February** Dynamic Incentive Program
Unprecedented! For the first time, a Japanese coach served as the head coach of a Chinese national team
What's going on? It turns out that the Football Association has recently announced a new U16 national youth training plan, and they will be selected at the national football training base on February 14 and 18, 2024, and a group of outstanding players will be selected to go to Germany for more than 20 days of training. But that's not the point, sharp-eyed fans found out that the team's coach was actually a Japanese.
Kenichi Uemura, the former coach of Wuhan Three Towns Echelon, has officially become the head coach of China's U-16 national men's football team. In this regard, the Football Association also made an announcement on its official website.
This is a historic appointment. Because in the history of Chinese football, it seems that no Japanese and South Korean coach has officially served as the coach of the men's national team. Kenichi Uemura has made a strong contribution to Chinese and Japanese football coaches.
In fact, it is another Japanese coach who is really closer to this position - Masaaki Nakamura.
In September 2023, the U15 national youth team led by Masaaki Nakamura defeated the Japanese U15 team in the East Asian Cup and successfully lifted the East Asian Cup championship trophy. Although this is an insignificant trophy, it is very rare for Chinese football. Over the years, the Chinese men's national team has been missing out on various championships, especially the poor results of the youth team in recent years, which highlights the importance of this U15 East Asian Cup championship.
In particular, the Chinese men's national team was able to defeat the Japanese team in the cup, which was something that everyone could not have imagined before the game.
After leading the team to win the championship, Masaaki Nakamura was once considered the favorite for this U16 national junior coach. However, he has a fatal injury, that is, he does not have a coaching certificate at the level of a national team. This may also be the main reason why he was ultimately excluded from the Under-16 national youth manager.
However, despite Nakamura Masaaki's doubts, the Football Association also pushed the boat when selecting a coach, appointing another Japanese coach Kenichi Uemura to this important position.
The appointment of a Japanese coach as the coach of China's national team is also of special historical significance. In the past, Japanese coaches generally worked in clubs in China, and few people were interested in national teams. This time, the Football Association made an exception to select a Japanese coach as the U16 coach, indicating that the intensity of Sino-Japanese football exchanges is increasing, expanding from the non-governmental to the national team level.
This means that Chinese football is learning from Japanese football at a deeper level.
It is an indisputable fact that Chinese football lags behind Japanese and South Korean football, and it is also a fact that Japanese football has made great progress in recent decades.
One of the magic weapons of the success of Japanese football is that they have a large number of excellent youth coaches, which is exactly what Chinese football lacks.
I hope this is a good attempt, and I also look forward to starting from this national youth, Chinese football will get better and better!