"Mattfighter Cup" is a high-level youth event organized by the Japanese youth training club FC Matfighter. This event also brings together many high-level youth teams from Japan and Europe and the United States to participate.

"Matte Fighter Cup" is a high-level youth event organized by the Japanese youth training club FC Matte. This event also brings together many high-level youth teams from Japan and Europe and the United States to participate. A total of 40 teams in the U12 age group participated. On March 28, the Luneng U12 Red Team rushed to Japan to participate in the competition. Recently, U12 has returned from participating in the competition in Japan and returned to the football school. We also talked with the team's head coach Li Xiao about our experience and gains in participating in Japan this time.

Luneng Youth Training: Let’s talk about the general situation of our competition in Japan this time. Is this our first time to go abroad to practice?

Li Xiao: We arrived in Japan on March 28. The results of the group stage were not very stable at the beginning. On the one hand, the children were tired of the journey, and on the other hand, they were not very adaptable to the rhythm of the game here. However, the players adjusted well in the subsequent games and scored five wins and one draw. During our time in Japan, we played fifteen games with the warm-up matches we had agreed with other teams, and our overall performance was remarkable.

has also gone to South Korea before. In comparison, the training value of this time in Japan is slightly higher. However, whether it is going to Japan or South Korea, the intensity and strength of the opponent are significantly higher than that in domestic competitions.

Luneng Youth Training: Has the young players' studies been delayed during this outing game?

Li Xiao: In addition to competitions, we have not missed the study of cultural courses. Before we set off, the school teachers had assigned our team members the corresponding homework. Before the competition every afternoon, the children will finish their homework carefully in the morning, so that they can ensure that their learning progress will not fall when they go out to participate in the competition.

Luneng Youth Training: What is the quality of the competitors?

Li Xiao: The opponents are very strong. For example, the Tokyo FC and Sapporo Gonzado, which we fought, are both very strong teams in Japan of the same age. In addition, a game only has thirty minutes, giving players less room to make mistakes, which requires the children to enter very quickly. In addition, there is another special rule for this game, which is that there are no offside, so there are high requirements for our team's offensive and defensive rhythm, physical fitness and technical and tactical playing style.

Luneng Youth Training: The Japanese Matador Cup competition system is still very unique. Do you have any special feelings?

Li Xiao: I have also communicated with the coaches in Japan, and I have indeed heard a lot of interesting things. In our country, we usually gather in the same place to play a seven to ten-day competition. However, in Japan, there are not many long-term competitions, but more of the mainstream competitions like the Matadors Cup, which are more matched in one day. Of course, because the Football Association stipulates that children of this age cannot last more than ninety minutes a day, these games are often twenty or thirty minutes a day.

Don’t watch the game time not long, because the game time is relatively short, the requirements for the game rhythm and skills on the field are very high, which is of great help to adjust the player’s game state and improve the offensive rhythm. After this Japanese competition, I felt that this competition system can actually be tried appropriately in China. After all, not every school or echelon has the funds to go abroad to experience these competitions. In this way, the team's participation cost will be much lower, and more teams can participate.

Luneng Youth Training: Have you shared some experiences with coaches from other countries?

Li Xiao: This time the Matadors Cup also participated in the coach's seminar, and there were also coaches from European and American teams such as Brazil Palmeras and France Lyon. It has indeed benefited a lot from being able to exchange football concepts with each other. For example, Brazil pays more attention to the training of individuals, while French pays more attention to the overall training of the team. In addition, they pay great attention to the management of players on weekdays and the monitoring and analysis of players' data.

There are also many coaches from Japan who came on stage to give speeches. For example, there is a coach from Osaka Sakura who is very confident and has also put forward their opinions on the concept of Brazilian and French coaches, saying that they will still stick to their original general policies.It can also be seen that the Japanese are very confident about the football path they are taking now and are strictly implementing the plans formulated by the Japanese Football Association. They will not say that they will learn wherever football is good.

Japanese Football Association has proposed a plan for the national team. By 2030, they will enter the semi-finals of the World Cup and win the championship in 2050. This time, when I went to Japan, I saw their attitude and persistence towards football, I felt that this plan might really not be a fantasy.

Luneng Youth Training: Is there anything more impressive to us outside the competition?

Li Xiao: Actually, I feel that outside the game, we learned nothing less than in the game. I'll talk about what happened when watching other teams.

The game was very fierce. The two sides still tied zero to zero in the first twenty-nine minutes, and a final kill appeared in the last minute. But after the referee blew the whistle of the game, the players on the winning side did not rush to celebrate the victory, but went to the loser to comfort them. The two sides only returned to their bench to celebrate the victory after shaking hands with each other. This also shocked me very much. After all, this group of children is only 12 years old at most, but they can understand and understand the things like respecting their opponents and respecting the competition. This makes me feel very amazing and is also something that our children in China should learn.

And the parents of the players here are also very quiet when watching the game. No matter which side of the players performs wonderfully, the parents on the scene will give them applause. There is no situation where parents shout at the other side's young players in the game. I think the atmosphere is very good and is also beneficial to the growth of the children.

In addition, I have a picture here. When I first saw the thing on this plate, I thought it was pickles. When I looked closely, I found it was rubber bands. Because the weather in Japan is colder now, children basically wear long-sleeved coats, and it will inevitably get a little dirty after the competition. These rubber bands are for children to tie the cuffs to prevent dirt from falling into the meal. In addition, hand sanitizer is also provided next to it, so that children can develop good hygiene habits when eating. More importantly, everyone eats a buffet in the restaurant, so that it will not affect others. From these small details, we can also see that the Japanese attach importance to details and humanities, which has indeed brought me a lot of shock.

Luneng Youth Training: Do you have any feelings about this trip to Japan?

Li Xiao: After coming to Japan this time, I gained a lot. The most important thing is that I personally witnessed the Japanese pass-by football. Although our players have the advantage in physical fitness in the game, it is obvious that the opponent still needs to be more mature in controlling the game. What is even more commendable is that there are 32 participating teams in Japan this time, and their skills and tactics are very similar. It really gives us a lot of touch to be able to implement the pass and control football so thoroughly. Moreover, the strength between these Japanese teams is very even. Even the strongest Japanese teams and the weakest are often equal. Therefore, the reason why Japanese football has been able to maintain the forefront of Asia over the years is not just relying on the hematopoiesis of one or two teams, but on the overall high level, it has reached its current level.

Now schools have always talked about "fast, spiritual, intelligent and tough". We are still in the stage of exploration and learning, but Japan has obviously implemented the concept of transmission and control very deeply, and can produce something unique to us. After returning this time, we have become more determined to take overall football and pass the football in the future, and maintain the team's style.