"How much can I get for going there?" The number one question for men's international soccer players when agents contact foreign teams.
If you put the same proposition to the women's soccer internationals, how would they answer?
I. The Renaissance Boom
"As a coach, of course I want the players to work out at a high level. For the players themselves, it's good that they have the opportunity to go abroad." Shui Qingxia, head coach of the Chinese women's soccer team, expressed her attitude towards studying abroad in September 2022 in an interview. If you can go out, you have to try boldly and challenge yourself to progress better and faster.
Shui Qingxia (1973-), Chinese diving champion
The rising European women's soccer team is no longer the same as that of the Netherlands and Spain. Their physical confrontation, use of technology and tactics, and pace of play are all improving rapidly. It is only a matter of time before the gradually masculinized style of play catches up with the U.S. women's soccer team. If we don't catch up now, I'm afraid we won't even see the taillights later.
By the end of 2022, 13 Chinese women's soccer players have ventured abroad, surpassing Japan and South Korea for the top spot in Asia. Chinese players have studied on three continents in 10 countries, 10 in Europe, two to Australia and one in the big leagues.
I still remember that in 1999, after the Chinese women's soccer team drank the Rose Bowl of hate and came in second place in the world, the women's soccer girls started a study abroad craze. From Sun Wen to Wang Liping, from Liu Ailing to Pu Wei, except for Liu Ying, the rest of the 10 main players are studying in the league.
Sun Wen studied abroad in Atlanta
Unexpectedly, 23 years later, the younger generation in the Yangtze River, the young generation of resounding roses opened the second large-scale study abroad in the history of women's soccer.
The Premier League still lacks the resounding roses compared to the post-1999 overseas studies, which is considered the number one league, although the number of overseas studies this time around is something to be happy about. While Japan did not have a double in overseas study numbers, there are still three in the Premier League and the former world champions remain strong in Asia.
II. Support from all parties
In the summer of '22, 27-year-old Wang Shuang chose to join Major League Soccer's Louisville Athletic on a one-and-a-half year deal to begin her third study abroad program. Such a transfer could not have been made without the support of the FA's study abroad policy on the one hand, but more importantly, it was her personal will and the club's help.
Wuhan women's soccer head coach Chang Weiwei detailed Wang Shuang's transfer in an exclusive interview with Northwestern Watch.
Wuhan women's soccer coach Chang Weiwei
"Wang Shuang's study abroad was really unexpected. Because she has been recovering after her injury at the beginning of the Asian Cup, she didn't talk to the club about her desire to study abroad. After the start of the season, the team performed well and had a big advantage in the standings. Considering not delaying the team's performance, she communicated with us about her willingness to study abroad."
"Due to Zhang Linyan's quick integration at the beginning of the Women's Super League, the team has been at the top of the table for a long time, establishing a big points advantage. In this case, Zhang Linyan's study abroad can naturally be realized quickly. To be honest, clubs that bring in power players definitely don't want to lose them easily. Wang Shuang and Zhang Linyan are the mainstay of the team, but since they are willing to study abroad and Wuhan's results are stable, why not be a man of honor?"
Chang Weiwei said the team has signed a longer contract with Zhang Linyan. After a one-year loan abroad, the club will continue to communicate with her about whether to go abroad.
It is worth mentioning that in order to ensure that these two popular women's international football players to study abroad, Wuhan team also set up an overseas office, specializing in helping international players to solve the problems on and off the field, to avoid worries, fully committed to the training game.
Depending on the local cost of living, the club considers giving each person a study abroad subsidy of no less than $300,000 per year, which is mainly used to cover transportation, food, housing, and so on.
Lynn Yan Zhang is also very competitive. After studying abroad, she rewarded her old employer's attentive care with her hard work and numbers. She was used immediately after joining the Grasshoppers. In 10 games, she contributed 7 goals and 7 assists, which is the absolute mainstay of the team. Today, Zhang Linyan is also the player with the best stats in the overseas army.
Zhang Lynn Yen
III. Study Abroad Answers
The future is bright and the road is winding. This is the most appropriate phrase to describe the women's soccer team's trip abroad.
Looking at the characteristics of the 13 players studying abroad, most of the girls have contracts that expire in about one year, the summer of '23. In other words, in order to prepare for the FIFA World Cup in '23, China's women's international players went abroad to study en masse.
Meanwhile, only 30% of the players have double-digit attendance, which is a big difference from what they have in China. Of course, there are many factors, such as the time of joining, injuries and the playing system.
Women's Soccer Study Abroad Data
Such short-term contracts, and even attendance sacrificed in competition, can improve the individual player and the international competitiveness of the national team. Do we need a question mark here?
An agent told us that it's always a positive sign as long as the player has the strength to go out. "As Shui Qingxia said before, Tang Jiali's study abroad has really improved her, such as physical confrontation, psychological pressure resistance, which ultimately allowed her to show in the Asian Cup final and help her team turn back South Korea and win the title, all of which are really visible."
Tang Chia-Li
"When so many people go out there, there are bound to be some players who can't play and have very few chances to play, but if you think about what they felt and absorbed in training and playing there, it's an asset to go back to their home countries and teach the younger players. Just like the early rumors of the men's soccer team, Qu Bo and Tottenham, Zhang Yuning and Leicester's transfer, if they could join the Premier League 20 years ago as they wished, and now take the youth training as a coach, will it be better to help the young players grow up?"
"Like Shen Mengyu and Shen Menglu, they are not at the same level as the Parisian women's soccer team in the Soochow Premier League, but they rarely get to compete with the starters or semi-starters and play more stressful and confrontational games. These study-abroad players can help China's women's soccer team become more competitive at the international level in the future.
"I've always thought that the departure of players like Wang Shuang and Zhang Linyan would certainly have an impact on the performance and record of the Wuhan women's soccer team. But if the music department keeps its one-third acre and the locks don't let the players go out, then it will be difficult for the national team's performance to improve. Because only if the performance of the national team is improved, the women's soccer team will get more attention, the public participation will be more enthusiastic, in order to better consolidate the foundation of the women's soccer team, and the furniture music department will be able to have more choices in the future, which is a virtuous circle."
Is the new era of the Rose's study abroad initiative a foreign movement or a Meiji Restoration?The Women's World Cup '23 can't give the final answer. The real answer is in the coming years ......
The Chinese women's soccer team, a big ship, studying abroad is just a navigator. To make the ark to the other side of the success, everyone must work together, in front of the small profits, in order to reach the final destination. Because just relying on players, coaches and clubs is not enough.
