Zhang Yuan: I was shocked when Ka Shuai invited me back to the Chinese Super League, and I met Dai Weijun during my stay in Portugal

"Football" reporter Wang Wei interviewed Zhang Yuan, a member of the Beijing Guoan team, Zhang Yuan said that he was shocked when he received a call from Cannavaro inviting him to return to the Chinese Super League, and he met Dai Weijun during his stay in Portugal.

As a player from the football city of Dalian, Zhang Yuan, like many Dalian internationals, went to school in Northeast Road Primary School, a famous football school. After graduating from primary school, Zhang Yuan was selected into the Shide echelon, and then was selected into the list of Spanish overseas students.

As a young player who stayed in the United States, Zhang Yuan was more prominent, and in the process of learning football in Spain, he was recognized by foreign coaches, and his personal technical ability was greatly improved.

Just when his overseas career was improving rapidly, Zhang Yuan encountered the dissolution of the team, Zhang Yuan and his friends had no source of funds for the club, and the only choice was to return to China.

At that time, Dalian formed a Dalian transcendence team, and welcomed this group of players to come, and offered a monthly salary of twenty or thirty thousand, which was a very high number for such a young player at that time, so many of Zhang Yuan's teammates chose to join Dalian Transcendence.

Zhang Yuan was invited by Dalian beyond the key points, but after studying in Spain, he believes that the interruption of his stay abroad at this time has an impact on his growth. He believes that European coaching and other aspects are much better than those in China, and he hopes to persevere, believing that it can help his technical and tactical ability and career.

So, when many teammates chose to return to China, Zhang Yuan resolutely decided that even if his family paid for it, he would insist on continuing to stay abroad. He then discussed the topic with his family.

At that time, it was about 200,000 yuan a year to stay abroad, but the family firmly supported Zhang Yuan in continuing to stay abroad, "I also have to support my son to stay abroad by smashing pots and selling iron." ”

It was because of Zhang Yuan's steadfastness that he gained the support of his family, and good luck followed. In the process of studying abroad, Zhang Yuan, who was recognized by foreign coaches, was selected by the Portuguese Mafra Club and got the opportunity to continue to stay abroad for free, which also paved the way for his subsequent development.

Regarding Zhang Yuan's stay in Portugal, many people do not know the process. In Zhang Yuan's heart, he has always regarded this experience of studying abroad as a valuable asset. "In the face of these two choices, in fact, I never thought that it would be more comfortable to stay in China, because I really wanted to go out and have a look, even if I spent money to study, it was better than staying here. Zhang Yuan recalled.

Staying in Portugal was not all smooth sailing, and the first problem Zhang Yuan faced was the registration qualifications. As he was under the age of 18 at the time, he could not be registered, so Zhang Yuan could only train with the first team of the trial team in the morning, train with the youth team in the afternoon, and occasionally get the opportunity to play in some community cup matches and friendly matches of the first team. But it may be precisely because of this opportunity that Zhang Yuan has a deeper understanding of Portuguese football youth training, and his foot skills have been qualitatively improved.

It is worth mentioning that during his stay in Portugal, he met Dai Weijun, who also came for a trial, and both were in their teens at that time. "It feels very kind to meet Chinese in a foreign country to try out, and Dai Weijun has already performed very characteristic at that time, I am very impressed with him, I did not expect that we would become teammates in Shenzhen later, it is really fateful." ”

Liuyang's turnaround came in 2015, when Zhang Yuan joined FC Llorish in Portugal and represented Llorish Under-19s in the youth league. Wearing the No. 10 shirt, scoring on his debut, and being a regular in the national youth team, Zhang Yuan also became the captain of Llorish club Under-19 at that time. There were many Chinese teenagers who stayed abroad at that time, but not many could serve as the captain of the youth team in Portuguese clubs. And this experience of being the captain of Llorish U19, Zhang Yuan rarely mentions it to the outside world, because his mind is only on football itself. However, he has always been proud of this unforgettable experience and always motivates himself to move forward.

When Portugal was gradually on the right track, Zhang Yuan's overseas career came to an abrupt end because of a phone call from Cannavaro.

'After Llorish Under-19s came out, Sporting Lisbon came to me and asked if I would like to train with their B team, but I didn't think I would get too many opportunities there. Zhang Yuan said.

During his time at Llorish, Zhang Yuan was already a key player in the national youth and national youth teams. At that time, many domestic clubs began to invest heavily in team building. One day, Zhang Yuan suddenly received a phone call from Tianjin, asking him to contact the Tianjin Quanjian team.

The head coach of Tianjin Quanjian at that time was Cannavaro, who was once the World Footballer of the Year. Recalling joining Tianjin Quanjian, Zhang Yuan felt a little dreamy at the time. "My agent told me that Cannavaro called and asked me if I wanted to play with him? I said how could it be, he was Mr. Golden Ball, and I thought it was a lie made up by my agent to get me to play back home. ”

Later, when Cannavaro personally dialed Zhang Yuan's phone, Zhang Yuan realized that this was true. "Ka Shuai said that he watched the video of my game in the national youth team, thought that Yang Liyu and I were very good, and wanted me to play with him. As a joke, the phone call left me completely confused at the time when I was 19 years old, and it was an experience I couldn't have imagined. ”

After returning to China, Zhang Yuan split between Tianjin and Guizhou, and then officially joined the Shenzhen team in July 2020. It is worth mentioning that before Zhang Yuan transferred to the Shenzhen team, Cannavaro, who was the head coach of the Guangzhou team at the time, also asked him if he would like to play in the Guangzhou team, but in order to get more opportunities to play, Zhang Yuan politely declined Cannavaro's invitation and became a member of the Shenzhen team.

During the three years in the Shenzhen team, Zhang Yuan got a stable opportunity to play, and often scored "fairy balls", which allowed him to gradually gain a firm foothold on the stage of the Chinese Super League. After representing the Shenzhen team in July last year and playing against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Zhang Yuan once again packed his bags and joined Beijing Guoan.

Coming to the capital, Beijing, Zhang Yuan said that he could really feel that it would be different from other places, and that it was a place full of spotlights. And he also admitted that when he entered the Gongti, he would experience a unique sense of sacredness.

Zhang Yuan used to be a regular member of the national youth teams at all levels, but he is about to enter the age of 27, and his national team dream has not yet been realized. For him, he must be in better shape with the Beijing Guoan team as soon as possible and prove himself with a season of playing at a real level. Therefore, Zhang Yuan returned to the training ground in December, because he knows that time waits for no one, in his words, to be "ruthless" to himself, "What I can do now is to practice hard, play well in the 2024 season, give full play to myself, I want to test whether I can do it, and if I can't, I will continue to practice." ”

Entering the new season, Zhang Yuan is following Beijing Guoan for winter training in Portugal. Returning to the country where he stayed abroad in the past, Zhang Yuan said that in addition to training, he should think about the road he has traveled over the years. Fully aware of himself, and then set off again, 27-year-old Zhang Yuan made the final preparations for this journey.