With his 25th birthday approaching, midfielder Dai Weijun is facing a major turning point in his career. In the first half of the season at Shanghai Shenhua, he made a brave decision to join Shenzhen Xinpengcheng on loan due to limited playing opportunities. This choice is not only a re-planning of his career, but also a persistent pursuit of the dream of returning to the national team.
In an exclusive interview, Dai Weijun frankly shared the reason why he did not have many chances to play during his time at Shenhua. He believes that there was a certain mismatch between his athletic characteristics and the tactical needs of Shenhua at the time. Shenhua's coaching team paid more attention to offensive and defensive transition and fast-paced counterattacks, and tended to use players with strong running ability, while he was better at passing and footwork. This tactical mismatch led to his limited playing time at Shenhua.
However, Dai Weijun was not discouraged and chose to take the initiative to seek new opportunities. Between his intention to stay in the ocean and the development plan of Shenzhen New Pengcheng, he finally chose the latter. Behind this decision is the hard work of communication and coordination between all parties, as well as Dai Weijun's careful consideration of his future career development.
After arriving in Shenzhen's new Pengcheng, Dai Weijun faced new challenges and opportunities. Although most of his teammates are still unfamiliar faces to him, he has quickly bonded with his old teammates such as Peng Peng and Wei Strider while actively integrating into his new team. Frequent communication with head coach Tato has given him a clearer understanding of the team's tactical setup and expectations of himself. In the upcoming matches, Tato has asked him to actively participate in both offense and defense, which has made him more clear about his tasks and goals.
Dai Weijun is full of expectation and confidence in his dream of returning to the national team. He knows that only through more matches to find the best condition, he can re-enter the national team's vision. Therefore, he devotes all his energy to training and competitions to prove his strength and value with practical actions.
Facing the increasing number of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan players in the Chinese Super League and Chinese League A, Dai Weijun said it is a kind of healthy competition and cycle. He believes that the addition of these players not only improves the competitive level of the league, but also provides better development opportunities for themselves. At the same time, he also expressed his understanding for the Hong Kong fans who gave him boos and insults, saying that it is normal for players not to be able to satisfy everyone's favorites and that it is important to focus on their own performance.
For the future, Dai Weijun said that he is still more focused on the present. He hopes to help the team to relegate successfully in Shenzhen New Pengcheng, and repay the trust and support of the coach and fans with his performance. As to whether he will return to Shenhua or stay in Shenzhen New Pengcheng in the future, he said it depends on his performance and the team's needs. But he firmly believes that no matter where he plays, as long as he can maintain his competitive level and contribute to the national team, that is the most important thing.
