Veteran soccer coach keen for extra time

At 81 years old, veteran soccer coach Xu Genbao has no plans to give up his coaching career, even after failing to lead the Shanghai team to the gold medal in the men's under-20 soccer category at the 15th National Games.

"Why should I call it a final curtain? I can still train young players," said Xu, pausing for a moment and responding firmly to reporters, after the Shanghai team claimed bronze.

At the Bao'an Sports Center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Wednesday evening, the Shanghai team, led by Xu, defeated Shandong 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the men's under-20 soccer bronze medal match.

The Hubei team defeated Guangdong 6-4 in the final, earning the province its first-ever gold medal in the games' men's under-20 soccer history.

Before the opening of the games, jointly hosted for the first time by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, Xu took on the role of head coach of the Shanghai team once again, with many considering that it might be the final outing in his legendary coaching career.

"This time, I am very eager to lead the team to win the gold medal, as the weight of a silver or bronze medal is quite different," said Xu before the games.

Given that most of the team's players only trained together for a month before the opening of the games, Xu still believed the final result was acceptable.

In the semifinals against host Guangdong, the Shanghai team's gold medal dream came to an abrupt end when an unnecessary foul gave the opponents a penalty kick in the 87th minute.

"I stood for 90 minutes, constantly shouting — my players might not have heard me," said Xu.

Due to an unfavorable draw, the Shanghai team played five matches in 10 days, the most intensive schedule in the game's men's under-20 soccer match calendar, with key players like Li Xinxiang and Liu Chengyu playing until they were injured.

Xu admitted that he was "a bit tired". "The past two weeks have been really exhausting, with meetings, training and matches held every morning and afternoon — after all, I'm 81 years old," he said.

The coach has developed a long history with the games. At the fourth edition in 1979, Xu led the Shanxi team to the top eight.

He led the Shanghai team to win the gold medal in the under-20 men's soccer event for the first time at the 11th edition of the games in 2009, held in Shandong province.

In the subsequent two games held in Liaoning province and Tianjin in 2013 and 2017, respectively, the Shanghai team, also led by Xu, achieved a hat-trick in the soccer event by winning the gold medal three times in a row.

As a representative figure in China's youth soccer training, Xu established a training base in Chongming, Shanghai, in 2000, which has helped develop and supply a large number of players to various national teams.

Renowned players developed by the training base include key national team members such as Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng, Yan Junling and Zhu Chenjie. Among them, Wu Lei, who played for Espanyol in La Liga for over three seasons, has become a leading figure in the national team.

In discussing his coaching career, Xu has said on several occasions that if Chinese soccer does not rise to prominence, he cannot consider himself successful.

"We cannot claim success — we can only say that we have made an effort. For me, I can be considered a hardworking coach," he said.

Considering his old age, some people might question Xu's technique and tactics, which focus on pressing, forcing and surrounding.

"Some people say I'm outdated, but they don't know that I watch Manchester City and Barcelona matches quite often — the concepts of pressing, forcing and surrounding and receiving, passing and turning are quite close to the world's advanced ideas," he said.

After coaching for more than four decades, Xu hopes to find someone who can take over from him.

"If younger players show their talent and the team is good, I will coach again, although I won't have as much energy as I did before," he said.

"I hope that in the future, the national soccer team will produce some true stars who have the ability to qualify for the World Cup," Xu added.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn