Liu Wei at the retirement ceremony.
When Liu Wei's name was once again sounded in the Yuanshen Gymnasium, his title had changed from "Liu Da" to the leader of the Shanghai men's basketball team. But the only constant is that the home fans still pay tribute to the "soul of the team" with a mountain-like tsunami.
Standing in the middle of the court, the spotlight shone on Liu Wei, his suit was straight, his oil head was polished, quietly waiting for his retirement ceremony. 23 years of career, starting from Shanghai, also ended here, which is a kind of consummation.
Behind Liu Wei, CBA League Chairman Yao Ming and mentor Li Qiuping sat closest to him, and a group of teammates who won the championship together in 2002, everything was like a world away, pulling everyone's thoughts back to the most glorious time of Shanghai basketball 17 years ago.
"I feel very happy, and after choosing to retire, I feel like I've really grown up." Before the retirement ceremony on November 2, Liu Wei was interviewed by the surging news reporter, talking about his ups and downs basketball career and looking forward to the future life of the team leader.
"In fact, there is still a lot of pressure now, whether it is a player or a team leader, I hope to do my best to do a good job, even if I fail, I also hope to find a way to succeed, so many years, I have been holding this belief."
Liu Wei still maintained a lean body.
I can still play, but retiring is also a blessing
"Thank you to the fans, because for 25 years, you have been shouting again and again, which has given me the motivation to stand here all the time. Although this summer, I quietly changed my career, but it is because of these 25 years that I have learned self-discipline. ”
Standing in the spotlight, Liu Wei had some choking pauses when he said this, but he did not cry. Before walking onto this familiar stadium, he has told himself again and again, "Boys have tears, and I hope that I will try not to cry at the retirement ceremony." ”
On the big screen of the stadium, Liu Wei's back wearing the No. 8 jersey was reflected, and the four words "Tribute to Wei Da" were written next to it. Before Liu Wei began to give this farewell speech to the fans, the music of "Thief of Time" was repeatedly looped in the stadium.
Indeed, time "stole" Liu Wei's speed and bounce, and even his competitive state, but it did not "steal" his love for Shanghai basketball, "Thanks to the city of Shanghai, he witnessed my growth and tolerated my weakness." ”
Yao Ming presented liu wei with an award on the spot.
In fact, 8 months ago, when Liu Wei played the last home of the last season, he walked into the fans and couldn't help but cry. At that time, when the fans collectively shouted at him to "play another year" to retain, Liu Wei did not give a clear answer, but said to everyone, "I also want to look at my physical condition, first adjust the body."
However, after waiting for fans for a full five months, Liu Wei decided to retire on August 30 and transform into the manager of the Shanghai men's basketball team.
Taking off the No. 8 jersey does not actually mean that Liu Wei can no longer adapt to the confrontation of the CBA.
"Now in terms of physical condition, it feels good, I can still play." Liu Wei's words are permeated with the stubbornness and persistence of a player, and he himself admits that he still maintains almost the same routine as when he was a player. Friends around him also told the surging news reporter that Liu Wei often went out for a run at 5 o'clock in the morning this summer and maintained strength training.
"But now it's also a natural choice, in fact, from the time of the player days, every decision will be communicated with the leaders, coaches, family and friends. So in fact, retiring is also quite lucky, I have a lot of choices, I can be a coach and can choose other paths, but in the end I chose a way to make myself happy, to do my own happy work. ”
It was precisely because it was his own decision that he did not utter the word "regret" when it came to retirement. On the contrary, being able to return to the Shanghai men's basketball team after four years of "wandering" and pulling down the curtain of his player career here is more of a happiness for Liu Wei.
Yao Ming attended Liu Wei's retirement ceremony, and behind him was the "Tribute to Wei Da" on the big screen.
Look down on the data and thank your opponents for making themselves
At this elaborate retirement ceremony, Yao Ming and Li Qiuping both quietly watched Liu Wei, as well as Liu Peng, Jia Xiaozhong, Wang Ligang, Xu Yang, Ge Minhui and Wang Sizhang, these old teammates who had long left the stadium. But when they get together because of Liu Wei, they represent the most glorious time that Shanghai basketball has ever had.
If Yao Ming is the best player cultivated by Shanghai basketball; then Liu Wei is the best spiritual symbol bred by Shanghai basketball.
After 23 years of professional playing for the Shanghai men's basketball team for 19 seasons, Liu Wei left his best time on this court, and the data records in the team were also written with Liu Wei's name - the first number of appearances, the first number of wins, the first score, the first number of assists, the first number of steals, and the second number of rebounds.
Just last season, Liu Wei also became the third "Mr. Wanfen" in the CBA league, which is not only his personal glory, but also the glory of Shanghai basketball.
"After all these years, to be honest, I don't really value data very much anymore. Many people say that it is a pity, because I am a few assists and seem to be the first, but I know that a few assists may be a matter of a few games, it is not important, these records are actually left to the younger generations to surpass. ”
Years of ups and downs have left the 39-year-old defender looking down on the numbers. You know, he is fourth with 10,147 points in total; second with 2,591 assists; fifth with 960 total steals; and second with 668 appearances.
But he is more grateful to the opponents who once stood in front of him than the data— in his opinion, it is the opponents who catch up and block to achieve what he is today.
"I really have to thank my opponents, because if a person doesn't have an opponent, you won't improve; if a person doesn't have an opponent, you won't find your own shortcomings; if a person doesn't have an opponent, you won't improve yourself from failure." 」
Liu Wei himself said that he took all his opponents to heart, including those memorable moments and painful experiences of failure, but there was a ball that was a crucial battle in his career, and even in the past 20 years or so, it has become a driving force to push him forward.
"It should be said that it was the first victory over the Bayi men's basketball team in 1997. It was my first season in the CBA, and we won the Bayi men's basketball team on the road, which had a very deep impact on my career. ”
That year, Liu Wei was 17 years old and had just been promoted to the first team. In the first half of the season, Liu Wei was still a substitute for the team, but in the second half of the season, Coach Li Qiuping promoted him to the main force. Then, facing Wang Zhizhi and Liu Yudong, Liu Wei and Yao Ming joined forces to defeat the powerful Bayi, which was the first time that the Shanghai men's basketball team defeated the Bayi men's basketball team, and finally won a narrow victory.
At the scene of the retirement ceremony, Liu Wei also told the story of the time again, "Before the game, I was in the same bedroom as Yao Ming, Yao Ming's legs suddenly cramped, we tossed for an hour to recover, and it was also that cramp that made Yao Ming think we could win." ”
In fact, There are too many wonderful games in Liu Wei's career, including the 2002 championship and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but Liu Wei attaches great importance to that victory, "because after that victory, I was not afraid to play, nor was I afraid of my opponents." ”
Liu Wei's retirement declaration is full of true feelings.
Learn psychology well and sharpen your mouth
23 years of career ups and downs, from the glory of standing on the championship podium to the struggle to be blamed and questioned by fans, but all this eventually became a memory with the end of the retirement ceremony.
In Liu Wei's own words, "This is the end of a career, in fact, the beginning of another career." ”
At the retirement ceremony, Liu Wei got a shirt embroidered with "Shanghai" and No. 8 for several years, and after that, the Shanghai men's basketball team will no longer have the next player wearing the No. 8 jersey. Liu Wei's jersey will also be hung under the dome of the stadium in the future along with Yao Ming's No. 15 shirt and Zhang Wenqi's No. 6 jersey.
And Liu Wei's wife put on a tie with the shark logo on him at the scene of the retirement ceremony, and in a suit, Liu Wei really began the work of team leader. In fact, as early as August 31, after officially accepting the appointment, Liu Wei has been constantly contacting and learning new knowledge.
"Before, under the group's arrangement, I tried a lot of firsts and participated in a lot of activities, but the real team leader work officially began on November 2, and then I had to follow the team completely, and on the morning of the game day, I was going to have a joint meeting of the team to determine the list of matches and some related systems. Then, after taking over, Jiushi Group also hoped that I could establish a party organization in the men's basketball team. ”
Talking about his future work, Liu Wei gushed endlessly, he compared himself to "SpongeBob SquarePants", to constantly absorb and learn.
For Liu Wei, the pressure of new identity and new job is no less than his player period, and there are more things to learn, "Li Qiuping's guidance is mainly in the technical aspects of the players, and what I manage is the spirit and style of the players." In the past, as a player, you just had to think about training and thinking about how to target different opponents, but now you have to look at all aspects. ”
Liu Wei has always been a person who does not accept defeat, so he has begun to make various preparations from the moment he decided to assume the identity of "Liu Leader".
"I've been reading a lot of books lately, like psychology, and fortunately my wife is a psychiatrist. I also communicate with her a lot and learn how to do psychological counseling and how to communicate with players. ”
In addition to studying psychology, Liu Wei also began to hone his mouth - before the start of the league, Liu Wei took the initiative to move back to the team, "In fact, before I was a player who said less and did more, but now that I am the leader, I have to say more and do more." ”
In the final analysis, Liu Wei did all this for the Shanghai men's basketball team.
As he himself said, "As a team leader, you should try to convert the negative energy in the team into positive energy, just like the team has about 80% of the combat effectiveness, and the team leader may be able to release another 10% through psychological counseling and communication, in fact, this will be of great help to the team to win." ”
Whether it is the end of his career as a player or the beginning of his team manager's career, Liu Wei is moving forward with Shanghai Basketball. Such a one-man, one-city should be the most moving story in the CBA League.