After Beijing Guoan's 2-0 home win over Tianjin Jinmen Tiger in the 24th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), Zhang Yuan, who scored his first goal in his Guoan career, was interviewed, sharing his feelings about the game, the coach's guidance, the significance of the goal, and his journey of personal growth.
Zhang Yuan first commented on the game: "It was a hot day, everyone was very exhausted and the pace of the game was slow as a result. But I would like to thank the fans in particular, each of them held a fan and fanned themselves while cheering us on, I was very touched by this kind of support. This game is very special for me, since I joined Guoan, I have always wanted to show the best of myself to everyone. Although I may not have played as well as I should have before because of chances, injuries, etc., today I was finally able to take a breath and give myself an explanation. I really love Guoan and would love to continue to contribute here."
Talking about the coach's instructions before going on the field, Zhang Yuan said: "The coach did not give me special tactical instructions, just let me scramble harder. Because Tianjin plays a 433 formation, my coach Yu and I are very familiar with this formation. I know where their gaps are from previous encounters, so in the game I mainly focused on getting the ball on both sides of the single back. At the same time, I also want to thank Li Ke, who consumed a lot of the opponent's physical strength in the first half, creating better conditions for me to play."
Zhang Yuan described the significance of this goal as "new start, new life". He said: "This goal is a new start for me, a new beginning. It makes me more confident that I can play better in Guoan and contribute more to the team."
In addition, Zhang Yuan also mentioned his "fate" with Tianjin. He laughed and said: "It's very subtle, my last game for Shenzhen last year was also against Tianjin, and this year I got a red card when I played Tianjin. But I think where you fall down, you get up, just like Han Jiaqi, who also went through a down period after playing Shandong last year, but eventually he came out of it and became stronger. I also hope that this half-season will allow me to have a new growth, just like our coach always tells me, to have a strong mentality to become a better player."
