LISBON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Paulo Jose Ramos Mendes, a Portugal soccer coach better known as Paulinho, said he believes the Chinese football is still evolving and will usher in a bright future.
The coach has worked as an assistant coach with Beijing Renhe and Shenzhen FC between 2017 to 2019, and the experience gave him the chance to take a close look at the Chinese football.
"A few years ago, the biggest problem for the Chinese players was the level of training and the knowledge into the football games. But this problem has been overcome as soccer professionals from different parts of the world went there and brought new ideas," he told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
"The big difference is still the competitive games for the children," said Paulinho. "In Portugal, children at the age of eight are already learning to compete, as well as developing important values."
He added that it's been changed a lot in China in recent years as youth academies and second-string teams for the professional teams began to appear.
According to Paulinho, the Chinese players are already prepared with knowledge of the games and the correct mindset of competitiveness since their childhood.
Paulinho believes that the evolvement must continue for more years, with local Chinese coaches "assimilating the new ideas that were taken there".
"It is not in two or three years that the results will appear. That's something you have to wait for at least a decade, and that's why you have to let yourself work and then enjoy the result. Everyone talks about the patience of the Chinese, and that's exactly what's needed," he said.
Paulinho also thinks the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the development of the Chinese football and delayed the maturation of the sport in China.
"The Chinese league has been paralyzed many times in recent years, and the companies which invested the teams have been losing revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing more problems to the teams," he said.
"Contacting colleagues and friends I have made in China, they tell me that within two years Chinese football will recover and follow its natural evolution," added the coach.
"The results have not yet come, but I am convinced that, with the persistence and competence of the Chinese people, everything will go well and they will fulfill their goals," said Paulinho. ■
