Soccer girl Zhao Lina: The journey back to the national team
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On December 8, 2021, the Chinese women's soccer team's 34-member training list was officially announced. In this 2022 women's soccer Asian Cup preparation list, many new faces are bright, including the goalkeeper Zhao Lina, who returned to the national team after a three-year absence.
After the list was announced, Zhao Lina was also the first to express her feelings about returning to the national team through her personal social media:
"Everyone is concerned about my return to the national team from the top, and I would like to say that I'm glad to have this opportunity to be able to return to the national team stage from the top, so that I can work hard one more time. I will definitely continue to work hard and compete to get back to my top form. To live up to everyone who has been supporting me and who has been expecting to see me back on the field in the five-star red flag uniform!"
"Goddess goalkeeper", "high value", "martial arts", these labels are the image most people have of women's soccer player Zhao Lina. Shortly before the announcement of the national team list, we had an in-depth conversation with Zhao Lina via video link. This interview also allowed us to see a different her outside the field.
Below is an interview with Zhao Lina conducted by ECO Girls Don't Get Off the Field in conjunction with renowned soccer blogger 'Haidian Caiyin' @dudumassa, let's listen to what the high-caliber goalkeeper has to share about her life on and off the field.
"Our desire to succeed has never changed."
Girls do not get off the field & Haidian Caiyi Lin: you started playing soccer from the first grade so far also more than twenty years, more than twenty years you think the ecology of women's soccer and carry out the environment has changed? What aspects have not changed?
Zhao Lina: I've been playing soccer for 22 years now, and I feel that the biggest change is that the conditions for sports are much better than before, mainly in terms of material things. I've watched the conditions in our school get better and better, so I'm often very emotional, and I'll go to the school and share with some of the kids, and I'll tell them that they have to cherish the material conditions that they have now.
What hasn't changed is our passion for winning soccer championships, whether it's men's or women's, and our passion for winning the championships hasn't diminished, but rather it's become even more eager, and no athlete wants to lose.
Girls & Hai Cai: Have you considered playing soccer abroad in order to improve yourself?
Zhao Lina: In fact, before also considered, but when finally in the decision time, I still can not make up my mind. I think I may be Shanghai native Shanghai girl, I like this city I will not go out, no matter how, most of the year most of the time still want to stay in this city, so I so many years twenty years I did not even I did not even leave Shanghai, there is no thought to go to other teams to play football.
Now if I were to choose from scratch, when I stand at the crossroads of choice, I may still be ruthless. Shen Mengyu when they go out I will tell them, I said I quite admire you, said to go away, you really hard on themselves.
'I want to break the stereotypical image of women's soccer among the masses through video'
GIRL & HAI CHOI: What do you think is the most outrageous stereotype or perhaps misconception about women's soccer among some of the rhetoric currently on the internet?
Lena Zhao:
The most stereotypical image of women's soccer is that perhaps in the minds of the fans we are still at the stage when we were the 'Clanging Roses' and came so close to winning the championship, but in fact we are very far away from that stage.
First of all, the image of our female soccer players has changed, and secondly, our usual practice has become more scientific. If you look at the image, you can see that more and more female soccer players look better and better. We played the National Games this year, and we were in the cafeteria of the National Games Village, and I felt that the athletes' face value is really amazing now, both boys and girls, the men are tall and thin, and then especially sunny. Girls are also very good skin, and very sunny and confident, I think it is no longer what we thought the kind of hair with a plate inch, and then tanned skin is very dark, full of pimples that kind of look, it is not that era.
Then we now practice has not been like the old saying, you have to practice 10 hours a day, to bleed and sweat without tears, we have a very scientific practice also have a very good team, in fact, now the sport is even more revered healthy way of life. Contains I shoot a short video is actually also want to let everyone see our life.
Breaking down stereotypical images of women soccer players.
GIRL & HAI CHOI: But maybe there are people out there who think that athletes making short videos affects their performance, and they might say that professional athletes are not doing their job if they make these videos, have you ever been attacked by that kind of rhetoric?
Lena Zhao: Of course I have, but I've actually been thinking about it lately. For example, when I'm training, I'm going to shoot some material, and since I'm going to shoot material, I'm today the training, I have to make this action 100% to my satisfaction, it is also equal to many more pairs of eyes are watching me, I can not have a trace of slackness, in fact, it is tantamount to I am in disguise in another way to monitor themselves.
So I think it's actually a nice virtuous cycle, in terms of many people maybe not realizing it. On the one hand, I'm able to share my own training and my own life, and on the other hand, I'm actually holding myself to a higher standard. Including in the future, my video content will also focus on soccer content, in the end this is also my main business.
Girls & Hai Cai: Your most played video on B station right now is the one of your butter hand related to goalkeeper skills, with 410,000 plays, how was that video made at that time?
Lina Zhao: Actually, I had the idea of doing an educational video series. Perhaps we have been paying a lot of attention to the word 'butter hand', because every competition has one or two examples of this kind of butter hand, so I wanted to use this as a start to bring out a series of educational videos after me.
At that time, in fact, when it was put in the time did not think that there will be such a better effect, right. Because we did not expect us about that is to say that the goalkeeper's educational video series will have such a big concern, so later there are also in the continued output.
Girls & Hai Cai: You've done a lot of soccer-related videos, have you ever considered doing some coaching or youth training in the future? Have you ever considered doing some coaching or youth training in the future?
Zhao Lina: If I have the opportunity, I will try in many ways. Since I was originally an athlete and have been engaged in the sport for so many years, I also expect that I can pass on some of my experience, as well as some technical and tactical things to more young people, to some boys or girls who like soccer, and I also expect that they can have a better development.
'It's not that we've all stopped watching football, it's that young people have a wider choice'
Girl & Hai Cai: What kind of time organization do you have in your day right now?
Zhao Lina: we actually day from morning to night is very fixed, women's super in the region when it is about 8:00 to get up, 8:30 dinner, and then eat a good meal, the morning will usually rest or maybe do the strength, the afternoon then about 3:00 or so to start training for two hours, and then eat dinner, basically every day is fixed so so a so time. However, when you are on vacation, you will be the same as us, sleep a little more in the morning, but also play a few games, I also love e-sports, my favorite hero is Nami.
Girls & Hai Cai: When edg won the championship the other day, many people would send out the sentiment that young people don't watch soccer anymore, how do you feel about this kind of view?
Zhao Lina: In fact, it is also very now young people can not say they do not watch soccer, can only say that they choose a wider surface. Including people who like e-sports, in fact, there is also a large part of the people usually like to watch soccer. Only due to the hot things at that time, the hotness of the e-sports perhaps temporarily overshadowed the soccer.
Girls & Hai Cai: I've mentioned the manga NANA in many interviews before, why do you have such a love for this manga?
Zhao Lina: In fact, the beginning of the time is to feel and the protagonist in the Nana is very similar, the Nana is from a young man to break through, I feel that I myself in fact from the first grade began to play football, and then has always been far away from home, from a young age is to experience the warmth of the family is in fact relatively small, has always been living inside the team, I feel that I watched the anime and I have a very good feeling.
On the other hand, since I have a 'na' in my name, I have a strong sense of belonging, and I feel like I'm the main character in the anime sometimes. The main character in the anime is the lead singer of a rock band, and I myself love rock music, so I sometimes listen to rock music before competitions to encourage myself and keep myself excited.
So I think this comic has actually changed and encouraged me quite a bit over the years. In fact, soccer and rock go well together! Many foreign players, let's say De Gea, also like anime and rock.
Girls & Hai Cai: Thanks so much for doing this interview with us, and congratulations again on being elected to the national team!
Lena Zhao: Thank you very much!
