Recently, a sad news came out from the Chinese soccer circle that Zhang Enhua, a former member of the national team, unfortunately passed away.
This sad news began to circulate on the Internet in the evening of April 29, and by sundown that day, it had been about six hours, and many old fans expressed their shock and grief through various channels, while official memorial messages seemed to be few and far between.
Surprisingly, Grimsby Town, who are in England's fourth tier, have also shown great concern over the death of Zhang Enhua, who made 17 appearances and scored three goals in a brief loan spell at the then second-tier club 20 years ago. As the sun set on the day, the team's official website was suddenly updated with a headline that reposted an interview that Zhang had given last year and posted a condolence message on the official Twitter account. They had previously posted a tweet about Zhang Enhua's passing just before 9 p.m. Beijing time. Fans of the team also left messages of condolence in the comments section.
This is not only a reflection of soccer culture, but also a display of the club's PR sense. As a popular organization, it should always be humane, even when results are poor. Showing concern for a player from a distant, weak footballing nation who played briefly 20 years ago is a PR event based on a comprehensive database - a true example of "don't let the good deed go unpunished".
There is no harm done without comparison. With accurate data obtained from Wikipedia, let's review Zhang Enhua's career one by one.
The longest playing Dalian team, although the main body of the team has changed, but the Dalian people professional soccer club as a legacy of Dalian soccer, in an earlier time through the double microblogging released the mourning information, this practice deserves recognition;
The Jinmen Tigers, who inherited the bloodline of TEDA, were the Super League team that Zhang Enhua joined in the latter part of his career in 2004-2005. Considering the overall status of the Jinmen Tigers, it is perhaps understandable that there is no time for publicity;
Shenzhen soccer salon, where Zhang Enhua served as an assistant coach, and its microblog was the first to release a tribute message, which was also well-intentioned.
Finally, let's focus on the feedback on the death of Zhang Enhua at the level of the Chinese national team, the national soccer team, and the CSL Chinese Super League.
First of all, Zhang Enhua is a seven-year veteran international footballer, a starter in the 2001 World Cup and the 2000 Asian Cup Tempus, and also served as the captain of the national football team;
Secondly, Zhang Enhua has played in Chinese Super League matches and is a registered player in the CSL database.
Seven goals in 62 games is certainly a more impressive statistic than Grimsby Town's contribution, but he is one of our own. However, only the "national soccer team" microblogging at 10:30 pm posted a message. It should be said that the reaction of the "national soccer team" has been very fast, but many Chinese fans still feel that for such a contribution to the player, it seems to be far from enough.
Many fans have been complaining about the low level of the national soccer team. In fact, the gap in the level of soccer has always been multi-faceted. In addition to the technical and tactical ability of the players on the pitch, the smoothness of the pitch turf, the fans' understanding of soccer, and the professionalism of the media are all important components that make up the soccer culture of a country and region. From this perspective, we still have a lot to catch up on.
