Interview with Yukun coach Anderson: Let the Chinese Super League see the power of Yunnan football

Reporter Lu Mi reports Anderson, who only coached Yunnan Yukun in late June this year, led the team to success and won the first Chinese League championship in the club's history, which can be described as a great success. The club's stable investment, strong personnel, and a capable head coach are important factors for Yukun to achieve historic results this year.

In the past six months of coaching, he has been very busy. He personally takes care of the team's training and games. After the team overtook in advance, he led the team to complete the rest of the games and training, and at the same time appeared in various fields of the Chinese Super League as a "trapeze". Yukun's preparation for the 2025 Chinese Super League has begun.

◆"Football": Yunnan Yukun completed the task of rushing to the top and winning the championship in advance of China, from taking over the team to the end of the league, what kind of process did you go through?

Anderson: It was a very special experience. When I first arrived, I had to adapt more to the league and the way the players think. At that time, the fitness of our players was not very good, and we needed to increase step by step to meet the requirements of my attacking football and high-pressure play, and fitness was very important. That's why we did a lot of work in the intervals to make up for the lack of fitness and get the players to show their stronger side. I think it was a very important experience.

◆Did the process of overtaking and winning the championship go smoothly?

It's not that easy. It takes a lot of work and a lot of work to get the top and win the championship. I will design different content for each training session to help the players improve their physical fitness, enhance their technical and tactical awareness, and adapt to the high-intensity rhythm of the game in advance. Every job and every detail had to be improved little by little, and of course in the end we solved it well and achieved the expected goal.

◆You're coming alone, isn't it a big challenge? The team was in first place. If the results decline, is the position of coach at risk?

Before coming to Yukun, I watched a lot of team games and went to watch their matches against Shanghai, and I judged that I could succeed here, help the team improve, help them do better. With my experience as a player and as a coach, I still have this confidence. Of course, we have been able to maintain such a good momentum from beginning to end, which is inseparable from the joint efforts of our players.

◆When you first took over, you increased the intensity of your training, did you like the players' performance in the game?

First of all, I knew that increasing the intensity and increasing the tempo would make the players uncomfortable, but I communicate with the players a lot and that's what we have to do. Even though there will be some injuries at the beginning of the change, we have had enough time to adapt and get the players ready to play high-pressure football. They adapted and showed attacking football in the game and gave us a lot of hearty wins.

◆There was also a period when the team was tired and there were away defeats, how did you sum it up at that time?

In the world of football, no team can win all the time, and Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will lose in a season. Because the opponent is different, there are ups and downs in their own state, especially in away games, they will encounter various difficulties, and it will not be easy. For example, against Guangxi and Guangzhou, they are not weak in themselves, so it is not easy for us to deal with them. All things considered, a draw is acceptable.

◆What was the biggest takeaway this year?

This is a difficult question to answer. It's my first time coaching a club in China, so it's a different experience, so I need to do more preparation and work harder. I had 20 years of experience as a player in the top European leagues, and as a coach I also coached in the top leagues in Europe and Asia, but I was relatively new to the Chinese league and needed a lot of help. Of course, since I chose this place, I will do my best. Fortunately, we also achieved perfect results. In the future, I hope that the club can give me more support, and more friends can help me and help this team, and strive for better results in the right direction next year.

◆Football: After coaching for most of the season, do you have a deeper understanding of the Chinese league?

Anderson: I was the head coach of the Hong Kong team before, and I watched a lot of games in the Chinese League and the Chinese Super League, and I can clearly feel that the overall level of the Chinese League is not so high, especially compared to the leagues in South Korea and Thailand. So I want to make some changes in my way and maybe it will help the whole league in the future.

◆From your point of view, what are the necessary conditions for Yukun to achieve such results?

First of all, I think it's the club's steady investment that has allowed me to have a group of players with good quality. In the late stages of the league, all the teams have improved, and the game is more difficult than in the early stage, and you can see that we have won a lot of big scores before, but in the later stages of the league because of the improvement of other teams, it is getting harder and harder for us to win. So I think the hard power of our team is better, and with the right tactics, we can maximize the ability of the players.

◆You seem to be working anytime and anywhere, have you been fulfilling for most of the year?

I'm a person who is good at observing opponents, especially when we are about to enter the Chinese Super League, and I also want to go live and see the future opponent's games, to see the quality of the Super League team and the way of playing, which is part of my job. I'm not the kind of person who sleeps on the couch at home when I have free time, I like to use every minute of my time to help the team as much as possible.

◆After the success of the overtake, you always go to the scene to watch the Super League games, and even fly six times in three days, why is this?

As I said before, we need to look at the strength of our future opponents and how they play, and of course we also have the purpose of looking at who we want to recruit and prepare for next season.

◆You went to watch the match between Shenzhen Xinpeng City and Meizhou Hakka, what is your impression? What are the reference values?

The game between Shenzhen and Meizhou was tense on both sides because they both knew it was a game that neither side could afford to lose. So tactically both sides tend to be defensive, so I feel a little bit of a pity. Of course, this game is important for both of them and consistency is key.

◆Through these games, especially the relegation battle, what will happen to Yukun next year's adaptation to the Chinese Super League?

Next year we may need to make a big adjustment and look for some strong foreign reinforcements. At present, there are only three foreign aides in the Chinese League, and it will increase to five next year, so it is a more important job to find foreign aid next. At the same time, it's important to look for local players with quality so that I can play well according to my tactics. I think you need to do enough preparation in the preparation period to lay a good foundation for next year's league.

◆Football: Do you have a player you want right now? What are the key criteria you use to scout players?

Anderson: I'm more inclined to players who are fit, especially homegrown. We've been training at altitudes for a long time, so it's important in terms of geography and tactics, and I don't need a slack player. Also, I want players who have a positive attitude on the training pitch, who are willing to fight, who fight for positions and who are hungry for the game. Of course, I know it's not easy to bring in the right reinforcements, but we still have time and we will actively look for them.

◆The configuration of the team is relatively good in this year's Central League, and from the overall situation of the team, what are the key parts that need to be strengthened next year?

I feel like every position needs to be strengthened. Although Yukun won the first place in the Chinese Super League, it is not enough for us to achieve a more stable result in the Chinese Super League next year, so I hope to have better reinforcements in every position. Our main starters this year, probably 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the games, are good and I think most of them will stay next year, but in the Super League we need to do better.

◆What are the team's goals for next year, and from what you know about the Super League, will there be any changes in tactics next year?

Next year, the first is relegation. Until then, we need to make good use of the preparation period and do a good job of recruiting reinforcements. Next year, we will play in the Super League according to our own technical and tactical style, so we need to select players according to this standard, players who can help us achieve good results in the league next year.

There won't be a big change in tactics, the players have adapted well this season and we played well in the FA Cup and the Tigers because we lost because we were unlucky. I've watched some Super League games and very few teams will take the initiative to press high, if we adopt such tactics, we may create more difficulties for the opponent and also bring some opportunities for ourselves. Of course, we will also try more possibilities, such as playing against strong teams such as Shenhua, Harbour and Taishan, and you can also see that we have conceded the fewest goals this season, and the defense has done a good job.

◆Generally speaking, the challenges faced by promoted horses in the new season are all-encompassing, what can you expect?

The opponents of the Chinese Super League are much stronger. At the moment, the most difficult thing for us is that our club is small and has a limited budget, so we need to work harder to build a team that is both cost-effective and strong, and complete the task of staying in the Super League.

◆This is the first Chinese Super League team in Yunnan after many years, and it is also your first Chinese Super League season, what do you hope to bring to Yunnan football?

This experience has indeed been a new experience and challenge for me, especially with this very young team, I have been doing my best to help the club improve and achieve the club's goals. I am more inclined to help Yunnan football improve first, and in this context, lead the team to write a new history in the Chinese Super League, so that the Chinese Super League can see the power of Yunnan football.