In the history of Chinese football, foreign aid has a variety of stories, some successful, some sad, some embarrassing. Paulinho is the foreign signing who has left a glorious mark on both the Chinese Super League and Barcelona, while Bangura is the player destined to take a huge blow in his career.
Looking back, Bangula's football path is full of twists and turns. Born in 1979, he is a football genius from Guinea. Before coming to China, he had already shown extraordinary personal ability at the Africa Cup of Nations, almost single-handedly leading Guinea to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. This brilliant performance earned him the opportunity to play in France, however, his career was destined to come to an abrupt end with a single game.
It was on July 7, 2007, when Bangura's Shenyang Jinde team faced Qingdao in a make-up match. The game was in full swing, but during a scramble, Qingdao's Lu Gang kicked Bangula's eye, causing Bangula's right eye to burst and completely blind. This scene is shocking, and the professional football career is over in an instant.
Bangura was rushed to the hospital for two surgeries, but the results were heartbreaking and he was permanently blind in his right eye. Fortunately, his vision in his left eye, although slightly affected, did not interfere with his daily life. However, he has been unable to set foot on the football field again, which is undoubtedly a heavy blow for a young player full of passion and dreams.
In just three months in China, Bangura had to leave reluctantly, ending his professional football career. He has performed relatively little in China, scoring just 621 minutes of playing time and an assist. Although the Chinese Football Association later paid him 1.3 million yuan, years later, Bangula's life is still full of challenges.
It is reported that Bangura currently makes a living from advertising, and such a meager income is far from comparable to his football career. His fate is embarrassing: he is the player who lost his sight because he played, the foreign aid who suffered a huge setback in Chinese football.
Not only Bangula, but also other foreign players in Chinese football have faced similar difficulties. Looking back at the 2019 Chinese Super League, in the match between Henan and Dalian Yifang, Qin Sheng, a translator of six countries, broke the leg of Henan striker Dorado in a scramble, which was heartbreaking. Dorado suffered this blow right from the start of the game, but his tenacity and courage are admirable. Dorado successfully returned after a year of recovery and still performed well.
Similar situations are not uncommon on the football field, where injuries and accidents often accompany the sport. It's a huge ordeal for injured players, but also a heartache for fans and spectators. Football is a fiercely confrontational sport, but no one wants to see players get hurt.
In these cases, we should not easily blame the player for intentional or unintentional action. Every game is full of uncertainty, and injuries are often unpredictable. We can only hope that the players will give their all in the game and take every game seriously.
Especially in the current difficult moment of Chinese football, the players should show tenacious and fighting spirit. Football is a collective sport that requires the hard work and dedication of each player. I hope that the spring of Chinese football will come as soon as possible, and every player can show his best on the field and contribute his or her own strength to the future of Chinese football.