Change back to nationality and it will explode! China's first naturalized player shined in Europe, scoring 5 goals in 7 games and becoming the core of the team
Recently, the naturalization of the national football team in Chinese football has been very hot! On the one hand, the Indonesian Olympic team has become the biggest dark horse in the U23 Asian Cup with 12 naturalized players. On the other hand, after the new head coach of the national football team, Ivankovic, took office, the reuse and naturalization achieved very good results. That's why fans and the media have made suggestions for naturalized players!
In fact, in the early years, the Chinese national football team had as many as 9 naturalized players. But for various reasons, the Chinese national football team has not played the role of naturalized players to the fullest! Yes and no, even they don't even have a chance to get into the national team. Obviously, our national football team is not very successful in naturalization! Some naturalized players changed back to their original nationality because they lacked opportunities to play or even did not perform as expected. Among them, Hou Yongyong is like this!
Hou Yongyong was born in Norway in 1998! My mother is from Henan, and I met my lover from Norway while working in Japan. After marriage, he moved to Norway. When he was a child, Hou Yongyong showed a very good football talent. At the age of 15, Hou Yongyong entered the Norwegian U15 national team. was once called a genius boy by fans! But then due to multiple injuries, his form declined severely. Returned from injury and didn't find his form for a long time. In 2019, as a naturalized player, he was recruited by the Chinese Super League giants Beijing Guoan! Hou Yongyong first played in the reserve team and then landed in the Chinese Super League as an Under-23 player. It is a pity that Hou Yongyong once again stayed away from the field because of injury. During his three-year tenure at Beijing Guoan, he played a total of 32 games for the team and scored five goals. In February 2023, Lanheim Football Club of the Norwegian First Division officially announced that Hou Yongyong officially joined as a free agent. It wasn't until this time that fans knew that Hou Yongyong had changed back to Norwegian nationality! Although he is a frequent visitor to the Norwegian national youth team, Hou Yongyong has not entered the Chinese national team once since he was naturalized! Obviously, Hou Yongyong's naturalization was a failure!
Returning to Norwegian football, how did Hou Yongyong perform? Some fans laughed and said that changing back to nationality broke out! Last season, Hou Yongyong played 15 games for the club, scoring only one goal and one assist. But this season has really reached its peak. As a midfielder for Lanheim, Hou Yongyong scored three goals and provided two assists in all of the first seven league games of the season. With 5 goals in seven games, Hou Yongyong has become the core of the team's midfield! Seeing this, I don't know how the Chinese Football Association feels?
Naturalization is not used, and it is no wonder that Chinese football has always been difficult to improve! Why give up such a talented and potential player? The investment in the early stage has also been completely wasted! What a pity! Isn't it?