On the night of September 13th, Yuexiu Mountain Stadium witnessed the first round of the Guangzhou Derby this season, and the tension was on the rise. For Guangzhou City and Guangzhou, the match was crucial as the fate of relegation was at stake. The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute, when Guangzhou City's No. 38 player Li Yongjia got away from the defense outside the penalty area and hit a brilliant long-distance shot through the opponent's goal to give Guangzhou City the first lead. This is not only the first goal of his career in the Chinese Super League, but also the only goal of this season's derby, and the first goal of a Foshan Sanshui player in the Chinese Super League. Li Yongjia's goal earned Guangzhou City three valuable points and injected a shot in the arm for the relegation battle.
That night, Li Yongjia was only 21 years and 51 days old, and became the youngest goal scorer in Guangzhou City's history in the Guangzhou Derby. For the youngster's outstanding performance, Guangzhou City head coach Li Wei Feng gave a high evaluation: "He did a great job, after coming to the team, I told every player, no matter how old or young, to go out on the basis of their performance, Yongjia, Xiao Liao, Ningan they are all great. I left the team with a future." Li Wei Feng also gave special instructions to the older players to help the younger players to take more responsibility and help them grow up quickly.
Recently, Li Yongjia was interviewed by this newspaper and shared his story of growth.
◆Football: The team went through a slump in the first phase of the season, how does it feel now after the adjustment?
Li Yongjia: The team has been on an upward trend and cohesive lately, and the past doesn't matter too much anymore, what matters is the future training and games.
◆ On June 15, you made your Chinese Super League debut as a substitute in the match between Guangzhou City and Henan Songshan Longmen in the fourth round of the Chinese Super League, was there any special significance for you on that day?
That day was very important for me, I've been working hard for a long time for that day, standing on the stage of the Chinese Super League is the moment I'm looking forward to the most, I think it's just a good start, I need to do my best to help the team, to get every point and every win.
◆You were anxious when the team couldn't win for a long time, weren't you?
When the team is in the doldrums, I do feel anxious inside, hoping that the team can win and I can help the team. I give my best in every training session and when the team needs me, I will definitely give my best.
◆ What was it like to score the only goal to help your team win the Guangzhou derby?
This has helped my self-confidence, which is a result of the team's joint efforts, and of course it is not possible without the coaching team's trust in me.
◆ Rumor has it that the derby match coincided with your father's birthday, did you think the match would be scored?
Didn't think about it. The day of the game was my dad's birthday, which I thought was a meaningful birthday present because he picked me up and dropped me off at school for all six years of elementary school and was always there for me. On weekends, he would play soccer with me and my buddies again.
◆ You can feel that your dad is very supportive of you playing soccer and even often plays soccer with you, what are his expectations of you?
My dad is a soccer enthusiast and I have been playing with him since I was a child. He organizes weekly football matches in the village and takes me with him, he is very strict with me, pointing out my problems and teaching me how to correct them after each match. He was looking forward to me having some achievements in soccer. Until now, my father's opinion is also very important to me.
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