Zhang Lu: Shenzhen is an inclusive city that warms me; I look forward to returning to the national football team

In an exclusive interview with Sports Weekly, deep-foot goalkeeper Zhang Lu said that he wanted to help deep foot achieve more victories and looked forward to the opportunity to return to the national football team.

Sports: In the first stage of the Chinese Super League, there were only 4 people who played all 14 games, and you were one of them. In such an intensive schedule, it is very difficult to complete the full attendance, are you satisfied with your performance?

Zhang Lu: My performance is OK, because of the special format now, the game lacks integrity, and the state will inevitably have some ups and downs, so there are not too many people full attendance. As a goalkeeper, I also have some communication with the coach, and at this intensity, I can keep and maintain my form.

Sports: So how is this state maintained?

Zhang Lu: The support of inner belief is more important, in this format, the body is very tired, and the recovery from injuries is relatively slow. It's not like there used to be one game a week, so there are four or five days to recover, but now I play a game every three days, which makes it slower to recover from injuries, and I played with injuries in two games.

Sports: What exactly will you do to adjust yourself? Did you do something pastime to relax yourself more after the game?

Zhang Lu: First of all, drink more water to replenish water. Then sleep as much as you can to replenish your sleep and physical strength. The staff in the infirmary worked very hard during this process to help us massage and recover. And the support of the club and the fans, it is also very important, which makes my heart more motivated. Because of the format, one day of competition, the second day of summary, the third day is generally a pre-game analysis, the pace is very fast, so there is no time to do anything else.

Sports: You have also experienced a lot over the years, can you share your own mental journey? What are some psychological changes? Have you ever thought about giving up when it's hardest?

Zhang Lu: As I get older, my mentality is becoming more and more stable, and I am more calm and calm in the face of things. I have never given up in my world, even if I encounter some setbacks, but there are still family members around to encourage me and support me.

"Deep Foot Assault Champion is not yet mature"

Sports: Your first game for Shenzu was last season's relegation battle against Shijiazhuang Yongchang, when you said you were so nervous that you couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Have you ever had this mentality in this season's game? Or do you feel which game is the most stressful?

Zhang Lu: At that time, the team was on the verge of life and death, which made the pressure increase sharply. I didn't go to bed until after 5 a.m. the night before the race, something I hadn't encountered before. But looking back now, it's actually quite normal. Every game this season has been stressful and the players themselves and the fans have high expectations. Therefore, we also hope to be able to win with all our might and play with spirit.

Sports: Now that you have completed your goal of entering the championship group, are you confident of impacting the championship?

Zhang Lu: At present, it is not very mature for deep foot. The team finished relegation last year and entered the championship group this year to create the best results. At present, it is 9 points behind (Shandong Taishan, which has the highest points), so it is not realistic to compete for the championship. But this direction is what we have to strive to run and pursue, the fans can also see our spirit in this process, and the team strives to go to a higher goal. In the final stages of the game is to try to play every game as well as possible, to go all out without regrets.

Sports: In the first stage, Shenzu also won over strong opponents such as Guangzhou, and then in the championship group, it also met strong teams such as Shanghai SIPG, do you think there is a big gap between Shenzu and these teams? Have confidence in the fight?

Zhang Lu: The remaining teams are also strong teams, which cannot be called a gap, and we are definitely confident to play against any team.

"Still full of expectations for the national football team"

Sports: What's the biggest challenge for you right now?

Zhang Lu: Every day is a challenge. After all, after 30 years old is a veteran, but I think my competitive state is still at its peak, and now what I want to do is to hope that this state can last longer, extend the high standard, high quality of the competitive state, which also needs to rely on the accumulation of time to complete, which belongs to my long-term goal. The short-term goal is to do my best to help Shenzu achieve more victories. The individual side can improve, play every game well, have the opportunity to help the national football team.

Sports: You mentioned the national football team, do you have confidence in returning to the national football team?

Zhang Lu: It can't be called confidence, entering the national team is the yearning and pursuit of every player, this is my vision. I certainly look forward to the opportunity to play for the national team again.

Sports: You have had relegation battles in Liaozu, Tianjin Tianhai and Shenzu in your career, and you have also had the experience of following the team to the top half, what do these three teams mean to you?

Zhang Lu: I am very grateful to Liaozu, who has been there for 12 years, from debut to Highlight to the national team, and I still marry and have children there, so I am very grateful for this land. Because I have a foundation here, I have the opportunity to go to other clubs. I can also stand on my own and not be afraid of anything. And Tianjin is my hometown, the years there are wonderful, those times made me feel very happy, but then encountered a change, uprooted again. And Shenzhen, I am very grateful to the management of the group and the club for bringing me to Shenzhen for the first time. Now Shenzhen and Liaozu belong to my second hometown, because Shenzhen is a very inclusive city, and they all say that "shenzhen is a shenzhen person", which makes me feel very warm.

In terms of achievements, liaozu has qualified for the AFC Champions League, while Tianjin has competed in the AFC Champions League, and now Shenzhen has the vision of the AFC Champions League. In such a good platform, in a city, feeling the care of all sides, I have no reason not to work hard, so I hope to do my best to give back to the fans and the support of the club.

"Grateful, grateful and touched"

Sports: There are a lot of teammates in the current team who were in Tianjin, and the assistant goalkeeper coach Guan Zhen is also your hometown, is there something interesting between you?

Zhang Lu: It is true that there are many acquaintances, or like the previous team, just changed a city, carried out a relocation, everyone is like a family. The guan guide is very good, very humorous, and we have a lot of funny things every day.

Sports: You also take good care of the young players in the team.

Zhang Lu: As a veteran player, of course, we still have to take into account the role of inheritance and leading the new with the old, so I hope to help them more and let the young players take fewer detours.

Sports: Is there anything you would like to say to the club and the fans?

Zhang Lu: For the club, there are two words that can be used, that is, "thanks" and "gratitude". Under the epidemic, the club gave us a very full logistical support, which made me very grateful and grateful. And the fans make me very "moved", now the epidemic period is more special, from last year's Dalian division to this year's Guangzhou division, they still silently support us. During the game, everyone's body was very tired, and with the cheers of the fans, this brought great help to the team, they were the best "12 people". So we can only give back to them through performance, shoot our last bullet, and carry out for them to the end.

(Editor: Yao Fan)