Reporter Chen Yong reported that in the 22nd round of the Chinese Super League, the final round of the Chinese Super League match between Wuhan and Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic was carried out to the 8th minute, and the Wuhan team replaced the No. 8 veteran captain Yao Hanlin, and the players from both sides lined up to greet him. Subsequently, the official microblog of the Wuhan team released a message, officially announcing Yao Hanlin's retirement, and announcing that the Wuhan team would permanently seal the No. 8 shirt of the Wuhan team.
For many foreign fans, Yao Hanlin's name is not very loud, but Wuhan fans know what the 36-year-old veteran, born in 1985, means to Wuhan football. In the past 18 years, he has witnessed the ups and downs of Wuhan football and tasted the bittersweet and bittersweet of Wuhan football people. In the past 18 years, Yao Hanlin has been praised for two points: one is that for Wuhan football, he resolutely returned to his hometown Wuhan to play in the Chinese First Division from the Chinese Super League team; the other is that he has followed wuhan football three times to succeed in the super, which has become a good story. Today, the Wuhan team has stabilized in the Chinese Super League, Wuhan football also has a second Chinese Super League team, Yao Hanlin can finally choose to retire with peace of mind.
In 2004, yao Hanlin, who was only 18 years old, debuted in the Chinese Super League, when he also created the record of the youngest player in the history of Wuhan football to compete in the Chinese Super League, he followed the Wuhan Tianlong Yellow Crane Tower team to successfully overtake, and then gradually grew into the backbone of the team; in 2008, after the withdrawal of Optics Valley, Yao Hanlin joined Jiangsu Sainty, in the 2009 season, he played 28 times in jiangsu team, and once had the opportunity to join the national team, but after the end of the season, he chose to return to his hometown. Joining the Hubei Greenery, which has just formed a team to successfully rush the first division, in order to continue the fire of Hubei football. In 2012, in the first season after Zall took over Wuhan football, Yao Hanlin, as the core of the central front, contributed goals and assists in many key battles to help the team to surpass success, which was his second experience; in the 2013 season, Wuhan team failed to gain a foothold in the Chinese Super League, Yao Hanlin also lay dormant in the Chinese League with the team for 5 years, and in the 2018 season, as the captain, he once again led the team to surpass success, which was his third overtaking.
Such a Yao Hanlin, although he does not have such a high reputation in Chinese football, he is a symbol of persistence and a representative of loyalty to Wuhan football. After retiring, Yao Hanlin will enter the first team coaching staff of Wuhan team. Before him, Dalian goalkeeper Sun Shoubo, who had played for the team for nine years, had transformed into a first-team goalkeeper assistant coach after retiring, and a number of retired Hubei players such as Tong Xiaoxing and Wang Kang also joined the Zhuoer youth training.
◆ "Football": Looking back on your career, there must be a lot of unforgettable moments in the three experiences of Wuhan football, where do you feel the biggest difference?
Yao Hanlin: The three times I rushed to the super is very memorable: the first time was when my newborn calf was not afraid of the tiger, representing the Tianlong Yellow Crane Tower team, as a young player and the team rushed to the team; the second time was in 2012, when I came back from Jiangsu and helped the team rush as the main player in the first season of Zhuoer's takeover; the third time was in 2018, as the captain and the team rushed together.
These three experiences are very memorable for me, and there are two games that are more vivid for me: in 2012, playing Hunan Xiangtao away was the key battle to rush over, my waist was injured in the game, at halftime, Zheng Guidance (Zheng Xiong) asked me if I could do it, I said I could still insist, first assisted Tans in the second half, and then I scored the winning goal, after this game, the road to overtaking was paved; the second game was the away game against Shanghai East Asia, which can be said to be the battle of Tianwangshan in the Chinese League A at that time. I scored a spoon penalty and the only winning goal, which was also a key battle to overtake.
Fate is also wonderful, after three successful overtakings, I only got a medal on the spot in the 2018 season. In 2004, I broke my waist and took a year off, not present when the award was awarded; in 2012, the medial collateral ligament was broken, and I was in Beijing for surgery when the award was awarded. So injuries, for me, have always been with me in my career.
◆ What was the most memorable goal of my career?
The goal I remember most was the one I scored in last year's FA Cup game against Taizhou. For me, last year's year was very difficult, I couldn't even register at the beginning of the year, and I never had the opportunity to participate in systematic training, when the team played the FA Cup after playing the play-offs, and there was a shortage of people, so I went up.
The reason why it is unforgettable is that in the most difficult time, I did not give up, proved myself with goals and practical actions, and proved that as long as I have the opportunity to stand on the field for Wuhan team, I will do my best and will be worthy of the club and all the people who support me.
◆ "Football": What moved Wuhan fans the most was that in 2009, you originally played well in the Chinese Super League, but in 2010 you chose to return to your hometown to play in the Chinese First Division. What did you think about at the time and why did you make that choice?
Yao Hanlin: The original intention of coming back was to hope that a city as big as Wuhan could have a Chinese Super League team, and I also hoped that I could lead these brothers to rush to the top, I was trained in Wuhan, so I came back with a grateful heart. Then there are family reasons, my mother's health was not very good at that time, as a son I hope to come back and have more time with her. For these two reasons, I resolutely came back.
◆ When you retire, what do you want to say to your family?
Thank you so much to my mother, she is really a very great mother. For me in a single-parent family, she has done a very good job in every way, not only to be my mother, but also to be my father, but also to be my friend, and to support me very, very much in terms of playing football. I would also like to say thank you to my wife for taking good care of the family and the children.
◆ "Football": This season, Wuhan team has introduced a number of local players in the Chinese Super League, as an old captain, how do you usually communicate with them?
Yao Hanlin: I myself have gone out to play football for a year, and I think it is really not easy for players to leave their hometown to play football in other places, and there are many things on their backs, so as a captain, as a Wuhan person, I still hope that they can feel the warmth of home here. They are far away from their families, then we are their families. This year, like Yang Boyu, Zhao Hongluo, Tian Yinong, Ye Chongqiu, we often go out to eat together, get together, communicate more, and accompany and help them more in Wuhan.
◆ What do you think of the young people who have emerged in the Wuhan team over the years?
There are many young players in the team this year, including Liu Yun and Wang Zhifeng before, I often chat with them, I see my young self in them, I think they are very energetic, playing football is very good, and their character is also very good. Now the other young players in the team are also very potential, I think this is the hope of Wuhan football, I hope they are getting better and better, and I hope that they will take Wuhan football to a higher height.
◆ Retirement is definitely a difficult choice, how do you consider this process?
Retiring is certainly a regret, but this is also an experience that needs to be faced in life. At the beginning of the year, Li Xiaopeng's guidance actually gave me a lot of opportunities, I was also showing myself, showing myself, and the state was also very good, but there were too many injuries, and I finally had to make this decision. I would like to thank the two head coaches this year: Li Xiaopeng and Li Jinyu, who have great respect for the players, are very fair and understand the ideas of the players. Here, I thank them.
◆ "Football": Retired jersey numbers are rare in domestic football circles, and this time the club will also permanently seal the No. 8 jersey you wear, which is your recognition and respect. For Zall, for Wuhan football, what do you want to express?
Yao Hanlin: I was very surprised and very touched after hearing this news. Having the No. 8 shirt retire with me is the biggest recognition of me.
Thank you very much for the persistence of Zhuoer for ten years, thank you to our investor Yan Zong, as a private enterprise, ten years of as a day to pay and invest, especially in the case of such a serious epidemic in the past two years, the whole environment is not very good, he still insists on investing as always, as a person who has experienced Zall football for ten years, I am very admired and grateful to Yan Zong, here I want to say, thank you Mr. Yan, you have worked hard!
I also want to thank the club, thank you Tian Zong, Qin Zong for their help and encouragement to me, especially thank you Qin Zong, she has been coming to the club for nine years, it is not easy, she has paid a lot for Wuhan football, for each of our players. I think this club is really a very warm, very warm club and really have to thank everyone at the club.
◆ Wuhan football has been up and down for so many years, and now it is finally stable, does this also make you feel relieved?
When I came back from Jiangsu, my original intention was to hope that Wuhan could have a Chinese Super League team. Back to 2011 before Zhuoer took over, our team experienced a lot of difficulties, and even the team may have to sell to other places, our team members have to drift away to play football, and now this kind of one-city double super grandeur, we can't imagine at that time. It is precisely because Zhuoer stepped forward in the cold winter of Wuhan football and persevered for ten years that wuhan football has given Wuhan football a very stable development environment, so that more Wuhan players can return to their hometown to play football, and the situation of Wuhan football blooming now has been achieved. As a Wuhan footballer, I feel very proud and hope that through the efforts of all of us, this scene in Wuhan can continue and will get better and better.
◆ You're about to head to the coaching position, are you ready?
Now the club's arrangement is to let me enter the team's coaching staff, which for me, is to start from scratch, I will start from small things, starting from little by little, no matter what position and role, I have to learn more, understand, help this team more, so that Wuhan football is getting better and better.