Su Maozhen: At the end of 1989, when I was trying out at Manchester United Club, I fractured my right ankle bone, and in September of the following year, the injury was not good enough, and I couldn't wait to return to shandong after a long absence.
Due to the poor record fell to the first B, the Shandong team at that time was already disorganized, leaving only a group of young players who had just come up from the youth team. Even in the absence of major generals, I still feel the pressure of competition. Because at that time, there were four or five teammates in the team, including Wang Dongning, Wang Bin, and Tang Xiaocheng, competing with me for the forward position.
In early October, the Shandong team went to Wuhan to participate in the National Football Championship. When I reached the semi-finals, I was sent to play and basically played at a good level. After returning to Jinan, in order to prepare for the upcoming A and B League, I trained harder, and as my state recovered, my self-confidence increased day by day. At the end of the month, the National A and B League kicked off. In more than a month of conquest, the Shandong team, which lost many main forces, was like a boat on the tip of the waves, and the final record was tied for 10th place with Shenyang Troops and Foshan, but in the end, the calculated goal difference ranked 11th, regrettably falling into the second class. The old first-class team of the past has been reduced to such a point, writing one of the worst records in the history of Shandong football.
The team fell into the second division, in the face of criticism from all directions, young us have been shaken and abandoned, usually listless, when training, I and a few good friends often gathered at the home of the sports team coach Ma Deqing and his wife, they treated us as their sons, we also affectionately called them "dry father, dry mother", our favorite food is the dumplings of the dry mother's bag, once I ate four or five plates, so that I could not stand up straight.
Seeing this situation of the team, the family was also very anxious, and my parents called me to persuade me: "Zhen Zhen, the Shandong team has no hope, take advantage of the fact that you are young now, and after retiring, Qingdao will find a good job." "They also said that they had contacted several good units, and people were interested in me and agreed to accept them."
Listening to my parents' advice, I was really a little moved, but if I really wanted to give up my beloved football career, I still couldn't make up my mind. After a few wanderings and thoughts, I finally chose to stay and devote myself to the preparation for the Second Division.
The person who loved me the most was gone
In May 1991, we were in Beijing for the second division preliminaries, and at the end of the game, the coach sent me a telegram from my mother who had been holding on to him for a few days, and I immediately rushed back to my home in Qingdao.
The people who loved me the most finally left me, and I, my father and brother, stayed at the bedside for two months at night, and all the efforts of doctors and nurses did not stop the black hand of the disease.
On the third day of sending my mother away, I stepped on a train to the provincial capital. This is my mother's last wish, and she hopes that I can achieve a brilliant career. It was also my determination: to comfort my mother's spirit in heaven with outstanding results and goals. During that time, I was more silent than at any other time, trained harder, and was in better shape.
During the National Day, we sat at the home of Jinan, took all the opponents with the momentum of destruction and decay, and rushed into the first B. In the game, I scored five goals alone and became the top scorer of the whole team.
Immediately after the spring training in 1992, we transferred to prepare for the National A and B League, and the Provincial Sports Committee had already set a goal for us to rush A.
In early May, the first stage of the First And B League was in full swing, and we were ranked second in the second division and qualified for the next stage. I have fully recovered physically and mentally, scoring five goals in the game.
In September, the second phase of the league reignited, with four teams qualifying from two divisions engaged in a home-and-away round robin. In the first round, we played at home to Sichuan, but we were forced to draw. Although I scored a goal for my team, I also made a stupid move. During the game, I was extremely thirsty, so I ran to the outside of the field to drink water, not only was the referee shown a yellow card, but also in the second round of home against Jiangsu team can not play, affecting the attack of the whole team, resulting in being forced to draw by the opponent.
After more than a month of fighting, the final four teams dramatically accumulated 6 points, but calculating the goal difference, we and Sichuan continued to stay in the first division B.
During that time, several things strongly stimulated my self-esteem:
At the beginning of July, Chen Chengda, vice chairman of the AFC, commented on me when he was guiding his work in Qingdao: Su Maozhen has good conditions, but often can only rush in the penalty area, which is difficult to become a climate, and the forwards must also organize attacks.
When I watched the "Fan Newspaper" on November 8, I found that I was not selected for the national best team, and I was very annoyed: I have struggled all these years and have not yet had a place in domestic football, which is a shame!
On 30 December, it was reported in the newspapers of the day that giggs, a teammate in the Manchester United youth team, was going to transfer to AC Milan, and the transfer fee offered by AC Milan was £15 million. Oh, my God! It's incredible! In 1989, he also played with me in the Manchester United youth team, often mischievous, got his girlfriend pregnant at the age of 17, and repeatedly caused the landlord's dissatisfaction, Giggs has become more prominent! And I am so ashamed that I have not achieved anything so far!
I secretly decided to study hard, play hard, enter the national team as soon as possible, and one day become a star in world football!
The next day, in a brand new training journal, I summarized my 20 years of life for the first time:
In the past few years, there have been successes and failures, setbacks and misfortunes, and we have tasted everything, and we should learn from experience and lessons. Now, although my career is at a low ebb, I am on the rise in terms of technology, awareness and physical fitness. I'm not going to get depressed, on the contrary, I'm going to try harder to move forward.
To encourage myself, I also asked a friend for a motto published in Hong Kong, sandwiched it in my training diary, and whenever I encountered frustration and depression, I would take it out and read it in my heart:
Eastern sunrise
Smell the chickens dancing
For my ideals
Spread your wings
——Qilu Evening News, January 18, 2003
