Compared with the successful cases, Chinese players to join the giants, become the "phoenix tail", but ultimately return to the case is not uncommon. Chinese fans' expectations, from the men's football Dong Fangzhuo to join, Zhang Xunzhe to join Werder Bremen, Zhang Yuning to join West Bromwich Albion, to the women's football Zhang Linyan to join Tottenham Hotspur, Tang Chia-li to join Madrid, time and time again fell through.
Now, Shen Mengyu can be called the next Sun Jihai. This "London City" is not the same as "Manchester City", which is about to enter the Premier League. Shen Mengyu seems to have given up the chance to land directly in the EPL, but in fact he has made the smartest choice by following the trend!
It has also "taken off" from the Central League.
I am afraid that this is one of the most successful "wind-catching" players in Chinese soccer in recent years. The 19-year-old starlet was a mainstay of the national youth team at the 2005 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands, where he was called up to the Shanghai Shenhua first team. He made the first team at Shanghai Shenhua that year and was called up by the national team, scoring goals in the Chinese Super League and the AFC Champions League at the age of 20. Since then, he has helped China beat South Korea for the first time in the last 32 years. However, one of the most popular players in Chinese soccer unexpectedly joined Chinese A team Guangzhou Evergrande in 2010. At the time, Evergrande had just purchased the Guangzhou team for 100 million dollars, and that year China A got a whopping 3 million dollars a year.
In just one season, Olin scored 20 goals as an absolute starter, leading his team to a three-round early overtaking success. In the Chinese Super League, Olin followed Guangzhou Evergrande through a full nine-year period of gold-dollar soccer and amassed a huge fortune. When Guangzhou Evergrande was about to fall from grace, he stepped into the wind once again, joining Shenzhen Caesars, who were poised to make a big splash with a continuation of his high salary.
What's even more surprising is that in October 2022, Kim Lin sold his mansion to Hong Kong, China singer Tzu-Cheung Lin for $130 million. You know, Jinlin paid 40 million dollars for the mansion and netted 90 million dollars in 6 years through the mansion. In one fell swoop, he became the most highly honored and highest-paid Chinese player in recent years, seizing the windfall option time and time again, putting him significantly ahead of any other Chinese player in the same period!
Open Mind + Follow Industry Leaders = Catch the Windfall
Shen Mengyu, Wu Lin and Sun Jihai are all players who have dared to stand on the cusp of Chinese soccer, and the most important thing they have in common is undoubtedly "staying open". Against the backdrop of their early successes, these players have always maintained a mindset of capturing and opening up to information about the soccer industry, understanding the market and trends, and willing to take risks by entering lower leagues rather than lying closed to their laurels.
Shen Mengyu and team owner Ms. Kang
Like Shen Mengyu, her ability to accurately capture opportunities with the City of London Lions women's soccer team is clearly linked to her long history of open communication - at 19, she traveled on her own to Scottish Premier League women's soccer giants Celtic, often filming videos of her interactions on social media platforms, actively engaging with her teammates, and going out to play and exchange ideas with European players such as Tang Jiaoli. A little over a month ago, Shen Mengyu attended the Milan fashion show and took photos with many celebrities. She dares to try and accept challenges, which many players can't do.
Alternatively, if you don't feel like communicating enough to be accurate, perhaps following industry leaders is the easiest way to go; their actions themselves represent trends.
Although the City of London Lions are a Championship club and are not part of any Premier League men's soccer team, there have been a number of leaders in the soccer industry. Former Paris Saint-Germain women's head coach Junior Jeslyn is the new manager of the Lions, and the only active women's soccer player to win the "Golden Footballer" award and Swedish women's soccer captain, Aslani, has also opted to join the second-tier club.
Now, Shen Mengyu will be an integral part of the trend that is the City of London Lionesses women's soccer team by wearing the No. 7 uniform, symbolizing a starting position for the upcoming season!
Shen Mengyu and team owner Ms. Kang
Lifelong learning is the way to go
Your ability and perception is integral if you want to capitalize on every window. Shen Mengyu was obviously given this opportunity without her contribution of 11 assists in a single season with Celtic Women's Soccer, helping the team win four trophies in three years, and she has consistently improved at an amazing rate.
As Warren Buffett famously said, "Only when the tide goes out can we see who is swimming naked!" This great investor reads a lot of books and newspapers every day, keeps on learning knowledge, and stays sharp to the market, allowing him to survive market crises and achieve great success time and time again.
A player's ability to learn also determines the height of their future career. Only by always remaining humble, lifelong learning, and turning learning into a habit can we see more perspectives of the world, be prepared to wait for every window to appear in the industry, and become truly great stars when the wave fades!
