A senior football team in China's Shanxi Province has witnessed decades of unchanging passion and friendship.
BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- In Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, a group of senior citizens held a jersey retirement ceremony for their teammates on an amateur pitch.
It was quite like the way their former idols Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona were honored in Ajax and Napoli.
But unlike those legends whose shirts were sealed through their accomplishments, the jersey retirement ceremony in the capital of Shanxi Province was held to pay tribute to those deceased football enthusiasts by their friends.
Fan Liping, 72, hosted the special ceremony for his old teammates on a field near the Shanxi Stadium.
Four shirts, numbers 2, 24, 30, and 57, were retired on the occasion of the team's 30th anniversary.
"To express our condolences, we have sealed the jerseys of these four departed friends," said Fan, the founder of the Shanxi Middle and Old Aged Football Club.
Fan is a "young striker" on the old-aged team, which has over 50 players, the oldest of whom is 83. Since its inception, the team has trained three times per week and competes in senior-friendly matches across the country.
"Every year, we compete in four to five national tournaments in our age group and also travel to other cities for invitational matches," Fan explained. They have now advanced to the semifinals of several national senior tournaments, and Fan believes the secret is that "other teams don't last as long as we do."
Members of the Shanxi Middle and Old Aged Football Club mourns their deceased friends during a jersey retirement ceremony. (Xinhua)
What is even more valuable than forming a 30-year team is the companionship that these elders have shared for over 60 years. The majority of the players were Fan's classmates from Jiu Yi Primary School and Affiliated High School of Shanxi University in Taiyuan. They represented the school in contests across the country beginning in the 1960s and won the Shanxi junior tournament in 1965.
"A lot of my teammates and I started studying and playing together when we were in elementary or secondary school," Fan said. "After growing up, we went to all walks of life, some joined the army, some went to the countryside, some became workers, but none of us gave up football."
They didn't give up their hobby or friendship, but working in different positions meant they couldn't play football together every day like they did in their school days. It wasn't until they were in their middle age that these guys got together and formed the team, which grew to include more players over the next 30 years.
File photo of the football team of Affiliated High School of Shanxi University representing Shanxi in the national junior tournament in 1965. (Xinhua)
During regular training, the seniors are divided into two teams to compete against each other in intense rivalry. They attempt to reduce the number of touches while improving passing. In general, the training is open to all seniors who enjoy football, but there are some exceptions.
Fan's primary schoolmate Duan Jinping, 74, was a defender on the team but suffered a concussion and brain hemorrhage after a fall during a game in 2012. Despite his recovery, he was only permitted to serve as the team's photographer and "backroom staff" and was not allowed to play football with his friends.
"They were concerned that I would sustain another injury. So I don't get in their way. I just come and see, but to be honest, I still want to play," Duan said while attending the jersey retirement ceremony.
Banners exchanged from matches are seen in the office of the Shanxi Middle and Old Aged Football Club. (Xinhua)
To get seniors like Duan and other 'substitutes' more involved, the team initiated some activities. The seniors would return to their alma mater, Affiliated High School of Shanxi University, as coaches, passing on their decades of football experience and life lessons.
They also served as training partners for the Shanxi Jingwei Middle School girls' football team. "We accompanied these girls from primary school through university, and some of them ultimately achieved good achievements in national competitions," Fan said.
Only 11 people can start on the football pitch, but watching football allows seniors over 50 years old to sit together, so Fan invited his teammates to watch the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
When they were young, they used to gather at the home of teammate Wang Xiaoping to watch the World Cup, but these old guys are more willing to move with the times than to miss Cruyff and Maradona. Duan supports Cristiano Ronaldo now, while Fan thinks Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are both good.
Members of the Shanxi Middle and Old Aged Football Club pose for a photo after the jersey retirement ceremony. (Xinhua)
With a whistle, this jersey retirement ceremony came to an end. On one side of the field, a famous Shanxi calligrapher inscribed the 30-year-old team with the words: "For life or for death, however separated, to our friends we pledged our word. We held their hands; We were old together." This is a famous ancient Chinese poem that eulogizes the precious friendship of soldiers who promise to live and be old together.
On the other side, Liu Jianxin, 73, smiled and passed the ball to 72-year-old Wang. Some 60 years ago, they were already friends and partners in the backline, just as they are now.■
