On May 27, Beijing time, the Oceania Champions League final came to a close. Zhou Tong, a Chinese men's soccer player studying abroad, played for Oceania giants Auckland City and beat Suva 4-2 in the final to win the trophy and enter the Club World Cup. As a 33-year-old midfielder, Zhou Tong became a replacement for the Chinese men's soccer team. As a veteran, he quickly achieved success in Oceania, realizing two dreams. The first dream was to win the championship; the second was to advance to the Club World Cup. This was a new height that Zhou Tong never reached while playing in the Chinese Super League.
Zhou Tong played in China for Dalian Albin, Tianjin Teda, Wuhan and Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. During that time, the crowning glory was winning the 2018 Chinese League One title.In the winter window of 2023, 33-year-old Zhou Tong made a surprise move away from Oceania, leaving Tianjin Jinmen Tigers to sign for Auckland City on a free transfer.
Auckland City has won 12 New Zealand Football Championship regular season titles, 9 New Zealand Football Championship titles, 10 Oceania titles and 5 New Zealand Super Cup titles. Therefore, as soon as Zhou Tong joined Auckland City, he expressed his dream of winning the championship and playing in the Club World Cup, and was eager to win more championship trophies.
In New Zealand, Zhou Tong received support from local fans. At the same time, Zhou Tong also visited the national soccer team, which had previously trained in New Zealand, and expressed his welcome to the national soccer team with Auckland City. It can be seen that Zhou Tong adapted very quickly in Auckland City and was recognized in terms of his ability to play a major role by constantly getting the chance to play.
In the Oceania Champions League semi-final, Zhou Tong came on as a substitute and finished with a very threatening long range shot that hit the goal frame. At that time, Auckland City beat their opponents 2-2 to reach the penalty shootout final, and eventually eliminated their opponents from the final by 5-4 on penalties and 7-6 on aggregate. In the final, Chowthorn remained on the bench, appearing as a substitute in the 86th minute of the match. In the match, Oakland City took a 2-0 lead at half time, but in the 60th minute of the match, Oakland City's midfielder Garriga was sent off to give Oakland City a 2-2 defeat before Suva FC chased down two goals to send the teams into extra time.
In the 99th minute of the game, Suva still had one player left, and both teams were left with 10 men present; in the second half of overtime, Oakland City showed the dominance of a giant, scoring two consecutive goals and finally locking the score at 4-2, winning the championship and getting the ticket to the Club World Cup. After the game, Zhou Tong held the glittering medal with a big smile. Meanwhile, he also won the championship trophy with the whole team.
In regards to Chowthorn's honors for studying abroad, some fans believe that Chowthorn's choices outweighed his efforts. While it is true that Zhou Tong has triumphed in terms of choice when it comes to honors, Zhou Tong's career has not been without effort. He has managed to stay in good competitive shape at the age of 33, and has clearly worked harder than many Chinese Super League players. In New Zealand, Zhou Tong mentioned "purity" the most. He believes that he can feel the pure soccer atmosphere in New Zealand and find the original intention of playing football, so he also admires Wu Lei's operation of breaking into La Liga alone.
