play.

◆Xu Bin quickly played professionally with Guangzhou and laid the foundation, and the West Coast just happened to give him a higher platform after two years of professional experience. So, what happened after he was in the country and now he is on the West Coast?

Xu Bin can do better, and it's just the beginning. The opportunity for a player to grow is important, but he himself is also very hard-working, in fact, many of the young players we have brought in this year have one thing in common, they all played in the Chinese League last year. At an age like 21 or 22, the opportunity to play is very important. In addition to Xu Bin and Li Hao, players such as Liu Xiaolong, Xiang Rongjun, Liu Langzhou and Liu Baiyang all have certain professional experience, which is very important to them.

◆Zhang Chengdong and Zhao Hongluo are both 36-year-old veterans, how do you assess their form?

I'm very happy with their performance. They maintain their form in their own way, but they are also very supportive of my work and meticulous in executing my technical and tactical requirements. Of course, there are Chen Boliang, Gao Di, Sun Jie, Wang Peng, Feng Gang, the old players are the cornerstone of a team, and the attitude of the old players will also affect the atmosphere and culture of the whole team, their attitudes are very positive, and they are also very helpful to the team.

There's no doubt about their ability, but more importantly they have a passion for football and a willingness to give, which is very important. Of course, the fitness of the veteran players will inevitably decline, which requires us to do some targeted arrangements in terms of rotation and presence. In fact, in summary, the team's performance this year is closely related to investors, club management, and every one of our players, whether young or old, and of course, foreign players.

◆It's been less than a year since I became a manager, how do you feel?

Shao Jiayi: I enjoy my job as a professional coach, and I think it is also the most suitable job for me, which has put my experience and experience into play for so many years. I enjoy being able to dedicate myself to this job every day, all year round in football, going to work, training, watching games, analysing videos, summarizing and making training plans, etc.

◆There's hardly much personal life, right?

Hardly, because there is no time, the only rest time to go home to accompany the family, to accompany the children, work and life are inseparable, in addition, there is really very little time.

◆What are your plans for the future?

In the past, I had a team leader and an assistant coach, but it was completely different from the role of head coach, and I was just starting out as a head coach, so I definitely wanted to do better. I can't be sure what I will be like in the future and what I can accomplish, but the first thing I need to ensure is a positive, healthy, and hard-working mindset to face the future calmly.