The Chen Yang Update

Chen Yang is the first Chinese player in the Bundesliga and he has been quite succesful yet at Eintracht Frankfurt. In the following you will find copies of private reports given about him during the last months (please understand that this document cannot become updated each week yet, all reports will be found here sooner or later)

The reports

Some new excitement around Chen Yang: Eintracht reports that he has been signed by a player agent who actively seeks a transfer to another club. Such player agents earn their money by keeping their players move constantly, earning bonusses from moves, trying to pressure clubs with various tricks to leave players out of their contracts or renegotiate salaries. They approach the naiv players and promising them everything, often neglecting the long term football perspectives and emphasising the short term financial ones, especially for themselves. Eintracht is very angry because of that attempt because Chen Yang just had signed a new contract.
But there is also a second side to the story: When players did not use to have agents it had been the clubs themselves who tried to profit from the players naivity, getting them into bad contracts. So it is also possible that Chen Yang earns less than his market value now as Frankfurts financial potential is limited.

Chan Yang has been one of the heroes of a miraculous rescue for Eintracht Frankfurt on the last day of the Bundesliga season. He had been struggeling to find his form but had been part of the team that had started to turn things around.
Finally Eintracht had won their last 4 matches and the last one agsinst last year champions 1.FC Kaiserslautern had been one of the most dramatic in Bundesliga history. Short after halftime Chen Yang hammered a ball into the net to give Eintracht a 1:0 lead. Simultaniously in other Bundeliga matches things developed in such a dramatic way that Eintracht thought they were comfortably saved, leading 4:1 3 minutes from time. Then the news spreaded that Hansa Rostock and 1.FC Nuremberg both had scored in their matches and that Eintracht needed another goal. In the last minute they scored and were lucky Nuremberg only hit the goalpost in the parallel match. Now the future, despite limited financial possibilities, seems a bit brighter at Frankfurt. This also avoids a dispute over whether Chen Yang had been allowed to leave in case of relegation.

Eintracht Frankfurt is in trouble now. They are 17th of 18 teams. Three will become relegated in six weeks at the end of the season. They fired another coach and the manager. Chen Yang has been injured for several matches. He returned to the team on Saturday but could not help much. It was an important match against the 16th Hansa Rostock and Eintracht was lucky to get away with a 2:2 at home. His newspaper-rating: below-average.

Chen Yang scored a relief for Eintracht in home match against Hertha BSC Berlin, who were leading 1:0 at the Frankfurt stadium and threatened to push the home team into deep crisis after two lost matches and injury problems. Chen Yang has recovered himself from injury and has started to speak a little German what naturally is very difficult for him.

During the week Chen Yang seems to have signed for a longer term at Eintracht Frankfurt. This was stated by the club president although he did not reveal neither for how long nor whether the contract will be valid also in case of a possible Eintracht Frankfurt relegation.

Chen Yang has been man of the week and rated above average when scoring two goals in Eintracht Frankfurts (16th) crucial away match at 1.FC Nürnberg (15th). The match ended 2:2 and Chen Yang had scored twice for´a Eintracht lead.

Chen Yang has been injured for the first two matches after Bundesliga had begun the second half of the season two weeks ago. On Saturday he played but he could not help his team much: Eintracht
Frankfurt looks desolate as their strongest player is injured and the player do not seem to accept the new coaches tactical concept.
It was reported that Eintracht has settled an agreement with the club, Chen Yang is on loan from, but not yet with Chen Yang himself. (Chen Yang is only at Eintracht on loan basis until June 99 and they want to keep him here)

Chen Yang has been absent because of the Asian Games for some matches now. And a lot has happened at Eintracht Frankfurt since his departure. First a second Chinese player has arrived to become tested. As far as I read, he is from Shanghai. His name is Xie Hui. He is 23 and speaks English. He left a good impression in the first sessions but then was injured immediately. He now has recovered and may join the training sessions again.
Meanwhile Eintracht is trying to keep Chen Yang for longer. Chen Yang is at Frankfurt only on loan. Eintrach lost three matches in a row and coach Ehrmanntraut has been fired. He was very popular among the fans and most part of the team, but not liked very much among the club officials. Now Eintracht is searching a new coach. This situation makes a possible Xie Hui deal even more unsure as there is no responsible coach to give his ok. Today, Eintrach Frankfurt, temporarily coached by format assistant coach Lippert, lost also at Kaiserslautern and are very close to relegationplaces.

3 matches in 9 days: According to his coach Chen Yang is a bit tired now and there are still problems in synchronising his movements to the team play. He was tried on two different positions and in the third match he was injured. He did not play conspicious in the other two matches. At least he assisted a goal when Eintracht beat Freiburg 3:1(home) on Wednesday. Before they had drawn with Rostock 2:2 (away). Last Saturday they beat Hamburger SV 1:0(away, without Chen Yang) and worked their way out of the danger zone a bit.

The good news for Chen Yang (selected for the Chinese national team for the Asian Games 98) is bad news for Eintracht as Chen Yang is their best forward. Eintracht had a see-saw week: Last weekend they played miserable and lost at so far winningless Wolfsburg 0:2 but came back this Saturday to beat before
unbeaten Bayern München 1:0. Chen Yang had a difficult task as the lone forward against Bayern and only one spectacular goal scene but he worked well in the system Eintracht played. Also it is said he makes progresses in learning the language, the biggest problem. (So the Asian Games will be another unwelcome interrution here).

Chen Yang was Eintracht Frankfurts best player in last Saturdays match, at least he received the best rating by Germany's most important football magazine 'Kicker'. It was the third time this season he scored the important 1:0 for his club, but again Eintracht could not hold on to the lead and lost 2:3 at home against Leverkusen, after it had been 2:0 at half.
Eintracht is still looking for a second good striker, that would take defender's pressure off Chen Yang. But the problem on Saturday had been the difference in the performance of the whole team in first and second half. Eintracht is still #15 in the table, one place ahead of the three teams that will become relegated after the season.

Eintracht played 0:0 away and with a quite careful attitude. So Chen Yang played, but did not have many balls and if, he was outnumbered.
The following weekend Bundesliga will not play because of the National teams will play qualification matches for the European championship.

Chen Yang (the way his name is written in Germany, first name, family name) is the first Chinese player in Bundesliga and to the surprise of many he
made it to a regular starter for his team Eintracht Frankfurt. On one hand he is profiting from the problems Frankfurt has in attack, on the other hand his talent has become obvious to everybody. He seems to be fast, with good technical skills, good ball protection and a precise shot.
He scored 2 goals in 6 matches but often was the lone fighter in Frankfurt attack. Frankfurt did not too well yet, winning only once.
But there are also problems:
1) He is not yet used to the physical kind of game played in Germany
2) A big problem: the communication. For the other players it is almost impossible to communicate with him. He does not speak any German or English or French and nobody speaks Chinese. So often he is running different than expected. Also it must be tough for him he can not talk anything with the other players. There is a translator when the coach talks too him but it remains a problem.
The hope: Bum Kun Cha, the South Corean coach at the World Cup 98 once began at Frankfurt with similar problems and became a Bundesliga star.