Original title:

Milicic, the new coach of the Chinese women's football team: We need to improve the intensity of the game

Guo Jian, reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

"I know that the identity of the head coach of the Chinese women's football team carries the hope of thousands of fans. I thank the Chinese Football Association for giving me the opportunity to coach the Chinese women's football team. I and my coach team are very much looking forward to the test." Milicic, the new head coach of the Chinese women's football team, said, "Our first major competition task is the Women's Asian Cup in 2026, so the current task is to inspect the players through intensive training, and let the players run in and shape as soon as possible to meet the competition."

The Chinese Women's Football Team conducted the first phase of the adjusted training in Xianghe National Football Training Base on May 19. According to the plan, the whole team will go to Australia to participate in the warm-up invitational match on May 27. Milicic, the new coach of the Chinese women's football team, attended the media conference this afternoon, and said that the Chinese women's football team "systematic preparation starts from now on".

"Because of the time problem, our coach team can only watch the women's super league games and the previous national team games through video, so the players in this training session are regular visitors of the national team. I want them to understand our team's working methods and technical and tactical ideas as soon as possible in this week's training session." Milicic said.

After the Chinese women's football team won the Asian Cup in 2022, its performance has been declining all the way. Not only did the adult team return empty handed in last year's World Cup, Asian Games and Olympic Games qualifiers, but this year's U20 national team The U17 national team failed to win the World Youth Championships and the World Youth Championships in succession, and the domestic women's football league was also difficult to attract fans' attention. On the one hand, the overall development of Asian women's football is fast, and on the other hand, the Chinese women's football is difficult to be effectively promoted in the "elite" stage.

"From the performance of the players in the domestic league, I think they need to improve the rhythm and intensity of the game," Milicic said, "I used to lead the Australian national team to play against the Chinese women's football team. I remember that the Chinese women's football team has a good integrity in defense. I will certainly make adjustments on this basis, so that they can be more active on the court, so that players with strong technical ability can handle the ball more. We should control football."

The Chinese women's football team is currently ranked 19th in the world. In view of the actual situation, it is urgent for the team to "exchange blood" in the next two years. In the process of "exchange blood", the quality of youth training is crucial.

"Excellent players will play at a high level from the age of 17 to 19. We need to recruit young players representing the future of the team. They must first establish themselves in the league. We had two years before the arrival of the Asian Cup. Young players should experience 15 to 20 international competitions to gain more experience in major competitions. Their personal progress can drive the progress of the whole team. So we should try our best to contact more international competitions to train the team. " Milicic said.

He also said: "At present, the gap between the Chinese women's football team and the world's advanced level is quite obvious. If we take the Women's Premier League as a reference, we can look at the playing time of our two players in the Premier League (Wang Shuang plays for Spurs, and the substitute plays for about 15 minutes; Li Mengwen plays for Brighton, and the playing time is not stable - reporter's note) Australia's players playing in the Premier League are basically the main force, which is the gap. National teams all over the world will give priority to players who play in the highest level league, and then make targeted arrangements according to the game. The task of the national team coach is to provide high-quality training for high-level players, so that they can play better when they return to the club. "

China Youth Daily, Xianghe, Hebei, May 23