One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?

Jun 15, 2025

One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
The third Group C match of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup between South Korea and China was held at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on the 16th (local time). Son Heung-min is comforting Jungz, who had a physical fight after winning a penalty. Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2019.01.16/



One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
Littier, former coach of the Chinese national team (left). SNS
One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
XinhuaYonhap News
Amid various criticisms after the Chinese national soccer team failed to make the World Cup finals, voices criticizing the absence of defensive midfielders emerged this time.

On the 14th (local time), the Chinese portal 'Sina Dotcom' is the biggest failure! In the article titled 'Only two of the Chinese national team players can play defensive midfielders', China won the final match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, but has already failed to advance to the World Cup finals. The biggest controversy and failure caused by head coach Branko Ivankovic was his insistence on a 4-4-2 diamond midfield.

The media reported 'This formation has long disappeared from modern football. Atletico Madrid is the only team that uses a 4-4-2 formation in the five major European leagues. Atletico, however, are also parallel midfielders, not diamond midfielders. 'Hodrigo de Paul and Pablo Barrios form central midfielders, and Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez are deployed to the front line to try to pass and shoot'




Then 'To use a defensive midfielder in a diamond midfield, a very high level of ability is required for that player. Quick running ability, wide range of defensive cover, excellent predictive ability, excellent cognitive and positional sense, pass ability, and ability to connect from rear to front are required. 'If you ask me who is the best defensive midfielder in modern football, it would be Rodri, the Ballon d'Or winner,' he added.

One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
EPA Yonhap News
One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
'Sina.Com.' is a formation that disappeared with the times, but director Ivankovic insisted. But was Wang Sangyuan, the main midfielder, a player who could play in that position? He couldn't play at all, and his defense was terrible. Was the young Hwang Jeong-wi a player who could play for the position? He pointed out, 'A player who doesn't play at all, lacks experience, and can't pass at all.'

"In fact, there are only two players who can play defensive midfield alone in the national team's diamond midfield," he said. "One is sitting on the national team's bench." This is Jungz sitting next to Ivankovic. Jungz was Asia's best player who was good at both offense and defense during his heyday. He was good enough to play in the top five leagues.




Then 'The other is Rittier, who is the director. Littier was known for his 'unstoppable sprints' and excellent defensive skills as a player. Litier's ability to pass for Everton was underestimated.

'Sina.Com.' is 'Unfortunately, Jungz retired a long time ago. Rittier is older than Jungz. He also coached the Chinese national team. He is now sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Chinese national soccer team has not been able to find (the second) Zhengzi, Littier to this day,' he lamented.

One is in jail The reason for Chinese football failure is the absence of defensive MF, who uses 442 diamonds these days?
China lost three games and lost seven games in the third Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, and suffered an early elimination amid a slump of only three points. In particular, he experienced his first defeat in 38 years with a 0-1 score against Indonesia in Game 9. China has failed to advance to the finals for six consecutive times since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and voices of self-reflection are coming out here and there.




Li Weifeng, a former defender of the Chinese national team, emphasized the need to advance overseas to improve the skills of Chinese players.

According to multiple Chinese media, Ivankovic ended his contract early after negotiations with the Chinese Football Association on the 12th and headed to his native Croatia. As a result, China is expected to participate in the EAFF E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) in Korea next month as a successor or interim head coach.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.