When it comes to the future of Chinese soccer midfield, I believe many fans will think of one person, and that is Dai Weijun. Why Dai Weijun? The answer is simple, because it is widely believed that players from European youth training are better than those from the Chinese Super League. at the age of 11, Dai Weijun traveled from Hong Kong, China with his father to England and joined Reading Youth Training, and has been developing in Europe ever since. He joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League, where he excelled in both the Wolves U19 and U21.
Dai Weijun chose to go home because he wanted to play for the national soccer team. When he returned to China to join the Shenzhen team, he was still a dirtbag. Dai Weijun did well for Shenzhen, working seamlessly with big foreigner Quintero and showing everyone how talented he was. During this time, Shenzhen also pushed hard for Dai Weijun's settlement, which was eventually confirmed in early 2022. Dai Weijun also managed to make it to the national team and played the last 12 games for the national soccer team. Dai Weijun made his first individual performance for the Chinese men's soccer team when he came on for Zheng Zheng in the 64th minute of a 0-2 loss to Japan. But at that time, everyone saw Dai Weijun's talent, but his European style didn't match the configuration of the national soccer team at that time. But everyone believed that Dai Weijun would be able to become the centerpiece of the national soccer team's midfield.
But are our own trained midfielders really unlikeable? After all, Zheng Zhi, Artemisia, Deng Zhuoxiang etc. were also developed by our own youth training, and didn't they also have outstanding performances? Who have we trained at the heart of the midfield organization?
In fact, before Dai Weijun was able to represent the national soccer team, we were very excited about a young player. The young player is Duan Liuyu, a young player who plays for Shandong Taishan. He was favored by everyone because he studied well and was a good thinking player, which was different from many other players.
He was born on July 24, 1998, from Chengdu, Sichuan Province. He has loved soccer since he was a child and started to play soccer at the age of five, showing extraordinary talent and potential.In 2010, Duan was admitted to Cuiyuan Middle School, a key middle school in Shenzhen, as a special soccer student, which provided him with a better soccer training and learning environment. During his time at Cuiyuan Middle School, he demonstrated excellent soccer skills and strength, and became the main player of the school's soccer team.On January 19, 2015, Duan officially signed a contract with Shandong Luneng Taishan to become a professional soccer player. In order to introduce Duan, Shandong Luneng Taishan paid a training fee of 1 million yuan, setting a new record for the value of a domestic youth player.
Over the next few years, Duan Liuyu showed steady progress and growth.In July 2018, he was promoted to Shandong Taishan's first-team squad with a wider stage to showcase his talents. However, Duan Liuyu fell out of favor with Taishan after the 2020 season. He has made very few appearances and starts, especially this season, halfway through the league, and he has only made two appearances. And it's clear that Choi Kang-hee doesn't like to use Duan Liu-Yu, who is technically weak against weak players, in the midfield position.
Duan's growth has basically stagnated due to fewer games in recent seasons. That's why people are dropping him and focusing on Dai Weijun. In fact, we all know that playing in Taishan is very comfortable, both in terms of treatment and living condition. So that's why many players, even though they can't play soccer, are willing to stay at Taishan. But if future stars like Duan don't have pursuits, it's really hard for them to have a future.
But recently, Duan Liuyu finally wanted to open the door and he decided to step out of his comfort zone. Just today, defending champion Wuhan Sanzhen officially announced that Duan Liuyu joined the team on loan, which means that in the second half of the season, Duan Liuyu will wear Wuhan Sanzhen's jersey in the league. Currently, the most handsome coach of Wuhan Sanzhen is Japanese coach Gao. Duan Liuyu's technical flow should be loved by Gao. So we also expect Duan Liuyu to come back after the tournament as well. Dai Weijun can't be without the pressure of competition.
