After leading Qingdao Huanghai to avoid relegation, Wu Jingui accepted an exclusive interview with Football. Wu Jingui directed a review of the whole relegation process. He cried, and it is enough to admit this process once in a lifetime. Whether or not he will continue to coach Huang Hai next season, he hopes that Huang Hai in 20021season can stay in the Super League in another way.

First of all, congratulations on leading the team to complete relegation. Frankly speaking, as early as two months ago, many people said that the Yellow Sea had reserved a relegation quota, depending on who the other quota was. Have you ever heard such a sentence?

I haven't heard of it before, but I heard about it these two days. Maybe no one dared to say it in front of me after I led the team. (Laughter) We are really in danger. We almost fell into the final relegation zone. We were lucky to be demoted.

Perhaps from the perspective of staffing and foreign aid level, the Yellow Sea does have obvious disadvantages, so there is a generally pessimistic view.

Everyone has a different perspective, because I have contacted investors and learned a lot, so I think the current configuration of Huanghai has been given to the team by investors as much as possible, which can make the team survive and operate. Football is like this. Different teams have different ways of living. In the end, Qingdao Huanghai proved with the results that despite our difficult survival, we overcame many difficulties and stayed in the Super League. After the first stage, the team actually wanted to make more efforts to reinforce it, but the foreign aid market has not come down because of the price of the Super League in previous years. Although our policy has changed, Europe's policy towards us has not changed, so for small and medium-sized clubs, they can only survive in the cracks. In addition, being looked down upon, being looked down upon, is actually not a bad thing sometimes. This can inspire our fighting spirit and make our opponents look down on us.

Come up against Shanghai, draw with Shanghai, and even almost win. This is something that many people have never thought of. Later, it was also said that the Yellow Sea's draw with Shanghai actually set a template for many teams behind to challenge Shanghai. What do you think of this?

No, no, I'm still lucky (laughs) but I admit I know a lot about going to Hong Kong. Pick up the team on August 4, and only one day of preparation time is August 5 and August 6. The coaching team and technical analysis began to work on the night we arrived at the team. On August 5th, when we were training, we showed the players the video of technical analysis, including the analysis of offensive and defensive tactics, local characteristics and the characteristics of key players. Then, according to the characteristics of Shanghai, we also conducted some formation drills ourselves.

In such a short time, the strength gap between the two sides is so big. In fact, skills and tactics are on the one hand, and the most important thing is to let players overcome their psychological fears, especially in the face of the fierce arrival in Hong Kong, how to maintain inner peace, keep the order under their feet and prevent the formation from being washed away, so I divided the whole game into two pieces and six paragraphs. Every 15 minutes is a bar, and the specific arrangement is based on the opponent's physical tactics and our physical condition. After that, the players took 15 minutes as a lever. After they successfully crossed the first two bars, their confidence was much better, because they thought that many of our previous preparations could be matched in actual combat, and they did, so in this way, we can play that game. The players are very obedient and have good execution.

What was your goal at that time? What is the expected ratio of the goals you set?

Originally, the club leaders wanted me to be responsible behind the scenes from the perspective of protecting me. After all, I just took office and fought such a tough battle. Shanghai is so strong. If you give us a big score directly, I am afraid that I will bear too much pressure from public opinion. But I insist on commanding from the coaching bench, because I am afraid, how can I make the players stronger? So I'm serious. It's the head coach's problem if you don't play well in Shanghai. As long as you play, I'll take it with me. Our goal is clear, we will win if we lose less. Losing 0 to 1 is the best result, and two reluctantly accept it. More than two is too much, which is not conducive to the team's stable confidence.

Therefore, our tactics and so on are all arranged for the purpose of losing less, so we have no choice but to storm. This is the survival rule of the weak team. It is impossible to pursue beautiful things. What's the story? There is no shame in getting on the bus, but it is shameful to lose big points. In fact, it is not suitable for the freshmen of the Super League like Huang Hai to lose by a big score, which is too great a blow to the morale of the whole team. But in the end, we got a score of 1, which definitely exceeded my expectations.

Some people say that you restricted Hulk and Oscar, and when you brought Shenhua. How did you do that? Do you feel that the personal status of Hulk and Oscar has declined?

I don't think Hulk and Oscar have any decline. They are still two excellent players in the best foreign aid of the Super League. But Shanghai relies heavily on them, so we must focus on defending them and minimize Shanghai's suppression of us as a whole. For Oscar, it is to try not to let him pass the ball comfortably and increase his forced mistakes; Then for Hulk, we should try to give him more opportunities to dribble and less opportunities to pass the ball. His dribbling can also give us more time to defend. The other is to limit the advantage of his left foot as much as possible, force it to his right foot and so on.

We have a clear division of responsibilities in defense and attack in different areas. We also prepared the characteristics and habits of other China players to communicate with them. In this way, after the team members have a clear task, their execution ability is very strong, and they basically play out what they have practiced, which is a bit beyond the level.

Do you think you haven't found the most suitable replacement in Shanghai since Lei Wu left? Although Anautovic is excellent, he can't replace Lei Wu, so he can't play the role that the team needs most?

Your question is very good, but are we a little too tolerant ... (Laughter) Seriously speaking, Lei Wu has been playing the role of foreign aid in Shanghai. After he left, no player in China could have his level of foreign aid. When Lei Wu was in Shanghai at that time, for the whole tactical system, his speed advantage on the wing was the most feared by all Chinese Super League opponents. Lei Wu's cooperation with Hulk and Oscar is smooth. Before going to Hong Kong, the most frightening counterattack speed of opponents could not be played without Lei Wu, which affected the fighting capacity of going to Hong Kong more or less. One of the most lethal tactics before going to Hong Kong is that the opponent kicks the corner and then goes to Hong Kong to fight back. At this time, it is also the most threatening time for Lei Wu. But when he left, no one could replace him. From this point of view, the loss of going to Hong Kong is still quite large.

Although the points of the game you took Qingdao Huanghai to Shanghai were not brought into the second stage of relegation group stage, the result can actually form confidence and execution accumulation, right?

Yes, the first stage of the competition is actually very important for every team. Although the points are not brought into the second stage, they will have an impact on the players' mentality, game attitude and the club's investment in signing. Our draw with Shanghai at least gave our players some confidence in their own strength. There is always a belief that as long as they work hard, there may be miracles in the prospect of relegation. In the end, it is this belief that accompanied us through the most difficult road of relegation.

After going to Shanghai, I experienced Chongqing in the middle, and then I soon met Guoan. How does it feel?

I feel that the game is very exciting. Very good, everyone will not take it lightly at all, and the more we play a strong team, in fact, everyone's mentality is very relaxed and tactical pressure is great, but the mentality is actually good. Guoan is very good. Guoan's offensive power in the frontcourt and the fluency and proficiency of ground coordination can be said to be stronger than that in Shanghai. In particular, the frontcourt fast break is more oppressive than Shanghai. However, the commanding heights of Shanghai Port are better than Guoan, and Ana Utovic is excellent, so that Shanghai Port can be combined with ground and air, which is stronger in terms of tactical richness, but Guoan's ground penetration is hard to prevent.

So how does Guoan compare with Shanghai in defense? Huang Hai scored three goals in Guoan, and of course he lost three goals.

Guoan is stronger in attack and oppression than Shanghai, but Shanghai is better in defense. Guoan's defensive concept is not the same as that of Shanghai. Shanghai's three lines are well maintained, but Guoan sometimes has a lot of space between the two defense lines and the frontcourt, so opponents often have more opportunities. For example, the frontcourt is pressed to the depth of the opponent's half-court, but the follow-up speed of the defense line and the space left for the opponent to counterattack are very large, so facing any opponent will cause you to lose the ball. Because Guoan's two full-backs are deeply pressed, once the defense comes back, the speed will be affected. In addition, Guoan is single waist, so the defensive pressure is relatively large.

What should Guoan do to increase the number of offensive players in the frontcourt? Can't they further relieve the defensive pressure with strong attack power?

It's very difficult, because at present, all teams in the Super League have strong frontal defense ability, especially in defense-intensive positions. No matter how strong the offensive force is, it doesn't mean that they will definitely tear each other's defense line every time. However, once the attack fails, if the other side counterattacks, there will be too many troops in the frontcourt, and the defense will certainly be untenable.

In the second game, when you led the team against Chongqing, it was also a zero-zero draw. Chongqing actually had a difficult start this year, but in the end it actually rushed into the championship group, which many people didn't expect. Then, after you played against Chongqing team, how do you interpret the strength and achievements of Chongqing team this year?

In fact, Chongqing team is very strong. They have a group of very experienced players from China. Jiang Zhe's defense is good and the distribution of foreign aid is reasonable. The high point, speed, technique and types are comprehensive, which complement the players from China. When playing against them, our offensive pressure is the greatest, because the Chongqing team's defense is too tight. In fact, the Chongqing team's style of play is obviously strong, but its attitude is very low. They defend and fight back, defend well and fight back. Adrian is very good because of the speed of the big motorcycle. So the game against Chongqing is the most difficult in the first three games since I took office. The performance of Chongqing team this year is so good that it is closely related to their strength, hard work and the coach's reasonable tactical formulation. So in the second round, we also lost to Chongqing.

In fact, the biggest problem of the Yellow Sea team is that there are not enough experienced players in the Super League. Apart from a few players on loan from Shenhua and an old player like Dong Wang, how did you build the confidence of the team?

I have to thank my coaching team. From the initial members of the coaching staff to Li Chengming, Liang Cheng and Chen Zhiyuan I brought, they have done a lot of work. Technical analysis plays a very important role. Chen Zhiyuan put forward the tactical arrangement requirements for different players through different tactical video clips, which shared a lot with me. However, after the original physical fitness coach and rehabilitation teacher left, Li Chengming and Liang Cheng also took on this piece. Li Chengming played a leading role. He studied abroad a lot and worked hard. He worked hard on everything, big and small, and got along well with the players. In addition, I want to thank coach Yang Weijian for giving me a lot of support. There is also the club's manager Yu, who always reassures us and is very United, gives the coaching staff maximum support and understanding, and helps our new coaching staff and players quickly establish a relationship of mutual trust.

Huang Hai's previous performance has not been very satisfactory, so what do you think is the biggest trouble in coaching?

It is the psychological pressure of the players. I think this problem is definitely not for me alone, but for all players, including coaches. The competition is intensive, closed for a long time, and relatives and family members are not seen. However, Huang Hai's own performance is not ideal, and he can't get the score he wants, so the prospect is rather bleak, so I am more worried that players regard losing as a very common thing and lack motivation.

So I often communicate with the players and work with the coaching staff to relieve their pressure and ask them not to give up their efforts anyway. Although the schedule is difficult, as a professional player, I should be grateful. I would also like to thank the Football Association for its active efforts to arrange such a game, so that everyone's status has been maintained, everyone's treatment has not further declined, and the life of the family has been guaranteed. So, don't feel hard, cherish it. Because the value of professional players is reflected through competition, this year's competition is less than in previous years, so whoever cherishes the opportunity of competition more can better reflect his value. When players understand this truth, they will naturally understand it ideologically.

So what aspects have you noticed in the arrangement and use of personnel?

To give substitute players a chance, we must mobilize the strength of the whole team and try our best to tap the strengths of each player. Some players can fight a war of attrition, others can fight a tough battle, sort out their own types, and then use each player reasonably. Sometimes the substitutes go up to resist first, and then the main players make a last-ditch effort, so that the substitutes can see the ball kicking, work hard, and the main players can get full rotation and rest, and they can also play their best.

This year, many people criticized the arrangement of the whole competition system as unscientific, which affected the effect and appreciation of the competition? What do you think of this year's competition system?

My opinion only represents myself and all the players I took over in the Yellow Sea last season. No matter whether this competition system is reasonable or not, I think I can have a game to play, so that the football in China in 2020 will not be completely stopped because of the epidemic. This is a very remarkable thing. The leaders of China Football Association, including Chairman Chen and the Secretary-General, have made great efforts to this end, but the investors and coaches of our club all know it.

Regarding whether to play games, where to play games and how to play games, many experts including Dr. Zhang Wenhong from Huashan Hospital were invited to demonstrate repeatedly. Finally, under the premise that a team of medical experts gave a specific demonstration report and the China Football Association did a lot of investigation and research, Secretary-General Liu Yi visited different cities and competition areas, fully understood the urban prevention and control work, and constantly communicated with the local government, the Football Association and other relevant personnel, and finally determined where the competition could be held. At that time, I wanted to write a demonstration report based on the national epidemic, and I was rejected again and again. However, the China Football Association insisted on repeated applications and revised the details again and again, and was finally approved.

If there is no competition in the 2020 season, will everyone still criticize the competition system? I think the quality of the game is not high, which is definitely better than not seeing the game, right? In the 2020 season, combined with the overall environment and the situation of each team, I feel that the quality of the game is still very high. Because this year is a special case, there was no audience at first, and everyone was closed, but it was not easy for the players to play a similar teaching match. The league begins in late July and ends at the beginning of 1 1. Time is so short. Considering the physical endurance of players, the number of games that can be arranged is limited. At the same time, we should also take into account the national team competition, the AFC Champions League competition and the FA Cup of some teams, so it is very difficult to arrange the schedule, so we should treat the competition system with peace and tolerance. It is not easy to have such a competition system.

The second focus of this year's competition system debate is whether the scores from the first stage should be brought into the second stage. Some teams failed in the first stage, but were relegated early. Some almost made it to the championship group and were relegated.

There is no absolute fairness in this world, only relative fairness; But I think this year's competition system is fairly fair. Why do you say that? Because the competition system was determined a long time ago, not temporarily, there were still many problems in the access of foreign coaches and players in our country at that time, and many teams had to face the problem of irregular foreign aid. If the points are brought into the second stage, it is obviously unfair to these teams that lack foreign players. However, in the first stage, we can decide whether to enter the champion group or the relegation group, and then what the fate is. In the second stage, we may open to the outside world and then adjust. After repeated discussions, this is considered to be the most reasonable.

In the first stage, Jianye encountered great trouble in foreign aid, and Tianjin TEDA also made some preparations, but this does not mean that they have no strength. Therefore, the formulation of this system was restricted by some special external environmental factors, and it also communicated with various clubs. Don't you think the China Football Association has made a very positive decision this year, that is, it resisted the pressure and didn't stop relegation? If you stop lifting, you really can't watch the league. Not only can you watch the league, but it will also breed various other problems. In the whole process of coaching Huanghai, I have been communicating with the players about the origin of the competition system. When they all understand, there will be no emotions and complaints.

In fact, in the end, the Yellow Sea was able to squeeze Zall out and avoid relegation directly, which was more or less surprising. After all, Zall's performance last year was so good, and Zall's strength is obvious to all. So how do you view the decline of Zall's performance this year?

Zall is still a very good team. It doesn't mean that we are downgraded, but that our strength is stronger than Zall in all directions. It can only be said that our players have not given up their efforts and are still fighting for the only possibility left. This is the key to our relegation. Drew: I think it has something to do with many factors. The change of coaching staff and the newly promoted horse itself will encounter more difficulties in the second quarter than in the first quarter.

So, how did you feel after you lost the first game after the key relegation battle with Zall? What is the mood of the team? How did you adjust?

It must feel bad, because I lost three games in a row. However, because the league is not completely over, after all, there is still the possibility of a comeback in the last game, even if it seems so slim to the outside world, as long as it is possible, we must work hard.

So what exactly have you done?

Tactically, we are very familiar with Zall, but we don't really have a good grasp of the referee's penalty scale. In our previous match with R&F, it was the Korean referee who blew the penalty. First, we re-edited the video of the game and analyzed some key blows to the players. We found that Korean referees still encourage confrontation, and sometimes some actions may not stop for the first time, so our players must not wait for the whistle to sound, or keep raising their hands to signal "whistle". As long as the referee continues, we must concentrate on the game. Another point is to try to control your emotions and try to stay focused.

The two hottest coaches in this year's league are your coach Wang Baoshan, and both of you have finished relegation with the team with poor performance in the first half. So why did Tu Shuai perform so well in the relegation battle? What do you think is the main reason?

Wu Jingui: Maybe we have a thorough understanding of some "points" of football in China and a profound understanding. Take coach Baoshan as an example. He has a very accurate understanding of TEDA's problems. TEDA scored a goal from Rong Hao in the first half, which is obviously a problem in the attack. So, he introduced Suarez at halftime. This signing was very effective, and coach Baoshan's tactical application was very reasonable, which enabled TEDA to play its ultimate real strength. In addition, in the first stage, coach Baoshan made a very accurate positioning, that is, running in the lineup and concentrating in the second stage, which did not let the players out of the state prematurely.

In fact, the outside world has always been biased against domestic coaches, thinking that domestic coaches are conservative and their tactical concepts are not advanced enough. But you can't say exactly where it is not used and where the tactical concept is not advanced enough, so what do you think of this evaluation?

This should be a stereotype of domestic coaches. It is undeniable that the overall level of our football is definitely lower than that of developed countries in the world, but this does not mean that the level of our domestic coaches has not changed. In recent years, domestic coaches have been studying hard to improve their professional level. Moreover, with the development of online teaching and the rise of football communication in Asia and even the whole world, we attend the AFC elite coaching training class every year, collect the latest football technical data, strengthen communication with the outside world, and attach great importance to the combination of theory and practice.

On September 3rd this year, I also participated in the AFC Elite Coach Forum with coach Pereira. Everyone summed up the development trend of football tactics in the Champions League and the World Cup, and invited a world famous coach like Wenger to communicate with us. As far as the current football development level in China is concerned, there is actually a particularly obvious difference between local coaches and foreign coaches, that is, the tolerance and patience of the public. Often the requirements for local handsome are stricter, and foreign handsome is more tolerant. As a handsome local tyrant, I understand that this is an urgent need for Chinese people to improve their hearts and make us do better. But starting this year, many investors should be more rational. For example, coach Baoshan and I were likely to be replaced in the past few years, but we both persisted until the end, so I think the situation is getting better and better, and everyone's ideas are changing little by little.

In fact, some people say that Shijiazhuang, who was demoted this time, was unlucky because the two opponents they met in the knockout stage were completely different groups, unlike Huang Hai, who at least had one in the same group and knew each other better. What do you think of this statement?

First of all, I want to say that Shijiazhuang is indeed a team with characteristics, strength and tough style, but the final opponent actually corresponds to the ranking of the group stage. No matter which opponent you meet in Dalian, it is really difficult to deal with. After the score, everyone agrees that the team in Dalian Division is generally stronger than that in Suzhou, and it is definitely not easy to play when encountering the team in Dalian Division. Shijiazhuang's two knockout opponents are from Dalian Division. It is really difficult for them to avoid relegation. However, such a competition system does have some contingency, but there will also be some inevitability in the contingency, which is football.

The results led by big-name coaches this year don't seem to match their worth. Do you think this has anything to do with the competition system?

Actually, it's not all about the competition system. It is related to the length of time the coach took over the team and some personnel structure adjustments made by the team. In fact, there is a big psychological gap when big-name coaches come to China to coach. Under the closed competition system this year, their mentality and teaching habits should be constantly adjusted, because everything is different from what they encountered in the past. Because teaching abroad, Chinese and European cultures are very different, and their ways of dealing with difficulties and crises may be different. In fact, this year's competition system requires the head coach to communicate better with the players in psychological adjustment in many cases.

I once read a personal column published by Benitez during the game, and he specifically mentioned a problem, that is, young professional players in China have a common habit, that is, after losing the game, they not only need his help to analyze the skills and tactics, but also need to constantly give psychological comfort to the players with words. But this kind of coach is generally not needed among European players of the same age. So what do you think of this difference?

I think this actually comes from the differences between China and Europe in football technology and youth training system, which leads to the differences between European famous coaches and domestic coaches in the management of adult teams. Because in European youth training, not only some technical and tactical education, but also some psychological quality education should be carried out, which is carried out while relieving pressure and cultivating professional quality. Most of the psychological counseling that our players need is done by European youth coaches. At the same time, the intensity of competition and various psychological tests experienced by European players before entering the first team are far more than our players. Therefore, our players are not fragile, but they have experienced few high-quality games in their youth, and their pressure feelings are very different from those of professional teams. Therefore, it is normal for coach Benitez to feel this way, which is also a prominent difference between Chinese and western football cultures.

So after this relegation battle, what do you think you have gained and what moments are worth remembering?

This challenge can be said to be the biggest in my career, and it is also a very special challenge. I have never worried about whether the team can really avoid relegation before. Although I have led the team to avoid relegation, this is an old team in the Super League, and the hard power is there. At that time, there was a heartfelt self-confidence, and the team would definitely avoid relegation, without worrying about affecting its coaching career. But when it comes to the Yellow Sea, to be honest, I have butterflies in my stomach, but I can't show it. I have to make the players feel that I have a plan, so that they will be confident. However, after all this, I can adjust my mentality more and more quickly. I also feel that this relegation experience has made my career more complete and filled some gaps that I didn't have before.

So will you coach Huanghai in the future?

I have not communicated with the club for the time being. I want to take some time off for myself and see where my future lies.