Since July 21, 2021, Shen has stepped into the Celtic
women's soccer
of the green field, her overseas journey has spanned 300 days and nights.
She admits that she is no longer the same person she used to be, and that at the age of 19, when the opportunity arose, she took the plunge and put her desire to stay abroad into practice.
Just as she had experienced playing soccer with the boys since she was a young girl, she eventually chose to pursue her dream and embark on a career in professional soccer.
During these 300 days and nights, Shen Mengyu experienced the loneliness and confusion of being abroad for the first time and struggled with self-doubt.
However, she has also won the League Cup with the team, leaving a trail of victories on the park and experiencing the growth of a "lighter touch".
CNN Sports x Shen Mengyu
alone
CNS Sports: Do you still remember writing, "Thank you for being away from home and fighting hard for 132 days" during the celebration of winning the championship? Is there a lot of painful story behind it?
Shen Mengyu: Being alone in a foreign country, from time to time I would miss my hometown, and loneliness would hit me. Due to the time difference, I could only video with my family and friends regularly, and it was really sad during that time.
When I was at home, everyone treated me as a little sister and sometimes took care of me. But when I went abroad, I had to start everything from scratch and adapt to this unfamiliar environment, which was really confusing. Without the support of family and friends, I had to bear everything on my own.
When I first came over here, I was out of my mind and in bad shape. I was very hard on myself and sometimes overdid it.
For example, being determined to be the best, but once you make a mistake on the field, the frustration is high. In retrospect, I was thinking too much and always striving for perfection, which in turn made me play poorly. Later on, I realized it was better to take it easy on the field.
During that period, my teammates kept encouraging me and communicated with the head coach. They all told me, "You're actually very good, really don't doubt yourself." Later, I came out slowly, which is also a kind of growth.
CNN Sports x Shen Mengyu
integrate into
CNS Sports: Now that it has been 10 months since you stayed overseas, have you fully adapted to life overseas? What are the significant changes compared to your first arrival?
Shen Mengyu: Relatively speaking, I have adapted a bit. When I first came here, I didn't even know how to take the train, bus, or where to buy food. Now I'm a little more familiar with it, and I have no problem communicating with my teammates, so I've become more integrated into the life here.
My teammates and I have become more comfortable with each other. Since I'm not a very "social" person, I was a bit overwhelmed when I first came to the new environment. But now I'm getting along with everyone.
I feel really lucky to be here. I've gotten a lot of help and my teammates are very friendly.
For example, if there are any new tactics or training programs now, they will see if I can understand them. If I don't understand, they'll ask the head coach to explain it again, or they'll do it and explain it to me first to make sure I'm clear.
My teammates also supervise my English study and ask me every day, "What did you learn today?" Sometimes they even teach me some words and expressions.
And before that, when we celebrated the Lunar New Year, I invited my teammates to my house and cooked a Chinese dinner with braised pork, shrimp, skinny eggs, etc. There was quite a variety.
This was also thanks to the food bloggers on all the major platforms, and many of the dishes were ready to learn and busy for about two hours or so.
I also received gifts from my teammates, including paintings of tigers and "Happy New Year" written in Chinese, so it was a very special New Year abroad.
CNN Sports x Shen Mengyu
incentives
CNS Sports: What other experiences have impressed you along the way to stay in the ocean?
Shen Mengyu: We had a game at the Park, the home of the Celtic men's soccer team, that stuck with me and was particularly exciting at the time. I remember a month before the game, we started all kinds of countdowns.
We had previously played on other courses and had never played on the park course. When we heard we could play on this field before, our first reaction was, "Really?" Then it was a question of, "Who are we playing?" I think it was said before that only one game would be played at this stadium this year, so we all cherished and looked forward to it.
This stadium is huge and can hold a lot of fans. There were about 4,000 or 5,000 spectators at the game that day, much more than usual. It was very different to play soccer. There were drums and gongs that went on for the whole game, so it was a completely different treatment for us than usual (laughs).
CNS Sports: previously with the Celtics
women's soccer
What does it feel like to win the League Cup? What does it mean to you?
Shen Mengyu: Since I made it to the final, I was definitely running for the title, but when I actually got the title, I still thought it was pretty unbelievable, and I was thinking, "I really did it".
There was a big crowd for that final and it was a great feeling when we celebrated after the game with the fans interacting with us and doing our signature dance.
It was not even a few months ago when I stayed in the ocean and I think it was a very good start. This championship is also an incentive to win all the matches after that.
CNS Sports: Do you often have Chinese fans cheering you on live abroad?
Shen Mengyu: It is true that there are often, I remember there is a Chinese fan is very cute, before every game came. Later she was going back to her country and prepared a small book for me with photos of me in various periods, very attentive.
My teammates were so envious when they saw it that they were joking with each other, "Look at the other people's fans". There were also many Chinese fans over here who told me that whenever they were free, they would definitely come to the game to support me. I felt especially warm-hearted.
CNN Sports x Shen Mengyu
valiant
CNN Sports: Somewhat curious, how did you get involved with soccer as a kid and go on to play professionally? Do you have a favorite player?
Shen Mengyu: It just so happens that the elementary school near my home is a special school for soccer, with a strong soccer atmosphere, and there are often many star players coming to school to interact with us. I often played soccer with a group of boys at that time.
I do love the feeling of playing soccer, it's a great feeling to be in a team where we work together towards a goal and celebrate together when we win.
Later, after discussing with my parents about taking the career path, my dad was calmer and let me make my own decision after analyzing some aspects for me.
I especially like Modric, and when I was a kid I used to love watching the
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
Kicked the ball when he was still in Shanghai Dongya period. At that time I thought.
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
Amazing, scored a lot of goals and felt like he was glowing on the field, everywhere on the field, an example to follow. I also admire him for making the decision to stay overseas, it takes courage.
CNS Sports: What was the opportunity for you to choose to stay in the ocean? Bravely take this step?
Shen Mengyu: The idea of staying in the ocean appeared in my mind a long time ago, I'm not the kind of person who rests on his laurels, and it just so happens that Celtic gave me this opportunity, and I think I can try it.
Before I stayed in the ocean, I discussed with my sisters in the Shanghai team the difference between staying in the ocean and playing at home, and carefully analyzed the pros and cons. At that time, the sisters also said that there is nothing that young people do not dare to try, young people should dare to do.
However, I still say that staying abroad is not for everyone, and you have to think clearly about what you want before you take this step and then make a decision. For me, physicality is something I lack, and the league here is very intense, so I wanted to come and try to make up for my shortcomings.
CNS Sports: what are the expectations and plans for the future?
Shen Mengyu: No one does not want to wear "China Red", and I hope that one day I will be able to wear the uniform of the women's national soccer team and fight on the field.
However, now he still has a certain distance from his sisters, and if he wants to realize the conditions of this wish, he still has to keep improving himself and continue to work hard!
