The Swiss Women's Super League's awards ceremony kicks off on May 16th with the Player of the Year - Golden Ball.
The organizers have taken the photos of the 11 candidates and made them into a card pattern from a soccer game, accompanied by special effects that look like a gorgeous show.
A familiar face stood out from the 11-card deck, accompanied by the intentionally elongated tones of the live DJ.
Winner of the Swiss Women's Super League Golden Ball for the 22/23 season, China
women's soccer
Player, Zhang Linyan!
Instantly, there were cheers, and Zhang Lin Yan gave a coy smile as the competitors next to her sent her their best wishes.
At this point, eight months had passed since she landed in the Swiss league.
Eight months ago, in the drizzling rain of Beijing, Zhang Linyan walked through the doors of the Swiss Embassy in Beijing, where she would receive a visa to play soccer in the Swiss league.
Ever since she was a little girl, Zhang Linyan basically lived in a group and was always taken care of by her teammates because of her young age.
But with the slow opening of the iron door of the embassy, waiting for Zhang Linyan is not only the complicated visa process, but also a never-before-experienced life experience.
The moment she turned around, a close friend called out to her:
"From now on, it's up to you, Pippi."
Zhang Linyan happily agreed, but the action of walking down the wrong entry way still showed her apprehension. Because at that time she didn't know whether what was waiting for her was the misery of a foreign country or flowers and applause.
I. Departure
In the humid air of Mumbai, India, Zhang Lin Yan stunned the world.
(coll.) of course
women's soccer
Asian cup (e.g. soccer)
In the final, China rallied from a two-goal deficit. In the 66th minute, Zhang Linyan created a penalty kick, and Tang Jiali took it. In the 72nd minute, Tang Chia-li crossed the ball from the right side of the field, and Zhang Lin-yan was able to get a header in front of the goal.
6 minutes, Zhang Lin Yan raw to have slipped to the runner-up Chinese team, pulled back to the podium of the championship; 6 minutes, the whole of China's fans have remembered this dark-skinned, not tall, with a baby face of the
women's soccer
Girl.
Asian cup (e.g. soccer)
After winning the championship, in the face of this huge acclaim, Zhang Linyan has remained exceptionally calm, because a few games down, she saw not her own advantages, but with the opponent in some aspects of the gap. Especially in the Japanese and South Korean lineup of many players, Zhang Linyan in the teenage years had a few fights with them, but a few years later again than the fight, Zhang Linyan can clearly feel the gap between himself and them in the experience.
And these "old rivals" have a common experience - stay in Europe.
For Europe
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, Zhang Linyan has been keeping an eye on it, and she feels that Europe's
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The system has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with high-level competitions like the
European cup (e.g. soccer)
European crown
Waiting for the influence is getting bigger and bigger, the whole system is getting mature, and in such a professional environment, the driving effect on the players themselves is undoubtedly very huge.
Therefore.
Asian cup (e.g. soccer)
Instead, the victory prompted Zhang Linyan to think a little more about her career.
Asian cup (e.g. soccer)
和
East Asian cup
After that I felt I wasn't confident enough to adapt to the game and played too little at a high level, so the idea of me staying in the world became stronger."
So, in the summer of 2022, Zhang Linyan finally made the decision to step out of his country - to join Swiss side Grasshopper.
In fact, for Zhang Linyan, the idea of playing abroad is not a whim, but a dream she has had since she was a child. But because of several serious injuries and the contract with her old boss, the idea could only be postponed again and again. But when her dream was about to come true, Zhang Linyan still maintained a trace of caution, and she successively asked for advice.
women's soccer
Senior Ma Xiaoxu, teammate Wang Frost, and head coach Shui Qingxia.
"Before going out, I talked to senior Ma Xiaoxu about the idea, consulted with the water director, and had a conversation with Frost, and they both felt it was time to go out and see what was going on."
Although most people for Zhang Lin Yan's stay in the ocean have given affirmation and blessing, but in the mother, she still encountered some "resistance".
"In the beginning, my mom wanted to keep me around, didn't really want me to go out, couldn't let me go."
But after some patient conversations, Zhang Linyan's mother also changed her mind, and between her worries about her daughter and her daughter's dream, she chose the latter.
Thus, with the encouragement of her teammates, the expectations of her parents and her own dreams, 21-year-old Zhang Linyan embarked on a flight to Switzerland. Zhang Linyan arrives in Switzerland
2. Fusion
For her first microblog when she came to Switzerland, Zhang Linyan posted photos of herself training and cooking, and in the text section, she wrote:
"Start by memorizing names."
Obviously, Zhang Linyan, who is in a foreign country, has found a way to quickly adapt to the environment and integrate with his teammates - respect.
"It's a sign of respect to remember someone's name."
"First of all you have to know what people's names are in order to have a better interaction with them. This is a habit that one has always had, and it's quite necessary, unlike in China where everyone's name is better remembered, and you may remember it after saying it, many of the foreigner's names are not standardized for me to pronounce, and it's a bit more of a struggle to remember them."
"German has to be pronounced with a rolled tongue, and I can't always pronounce that sound ......"
But in the world of soccer, respect is just a means to an end, and there's another most important factor to truly integrating into a team - strength.
On September 11, 2022, Zhang Linyan made his Swiss debut. Grasshoppers in the first round of the Swiss Cup
women's soccer
A 10-0 win over lower league side FC Thusis/Cazis, a game in which Zhang Linyan contributed 1 goal and 4 assists!
However, Zhang Linyan was not satisfied with this somewhat "horrible" debut, and did not even count it as her first game in the interview.
"I wasn't happy with my performance, I'm not a person who particularly cares about statistics."
In the third round of the league, Grasshoppers had a derby match - against city rivals and league champions Zurich - and the moment came for Zhang Linyan's league debut. In the 50th minute, Grasshoppers attacked quickly and Zhang Linyan made a ghostly run to open up a gap, received a pass from a teammate and calmly hit the ball into the net.
Derby game, league debut, first league goal!
After the goal, teammates ran to celebrate with Zhang Linyan, who was instantly "drowned out" by the tall Swiss girls.
Zhang Linyan admitted that the derby match was the most impressive match in her one-year journey abroad.
"Zurich is the champion for more than ten years, and the team manager said that in the past the team had no chance to play against them because they were old, mature, with many international players and experienced. And this season you can see a clear improvement in the team."
After this game, Zhang Linyan started her Swiss league career on a high note, scoring or assisting in almost every game after that.
The show of strength also accelerated Zhang Linyan's integration into the team. The Grasshoppers have an internal game where teammates write comments to each other before a game and put them in an envelope. Zhang Linyan said she got the most comments:
"Nimble, good with the ball, outgoing and sunny."
However, the road to pursuing her dream is not all straight. Although Zhang Linyan quickly gained a firm foothold in Grasshopper with her ability, the nightmare of injuries still has to play a joke on her from time to time.
In a game in January, Zhang Linyan suffered a hard injury, and although it was not serious, the team doctor told her to rest for a month. This period of time made Zhang Linyan feel the loneliness of a foreign country.
Unlike the domestic team that can see the team doctor every day, the Swiss club just gave Zhang Linyan a schedule grid to follow for her recovery.
"Sometimes a day is very free with nothing to do, but then I worry about a bad recovery, and sometimes I feel very lonely." During her injury, Zhang Linyan was treated with Chinese medicine
During the period of injury, Zhang Linyan often call to find the previous domestic team doctor, tell them their situation, hear the opinions of the old team doctors, Zhang Linyan hanging heart slowly put down. On the other hand, paypal
women's soccer
The Overseas House has also specially found a rehabilitator for Zhang Linyan to give her regular massages to help her recover.
"In fact, Alipay's help is multi-faceted, right, such as to help me find online and offline teachers, has been giving me language classes to help me learn English, in addition to specializing in finding me a life assistant, there are any problems can always look for her, to help me solve the difficult problems of life, such as translation, in the hospital to help me and the doctor to communicate, and also an epidemic to help me buy life supplies and so on. Accompany me through the most difficult period of stay in the ocean."
III. Blooming
Grasshoppers host Basel in the second leg of the Swiss Women's Super League playoff quarterfinals on May 14th.
In the 31st minute of the first half, a Grasshopper player grabbed the ball back outside the opponent's penalty area, Zhang Linyan saw the situation and started to sprint, his teammates knew what to do with a short pass to the ground, Zhang Linyan received the ball comfortably, crossed the line and ended the game with a wonderful shot from a small angle.
In both rounds of the playoffs, Zhang Linyan scored a goal to become the team's
advancement
Biggest contributor to the semifinals.
Two days after the match, the Swiss Women's Super League awards ceremony was held, and Zhang Linyan was honored with the Player of the Season (Golden Ball Award) and the Best Eleven of the Season awards. Zhang Linyan holding the two trophies
This is the first time a Chinese player has won this type of award in an overseas league.
More crucially, the Swiss Women's Super League Golden Ball Award is organized by the players' union and voted for by the players of each team, so it can be considered as gold.
For the Golden Globe Award, Zhang Linyan admitted that she didn't expect to win.
"It was totally unexpected, at first I thought the guys on our team would vote for me, I didn't realize the guys on the other team would vote for me."
"It's probably because I'm smaller and have a distinctive skill set that impresses them more to end up winning the vote."
Many players congratulated her at the dinner following the awards ceremony.
"They all told me 'you're worth it' and that made me especially happy because it came from their own mouths."
What makes Zhang Linyan even happier is that through this award, many Swiss people know that she is a soccer girl from China, and that they know about the once-glorious Chinese
women's soccer
"I realized that they knew very little about Chinese players and subconsciously asked if Chinese players were generally like me, shorter and more technically delicate, and tended to play Japanese soccer. I told them that this is not the case, like the players who came to Europe for training.
the national team
teammates, but also taller and stronger types, all styles of players."
Up to now, Zhang Linyan has played 21 matches for her club, scoring 11 goals, and she has used her strength to create a wave of "China" in the Swiss women's soccer world.
women's soccer
Cyclone."
When Zhang Linyan decided to leave at the end of her contract, many of the team's staff and the local media expressed their dismay at Zhang Linyan, while some of her teammates told her they didn't want her to leave.
There is no doubt that Zhang Linyan's first foreign trip is a success, a perfect blossoming of the resounding rose in a foreign land.
Her success lies not only in the fact that she has conquered her opponents and fans with her strength, but also in the fact that she has integrated into the local soccer culture with her cheerful personality. Of course, this kind of integration is not overnight, Zhang Linyan also said that she did not know German at first, and only a little bit of English, and there is also a strong accent, but she dared to ask, dared to speak, keep asking, keep saying.
"Foreigners love it when you interact with them, and the more you interact the happier they'll be to share with you, and the faster you'll fit in. If you are too quiet and unwilling to communicate with people, others slowly may not try to help you. Only by showing your enthusiasm will people be happy to help and be nice to you."
In addition to full integration, the loneliness of a foreign country did not break her self-discipline. During her stay in China, Zhang Linyan made a detailed schedule for her daily schedule, and on the refrigerator, Zhang Linyan wrote this sentence:
"Go to bed at 10:30 and don't make yourself regret it!"
In addition, the more professional soccer environment in Europe also made Zhang Linyan feel shocked. Hundreds of fans watching the game, professional soccer stadiums, close interaction with the fans, and the atmosphere of the derby, all of which Zhang Linyan has not felt in the domestic atmosphere. These experiences and feelings will become her capital for a bigger stage in the future.
Bidding farewell to Grasshoppers at the end of the season, but Zhang Linyan won't stop chasing her dreams. After following the
the national team
After playing this year's Asian Games,
World Cup
After major tournaments such as this one, she says she wants to stay on, and she says she aspires to
La Liga
The world, too, wants to go
England Premier Soccer League
Take a look.
"There's a lot of domestic competition in the second half of the year and I'm trying to take the
the national team
The main thing is to return to Wuhan and continue to play to maintain the status. I'm still young and I'll definitely have the opportunity to go out and stay at sea in the future. The next stop is to
La Liga
nevertheless
England Premier Soccer League
, just to see the karma again."
Ten years ago, not long after kicking the ball, Zhang Linyan had expressed her most domineering goal in a tender childish voice during an interview:
"I'm going to surpass Sun Wen."
At that time, the audience was amused by her, and now she also says that she was a childish talker at that time. But after seeing her past and present, after seeing her self-discipline and determination, who can deny that the goals of that time will not be the reality of the future?
