Following the son of the former international player, the 18-year-old Chinese teenager declared himself a Japanese citizen, the second person in historyIn recent years, the rapid development of Japanese football is obvious to all. The men's football team has leapt to the top level in the world, and can beat World Cup winners such as Germany and Spain. In addition, with the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, the difficulty of the Japanese men's football team to qualify for the tournament has been greatly reduced, and the participation in the World Preliminary Tournament is just a formality, which also makes professional players in Japan dream of representing the national team in the World Cup.
Recently, in the latest episode of Gamba Osaka, 18-year-old Zhang Olin announced in front of the camera that he had become a Japanese citizen. Born in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, who is 194cm tall, he confessed that his dream is to be honored to be selected for the Japanese national team and participate in the World Cup for his country.
The brilliant left-footed goalkeeper had previously played for Gamba Osaka's youth team, and this season, he signed a sign for Gamba Osaka's first team, signaling his official promotion to the first team next season. At present, he is also worth 50,000 euros in the transfer market.
In the interview, he said with great anticipation: "I am very happy to be able to start my professional football career in Gamba Osaka. I've been with you since I was a kid, and I'm forever grateful to the people who have always supported me. I will continue to work hard to make my contribution to the team and do my best. Thank you all for your continued support. ”
This change of nationality means that Zhang Olin has renounced his Chinese nationality and the opportunity to play for the Chinese men's national football team. However, in response to Zhang Aolin's choice to become a Japanese citizen in order to chase his dream - to participate in the World Cup, many domestic fans expressed positive support.
Of course, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred. In the J1 League, there is a Chinese player Gao Yuyang, who was once the backbone of the Niigata Swans, and has just moved to Tokyo FC, and his father is former international Gao Sheng.
After retiring, Gao Sheng went to Japan as a coach, and during this period he married a Japanese woman and gave birth to Gao Yuyang. This young man grew up in Japan and was immersed in Japanese culture.
At the end of 2016, Gamba Osaka Club officially announced that Gao Yuyang, who is in his third year of high school, successfully joined the club, marking his journey as a professional player. Similar to his father Gao Sheng, Gao Yuyang also plays as a midfielder, both offensive and defensive.
At that time, Gao Yuyang was 18 years old and was at an important moment in his life. In that year, he made the decision and finally chose to become a Japanese citizen, officially bidding farewell to Chinese nationality. However, he did not make it to the Japanese senior national team as he wished.
In this way, Zhang Olin also became the second Chinese player to obtain Japanese nationality, which undoubtedly injected new vitality into Japanese football. However, given the relatively fixed position of Gamba Osaka's first-team goalkeeper, Zhang Olin could face a long-term bench situation unless he chooses to be loaned to another team for training and thus have the opportunity to participate in actual matches. The young player will be on the road to the next stage of his career, and he will be able to take on more challenges on the pitch and try to show what he can do.
The glory of Japanese football did not happen overnight, but after a long period of unremitting efforts and accumulation. From youth training all the way to the national team, Japanese football has always demonstrated exceptional professionalism and exquisite skills. This love and dedication to football has enabled Japanese football to stand proudly on the international stage and win praise for the whole of Asia.
We also look forward to the early arrival of Chinese football to reach the level of Japan, and to attract more foreign players to join the Chinese national football team and jointly create a glorious moment for the national football team