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June 1, 2016

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SIPG mulls philosophy amid big plans

SHANGHAI SIPG wants to play “aggressive football” as the club plans to develop its own football philosophy and become one of the world’s top teams.

The Chinese Super League side kicked off the second instalment of its 2016 youth football coach training camp yesterday. During the two-day camp, SIPG’s reserve team coach Mads Davidsen and first team assistant coach Xie Hui will give lectures to SIPG’s youth and reserve team coaches, as well as coaches from over 20 partner youth football bases, including schools and organizations in neighboring cities and provinces.

“It’s not about I tell you to what do, but we work together for the benefit of the club,” said Davidsen, who was assistant to Sven-Goran Eriksson when the latter was Guangzhou R&F coach in 2013. The two then joined SIPG in 2014.

Davidsen will share his knowledge of youth football and opinions in building a good club while Xie, former China forward, will focus on techniques and player skills. The camp has been named “The SIPG Way” training camp, with Davidsen insisting it’s important for a club to have its own football philosophy.

“Many successful European clubs have their own football philosophies,” said the Dane. “Look at Barcelona. They need a good midfield, and the whole club works on it. Then talents like (Sergio) Busquets come out from their youth training system. They know clearly what they want.”

“‘The SIPG Way’ is not about a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation, but about how the club approaches football. SIPG wants to play aggressive football. As a big club, we have the responsibility to play attacking football and offer good matches to our fans. To do that, we need to add more ball control training.”

Davidsen said SIPG needs fast players. “Football is becoming faster and faster, so one-on-one skill is important in small scale battles on the pitch. We need players who can run fast and think fast. Players should know their own development path and train accordingly. In China, the football environment is good, but you still don’t see many top Chinese players.”

Davidsen emphasized the importance of cultivating good youth coaches if a club wants to bring up good players.

With this in mind, SIPG general manager Sui Guoyang promised that the club will organize for some youth team coaches to attend courses overseas.

Currently fourth in the 2016 CSL standings, SIPG has also made the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League in its debut Asian season. According to football data website footballdatabase.com, SIPG ranks 26th in Asia and 331st in the world, the highest in the club’s history. CSL and AFC champion Guangzhou Evergrande is top in Asia and 66th in the world.




 

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