The 35-year-old veteran of the national football team was once again selected for the Asian Cup, with a special identity, which aroused heated discussions among fans
"Late bloomer" is generally used to describe those talents who were unstable when they were young, and suddenly exploded in the professional field after entering old age. But when used in football and sports, it seems to be a bit inappropriate. Because competitive sports are all about youth. However, in the field of Chinese football, there is such a player who can be described as a "late bloomer", I don't know if it is the sadness of Chinese football, or if this player's identity is too special.
I believe many fans should know who this player is, he is the 35-year-old Tan Long, who has the highest exposure this year!
After the national football team announced the Asian Cup squad, the most eye-catching focus was not the defeat of naturalized players such as Exxon, but the 35-year-old Tan Long, who was selected for the Asian Cup this time.
When it comes to the name Tan Long, compared with veterans such as Wu Lei, Yan Junling, and Zhang Linpeng, I believe that many fans are not very familiar with him, because Tan Long has never been selected for the national team before he is 30 years old.
Tan Long's national team debut came at the 2018 China Cup (which has been discontinued), when he was selected for the national team for the first time at the age of 30. Subsequently, in 2019, Tan Long followed the Chinese team to compete in the East Asian Cup.
In last year's East Asian Cup, in the national football team's match against Hong Kong, China, Tan Long became the oldest goalscorer in the national football A-level competition at 34 years and 117 days. At the same time, this goal is also Tan Long's first goal in the national team.
Since the beginning of this year, Tan Long has begun to become the most exposed player in the national football team. He first squeezed out Wu Xi, Wu Lei and others at the Asian Games, and was selected for the national football Asian Games team as an overage player to represent the Asian Games team in the Asian Games. Subsequently, Tan Long was selected for the national football team for the World Preliminary Tournament, and played in the matches with Thailand and South Korea.
Generally speaking, a veteran over 34 years old can still be selected for the national team, there are only 2 possibilities, one is players like Wu Xi, Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng, who belong to the national team, they have proven themselves in the national team in the past. Tan Long obviously does not belong to this category, because he was only selected for the national team for the first time at the age of 30.
The second possibility is that the identity is more special. It can be seen from Tan Long's ability to be selected for the national football Asian Games team as an overage player, his identity is not simple. It's not that Tan Long has anything to do with it, but he represents an attitude.
Fans who know Tan Long know that he has been playing in the MLS since his debut. And the main reason why he went to play football in the United States is that his parents have immigrated to the United States. As a son, Tan Long could have obtained American citizenship, but Tan Long finally chose a U.S. green card and retained his Chinese nationality. This shows that Tan Long is still very patriotic in his bones and is eager to contribute his strength to Chinese football.
A player who is willing to give up his American citizenship and performs relatively well in the Chinese Super League, the Football Association naturally does not want to crack down on this kind of player who is eager to play for the national team, and it is natural for him to play in the Asian Games, the World Preliminary Tournament and the Asian Cup.
Of course, for Chinese football, Tan Long at the age of 35 ushered in the highlight moment of the national team, this kind of late result, I don't know if it is the sadness of Chinese football, or luck?
I also wish Tan Long can prove himself in the Asian Cup and strive to achieve better results for the national football team.