当那三封道歉信出现时，我小小地惊诧了一下。大致浏览了署名中国足协的那一封，其他两封不看也罢。
新闻客户端的推送功能，让我知道有这三封道歉信的出现，可见网易移动内容的同事，还确实在继续关注着国足消息，道歉信也上升到了”重点新闻”的级别。只是”615耻辱”已经过去了9天，为什么到了6月24日才有了道歉信？为什么道歉信一出现就是三封？
最紧要的是，为什么道歉信的口吻，仍然不能”说人话”？
道歉信出现前几个小时，足协负责媒体关系的董华先生给我打来电话，邀请我在6月25日出席足协的座谈会，主题是关于中国国家队未来主教练。我可以想像这段时间，每日每夜恐怕这个机构都处在”紧急状态”之中，中国足球的状态更加”紧急”。这样的会议当然要参加，哪怕我知道参加的意义也仅在于参加。
三封道歉信，在惨败泰国9天之后，道歉看来，也不似乎中国足协想要道歉就能道歉的。姗姗来迟，并且满纸公文口吻，与其说是向球迷道歉，不若说更是在向上级做检查。反应不及时、”不说人话”，既有足协本身能力过时的原因，更有上级在惨败后强力干预的痕迹。单就足协本身而言，与卡马乔”终止合作关系”的消息，早于官方发布前十多个小时见诸四大门户，我也是从网易新闻客户端上得到卡马乔去职的推送，这映证了刘建宏老师的那句评价：”中国足协已经是一个对自己毫无信心的部门，连卡马乔去职这样的消息，都不能在内部短时间把守秘密，人心涣散，就可见一斑。”
座谈会上，我第一次见到足管中心主任张剑先生，一个谦和诚恳的中年人。每次评论完中国足协，再见到足协这些工作人员，我心里都有些难过。或许是因为我作为媒体人，职业素养还不够，心理力量也难言强大，每次见到中国足协这些工作人员，多少都觉得这是些在体制内勤勉工作的个体。不论能力如何，他们都在自己岗位上工作着，他们不见得比其他部委政府机关的官员能力低下、道德败坏，为什么他们要在”中国足协”这个大帽子下，承担如此之多的骂名？
这是因为中国足球的失败。整个体制在这一项运动上，将所有弱点和顽疾暴露无遗。有人比喻A股市场和中国足球一样挫，我无法反驳。所以坐在这个漫谈未来国家队主教练人选的会议上，我时不时有些走神，总觉得不对。
我知道未来国家队主教练的选定，不可能通过和我们这些媒体人士座谈，产生对结果一星半点的影响，这事现在看来中国足协都做不了主。一个概念在会议结束后，反倒更清晰地呈现在我脑海里：现在根本不是选择中国队主教练的时间——我们都不知道中国足球到底是什么样子？我们不知道中国国家队的真实状况？我们对于刚刚去职的卡马乔，还没有任何总结与回顾？一问三不知的情况下，我们怎么可能明确中国国家队未来需要怎样的主教练？
集中在”615″带来的国家队状况一个焦点上，都有三重疑云至今没有澄清，这是我过去两周在各种访谈、连线和专栏中，不断求助不断呼吁，但至今没有谁进行解答的——我早已不相信中国足协能解释这三重疑问：一，中泰之战，是否有国脚有意无意以消极比赛，”做掉”卡马乔？二，中泰之战，是否有非法博彩机构操控？三，俱乐部是否要求各自国脚在国家队”非重要比赛”时，出工不出力？
如果这些基本问题得不到解答，又会有一层毒性腐根存留地下，死而不僵。解决不了这些问题，我们怎么可能认知中国国家队的现状？同样道理，如果对于在一片骂声中去职的卡马乔，我们只能纠缠于他的解约金，却不从真正客观科学的角度，去分析这二十二个月他的工作状况、他给中国足球带来了什么，我们怎么能了解中国国家队主教练这个职务的现状和挑战？
我觉得国家队主帅不是简单个体，而更应该是一种科学体系，一个通过项目牵头人——主教练，带起整个国字号系列队的体系，战术统一、人员有增替机会，形成稳定良性循环。这也是足球发达国家和地区，其代表队的体系。国家队的主教练，必须有明确任期，管理者必须回避朝令夕改。
只是一屋不扫，何以扫天下？眼前的垃圾都没收拾干净，选来个里皮乃至瓜迪奥拉，又能如何？
Lippi the next head coach for Team China?
Three apology letters appeared at the same time, they were from China Football Association (CFA), the Team China management department of CFA, and Team China. All were apologising for the horrible defeat at home to Thailand on June 15.
Nine days had passed before these three serious apology letters appeared. On the same day, the CFA announced that “the cooperation between CFA and Mr. Camacho (China’s national coach) had ended according to mutual consent”. Camacho left for Spain and in his parting shot, he said he had tried to teach Chinese football “the meaning of competitiveness”.
On June 25, I was invited to participate in an emergency meeting at the CFA, for the future Team China head coach. For the first time, I met Mr. Zhang Jian, the current head of the CFA, who was appointed by the National Sport Administration six month ago. This is one of a series of emergency meetings held by the CFA recently, I was told, and this meeting was set up for a few media guys to express opinions.
Just some irrelevant opinions, as I knew the rules.
The sacking of Camacho, though the official announcement said “end of cooperation”, seemed to be part of the overall PR crisis management, but the news was leaked out 24 hour before the official announcement. The CFA was very angry, and wanted to find the moles inside the organisation. However, similar things will surely happen every time the CFA encounters crisis.
Football fans in China have stuck to their habit of attacking the “system” for the failures. The vehemence of the criticism of football has reached a stage that football has become the most democratic area in current China. It is impossible for the media to criticise openly a department of the central government, and football becomes the invaluable outlet of social frustration.
However, the meeting I was invited to, meant nothing for the real issue of next head coach of Team China. No chance would the media have of any real say on this appointment, and in my acknowledgement, not even the CFA can make that decision. They have to report to the NSA for approval.
Camacho was sacked because of the terrible 1:5 defeat to Thailand. CCTV5 tried pretty hard to get a parting interview with Camacho, to get some understandings from his 22 months duration in China. The requests fell on deaf ears.
And now we are talking about the next one, and besides the Thailand match, besides all the rumours that Camacho was not interested in China’s domestic league matches, Camacho was aloof and arrogant, we have no idea what the former head coach experienced. Media seems to be more interested in Camacho’s parting fee: some said €3 million had been agreed, some said that Camacho would send a top European lawyer over to get the €7 million pay out.
I am not sure for the moment that China should appoint another head coach immediately. There are no urgent challenges the national team face, except from the East Asian Championship. China was relegated from the qualification group matches for Brazil 2014 within three months of Camacho’s appointment. And the head coach of an international team has evolved more and more like a leader of the national team system, which means he would oversee the structure, tactical characteristics and personnel management of all age group national teams.
The latest rumor is Marcelo Lippi could be confirmed as head coach for Team China in November, when the CSL season ends. I sincerely hope this does not happen. The trouble with football in China lies in every aspect of the system, from grassroots all the way up to the extremely bureaucratic mismanagement of the CFA. There is no ground for any football coach to be a success on the national team level.
Marcelo Lippi could be the last straw on the camel’s back. If he fails, who else?
John Yan is Deputy Editor of Netease.com