On March 15, the first round of the Eighth Finals of China University Football Association (CUFA) was held at our sports field. It was a match between USST and Xi’an University of Finance and Economics (XAUFE). In the end, USST won 3:0. After the match, the Team Leader, the Head Coach and two players of the USST football team accepted an interview.
Interviewer: Did you know something about the opponent before the match on Friday?
Head Coach: Our school entered the platform called “Super League” last year. In the final of the Southern China Region, we had met XAUFE. At that time the final score was 4:3. Besides, we also have selected four of their matches in the past six months, watched the video and analyzed their positions one-by-one. In order to have a good understanding of their style of shooting and shortcomings, we have done a lot of other research and preparations.
Interviewer: You mentioned the idea of the “Super League” just now, what does it mean?
Head Coach: Since last year, CUFA has been divided into three levels. All the athletes in the “Super League” are high-level athletes. Then the second level is called the “Championship League”. The “Challenging Cup” is the third level. If a team wants to enter the national platform, it has to pass games at the municipal level at first. The provincial level follows and the China Eastern Region is the next. Our school is currently at the “Super League” level.
Interviewer: In the 25th minute of the first half, No. 20 Ma Yujie scored from a penalty shot. It was the first goal. Was the trend of the match and the strategies used consistent with your expectations?
Head Coach: To be honest, I was quite nervous before the first goal. That was because the trend of the match was beyond my expectations. If the shots couldn’t change the situation, our home advantage would be meaningless. I was really looking forward to seeing the first goal. Both our team members and athletes felt relaxed after it was realized. So, I can say that the first goal greatly inspired us at that time.
Interviewer: The victory of this match cannot be isolated from your routine training. So, we want to know something about intensity and the mode of your routine training.
Player A: From Monday to Saturday, we have six training sessions a week. During the period of this season, our training includes two stages: our fitness work and game practices. Because the fitness work is the guarantee of our competitiveness. We have a large amount of training in the form of integrated aerobic and anaerobic exercise. After that, we have some game practices, which include passing and receiving among players as well as friendly matches with opponents.
Interviewer: It seems that the training is intense. Well, how can you keep a balance between training and studying?
Player B: Mostly it depends on self-discipline. In general, we have no classes from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. However, we still have to compensate for our absences in classes at other times.
Interviewer: Being the Team Leader, did you encounter any difficulties or pressure?
Team Leader: Sure. Because the platform has become much larger, there are more matches now. We must take a lot of trouble to prepare for every match, so we don’t have many holidays. Training must be done at weekends, which leads to less time that we can spend staying with our families. But without these efforts, we can never achieve anything.
Interviewer: We know that you will prepare for the second round in Xi’an. So, will you change the tactics in the next match?
Head Coach: Yes. We will not adopt the defensive tactics. We will strive for the next victory instead of holding the idea of ensuring a draw.
Soon after, the football team of USST will take part in the second round in Xi’an. We wish them a great success and more achievements!
