In the morning sunshine of July 25th, Chinese soccer player Zhang Yuhao set foot on the Spanish soil and signed with Rioja Athletic Club. In the new season, he will show his talent as the No.7 in the Copa del Rey and the Liga MX B (fourth division). In the face of Zhang Yuhao's trip to Spain, there were voices on the Internet. Some people teased that he might as well stay in his hometown and play in the Chinese League; however, some fans firmly believe that even in the bottom tier of the Spanish league, the effect of sharpening might be even more significant than that of the Chinese Super League.
The versatile midfielder from Shanghai Shenhua's youth training camp can play as a front man as well as a second striker, and is even comfortable in a number of positions in the midfield.Zhang Yuhao traveled across the ocean with Shenhua's elite team in 2015, playing for Athletic Muceros and Clarkes before moving to Dalian Ren in 2019. In recent years, frequent changes in the domestic league have left Zhang Yuhao in a funk. With the help of his agent, he seized the opportunity to travel to Spain, and although it was not the top league, it became an unbeatable option.
In contrast, Japanese and South Korean players have joined the first and second tier clubs in Europe, while Chinese players can only choose the third and fourth tier clubs to participate in the secondary league. Whenever it is mentioned that Sun shines in the Premier League while Wu Lei is still waiting on the bench, fans can't help but feel a tinge of sadness in their hearts. The debate about whether playing in a secondary league is really more valuable than playing in the Chinese Super League or Chinese League One never stops. However, it should not be overlooked that the current environment of the domestic league is not even comparable to that of the sub-leagues in Europe in some aspects.
