Tan Kaiyuan: More Chinese players are needed to boldly go out with me

Reporter Wang Wei reported On the evening of February 3, Spanish first-division team Espanyol Football Club officially announced that Chinese player Tan Kaiyuan joined Espanyol B team.

This is Tan Kaiyuan's second stay in the ocean. After being hit by the first stay in the ocean, Tan Kaiyuan did not compete for a long time, almost deserted for nine months, and indeed felt pressure from his family and other aspects, but he did not give up because of this. The 21-year-old did not choose an offer from a domestic club with an annual salary of one million, but decided to embark on the road to stay in the ocean again.

Good things take a long time. In the process of this transfer, from negotiating the transfer rules, handling work permits and work visas, and notarization and certification of various procedures, almost every step has encountered difficulties, and the agent team and Tan Kaiyuan persevered together, worked hard and finally waited for a good result.

Tan Kaiyuan departs for Spain as soon as February 8, and he hopes to achieve the small goal first: "In the remaining months of the 2022-23 season, first establish a foothold in the B team, adapt to the rhythm of the league, the team's technical and tactical play, local life and language, etc., and the long-term goal is definitely to enter the first team." ”

Tan Kaiyuan said in an exclusive interview with this newspaper: "I think that Chinese players staying in the ocean are not just relying on one person to work hard, more players are needed to boldly go out with me, the number of Chinese players staying in the ocean increases, and the level of Chinese football will naturally slowly improve." ”

◆"Football": The process of joining RCD Espanyol is complete, is this stay in the ocean smooth?

Tan Kaiyuan: This time it was Espanyol Football Club and Guangzhou Football Club who negotiated the transfer. Now my level of football at home is not top-notch, there are still many aspects to improve, my idea is to work hard, play abroad and improve myself. I went to Spain to learn football with the team of Evergrande Football School in the second year of junior high school, and I knew the coach of the current Espanyol B team a few years ago.

◆What is the goal you set for yourself when you joined Espanyol B team?

The remaining months of the 2022-23 season must be based in the B team, adapt to the rhythm of the league, the team's technical and tactical play, local life and language, etc., and the long-term goal is definitely to enter the first team, but step by step, not to be ambitious, do what you need to do now, and be down-to-earth.

I think now put my position a little lower, Chinese players to play abroad is originally low, I think Chinese players stay in the ocean is not just one person to work hard, more players are needed to boldly go out with me, the number of Chinese players in the ocean will increase, the level of Chinese football will naturally slowly improve. Now foreign clubs looking at Chinese players may have the feeling that the level is lower than that of Japanese and Korean players, and Japanese and Korean players are now performing well abroad. In my opinion, no matter whether your ability is low or high, good or bad, try to go out first, there are a large number of players going out to play abroad, and strive to raise the vision of European football for Chinese players.

There is a good aspect in Espanyol B, that is, the first team can directly enter the first team to play La Liga without signing up if necessary, and Espanyol B and the first team participating in La Liga train at the same time in the next field and can learn. The first team draws a lot from Team B, and at most seven or eight players are drawn at once. I went to Espanyol B to play well, train hard, try to get a chance to be transferred to the first team, rush and try to play in La Liga.

Espanyol is a club with a very cultural heritage. A statue of former Espanyol captain Harke is permanently erected outside the stand passage at the El Prat stadium, Espanyol's home stadium, and in the 21st minute of every home game for Espanyol, fans give a standing ovation to the old captain Halke. Espanyol and Espanyol fans used this to remember No. 21 captain Halke, who died of a heart attack while training overseas in 2009. The spirit of Halke has become a sustenance for Espanyol fans and inspires the club to move forward.

Espanyol Club has such a good cultural heritage, I will definitely learn and integrate into the club culture when I go to Espanyol Club. Spanish football is almost always sold-out at all levels, and even small teams have a lot of fans. The football environment in Spain is brought out by this football culture, when we were in Spain, we participated in many small cups, the atmosphere was very good, and it felt like enjoying life while enjoying football. The thing about football is completely out of love and has always enjoyed football.

◆"Football": You used to train and live in Spain with the team of Evergrande Football School, this time again, you should be able to adapt quickly, right? Are there any difficulties to overcome this time?

Tan Kaiyuan: Actually, there are no problems with life and language, and the most important thing I need to do is to play well there. If you want to say difficult, it's professional stuff, you have to go up on your own ability, which is what every player who wants to play has to face.

◆Cannavaro once said of you - (Tan) is a very young player, although there are many areas that still need to be improved, but there is no denying that he has unique points, calm in front of goal, every shot has ideas. In the past two years, you have been working hard to stay in the ocean, playing in Spain, what is the attraction for you and what can help you improve?

I think there are a few points in terms of attractiveness, the first is pure, Spanish football is pure, playing well is good, playing poorly is not good, you need your own efforts to fight for a place; The second is that the football atmosphere is very good, and the atmosphere of Spanish football feels very comfortable; The third is that Spanish football is fast-paced and allows you to adapt to a faster pace. These characteristics have always attracted me, and I was reluctant to return to China after studying in Spain with my teammates from Evergrande Football School, and since then I have always wanted to play in Europe again.

◆What was the biggest feeling during the period when I went to Spain to study with the Evergrande football school?

The rhythm of Spanish football starts with the junior game much faster than we do in the country, and in this rhythm it helps you improve the technical aspects of the details. The pace of playing football in China is certainly not as fast as in Spain, playing in China for a long time, naturally integrated into this environment, playing with foreign opponents, you can immediately see the difference in rhythm, if you play abroad for a long time, once you return home, you will feel a lot slower.

At that time, the team of the Spanish branch of Evergrande Football School was actually not much different from the team of the same age group in Spain, including when playing with them, it was not said that the scene was suppressed. But after a while, you can see that the gap is widening, and when they reach adulthood, they will definitely not be able to beat them. Their rhythm is getting faster and faster day by day, the intensity is getting higher day by day, and they will also do a lot of targeted training for players, and long-term in this high-paced, high-intensity training and competition, coupled with targeted training, is definitely stronger.

◆"Football": Your attitude towards Liuyang is very resolute, when did the dream of Liuyang begin?

Tan Kaiyuan: I will turn 22 this year, this age can not be regarded as a young general, in fact, my dream of staying in the ocean is not a day or two, I have had the dream of staying in the ocean since I was a child, and now I have such a very definite opportunity, gratitude. Although I encountered all the difficulties during the Serbian league trial last year, none of this stopped me from continuing my dream of staying abroad. This year is such a great opportunity, I hope to seize it and cherish it.

◆You are still in the country to handle personal affairs and preparations, when will you leave for Spain?

It will depart as soon as February 8.

◆Wu Lei once played at Espanyol club, seniors Sun Jihai, Yang Chen and other successful in the European League, if you want to become a player like them, you still need to continue to work hard, what inspiration does their experience give you?

In fact, I didn't set that far goals, what I want now is to play every game well, practice every training session well, and live every day well, I think if I do my best to do well, there will definitely be no bad results.

◆What would you like to say to the fans who care about you?

Thank you to all the fans who supported me, thank you for your love! In fact, I have a lot to say to my fans and friends, but it is useless to say more, I think the best reward for the fans who support me is to work hard to improve myself and give my best performance.