The 2023 FIFA Club World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia from December 12 to 22, and there will be seven teams participating in this Club World Cup, namely Champions League champion Manchester City, Copa Libertadores champion Fluminense, Oceania Champions League champion Auckland City, African Champions League champion Cairo Nacional, AFC Champions League champion Urawa Red Diamonds, CONCACAF Champions League champion León, and host Saudi Premier League champion Jeddah United.
Although there is no Chinese team participating in this Club World Cup, there is a Chinese player who will make his debut in Saudi Arabia - 33-year-old former Chinese Super League star Zhou Tong will accompany Auckland City to the Club World Cup, on November 28, the whole team will depart for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to the plan, they will have a 10-day training in Dubai, in order to adapt to the climate in the Middle East in advance, during which Auckland City will also play two warm-up matches. Zhou Tong is also on the list of Auckland City's Club World Cup appearance, he posted photos of his trip and a flight ticket to Dubai on social media, and said: "Experience this journey with your heart and learn to feel the top football." ”
This is also the first time in eight years that a Chinese player is expected to appear in the Club World Cup after Guangzhou Evergrande competed in the Club World Cup in 2015. The 33-year-old Zhou Tong plays as a midfielder and has played for many Chinese Super League teams such as Dalian Albin, Tianjin TEDA, Wuhan Zall and Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. On March 1 this year, Zhou Tong joined Auckland City FC in New Zealand, due to the lack of attention of the New Zealand league in China, Zhou Tong's stay abroad did not bring much heat. It is reported that the reason why Zhou Tong chose to stay in New Zealand at the end of his career has a certain relationship with his family, his wife chose to study in New Zealand, and Zhou Tong finally joined Auckland City more considering family factors.
In addition, Auckland City is the dominant league in New Zealand, having won the league title for ten consecutive years. With Australian Super League teams now competing in Asia, Auckland City are also very competitive in the Oceania Champions League and are regulars in the Club World Cup. Therefore, Zhou Tong chose to stay in Auckland City and realize his dream of "competing in the Club World Cup" is also one of the important reasons.
On March 25 this year, Zhou Tong made his debut as a starter with Auckland City in a 4-0 home win over Western Forces in the New Zealand Northern League. In the Northern League, Zhou Tong contributed one assist in 18 appearances and won the championship with the team.
Although he is not the absolute main force in the team, Zhou Tong is also an important rotation player. With the playoffs of the New Zealand League (New Zealand National Champions League) kicking off at the end of September, Zhou Tong currently has five appearances and came off the bench in the team's home game against Southern League runners-up Cashmere Industry FC, and scored a game-winning goal in the 1-0 deficit to help the team equalise in the 78th minute. Zhou Tong's goal also ignited the morale of Auckland City, and the team scored two more goals in the 90th and 93rd minutes to defeat Cashmere Industrial FC 3-1. After the game, Zhou Tong's performance was also praised by the New Zealand media.
As an important rotation player in the team, Zhou Tong is certainly an indispensable candidate in the list of players in the Club World Cup finalized by coach Leila this time. Auckland City FC general manager Watson spoke specifically about why he signed Zhoutong in an interview, saying: "After signing Zhoutong, we had wonderful chemistry between us. Zhou Tong came to Auckland with his wife and children to share his football philosophy and life plan with us. As an ambitious club, we love to recruit competitive players!"
Since the New Zealand league is semi-professional, it is difficult to pay players high salaries. It is reported that Zhou Tong's income in Auckland City can be called "low salary", so it is indeed admirable that he can bravely jump out of his "comfort zone" at the age of 33 and pursue his dream in an overseas league. In Auckland, the week pass was also pleasant. According to his social media disclosure, he is a player of Auckland City on Saturday, and will serve as the youth coach of the Auckland community on Sunday, "Busy and fulfilling, I will continue to contribute to community football and young people, so that more children can enter the field and enjoy the joy brought by football, which is my eternal goal!"
According to the schedule, Auckland City will play the first game of the Club World Cup on December 12, which is hosted by Saudi giants Jeddah United, and if Zhou Tong is available, he will be in dialogue with the likes of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, which will undoubtedly be a highlight of his career.
Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan According to Zhou Tong's Weibo
Edited by Ou Peng
(Download Red Star News, there are prizes for reporting!)