China News Service, Beijing, February 22 (Di Yingxuan) There is a touch of Chinese red in the museum of the "European Red Devils" Manchester United club.
Manchester United recently announced through social media that the national team No. 17 jersey of former Chinese international Dong Fangzhuo, who once played for Manchester United, has officially entered the Manchester United Museum.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Dong Fangzhuo wore this red jersey and scored the first and only goal in the Olympics for the Chinese team.
Image source: Manchester United social media
After the club's official announcement video was released, Dong Fangzhuo also said immediately, "It is an honor for me to be able to display our national team jerseys in the Manchester United Museum and let the world know China Red!"
According to the staff of the Manchester United Museum, when Dong Fangzhuo visited the museum, they asked if they could display his jersey in the Manchester United players’ national team jersey area.
Now that the jersey has been successfully displayed, the staff said that they are very happy to have such a jersey that symbolizes the history of Chinese football appearing here.
2024 is the 20th anniversary of Dong Fangzhuo signing with Manchester United.
No matter then or now, the "Red Devils" have always had a huge fan base in China.
The publicity surrounding Dong Fangzhuo is admittedly also concerned with attracting Chinese fans.
However, in that era, if you did not have outstanding strength or talent, it was extremely difficult to play in the European League, let alone the Premier League giant Manchester United.
In 2004, Dong Fangzhuo, who was shining brightly in China, was spotted by then Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson and transferred from Dalian Shide to Manchester United for a fee of 3.5 million pounds.
Dong Fangzhuo, who was still a 19-year-old youngster, never imagined that he would become the first Asian player to join Manchester United, and the first Chinese player to land in a top European club.
Image source: Manchester United social media
Unfortunately, Dong Fangzhuo, who came to the Premier League as a player from a non-EU member state, failed to obtain a labor certificate and was temporarily unable to play in the English league.
Dong Fangzhuo was loaned to the Belgian team Royal Antwerp and scored 18 goals in the 2005-06 season.
With his outstanding performance, Dong Fangzhuo won the top scorer in the Belgian Football League B. This was also the first time a Chinese player won the Golden Boot in the European League.
It's just that in Manchester United, where top stars such as Ronaldo and Rooney are present, Dong Fangzhuo, who is also at the forward position, rarely has a chance to appear.
The trajectory of his career since then seemed more like the script of "The Fall of Genius".
It was not until the 34th round of the Premier League in the 2006-07 season that Dong Fangzhuo played for Manchester United for the first time.
Labels such as low emotional intelligence, inarticulateness, and laziness began to appear on Dong Fangzhuo. People thought that he did not actively integrate into the team.
Because his career at Manchester United did not meet expectations, Dong Fangzhuo, who has since moved to many leagues, is still being criticized.
Dong Fangzhuo sometimes jokes with his family and friends, "The people at Manchester United have forgotten me a long time ago." Many people don't believe that Dong Fangzhuo actually gets along well with his Manchester United teammates.
Years later, many questions were revealed one by one, and people discovered that Dong Fangzhuo during the Manchester United period seemed different from what they imagined.
In order to adapt to the European competition rhythm as soon as possible, the Chinese teenager who does not understand the language will insist on practicing more after the training.
His room is filled with slogans such as "I am a Manchester United player", "Who do I want to be" and other slogans to encourage himself.
Although he said that he had been forgotten by Manchester United, Dong Fangzhuo was still recognized by Cristiano Ronaldo in the crowd.
Evans, a former teammate, helped Dong Fangzhuo contact his host family when he first arrived in the UK with just one phone call.
In Dong Fangzhuo's own opinion, he has a clear conscience for his down-to-earth experience at Manchester United.
The national team jersey that entered the Manchester United Museum also has a special meaning for him.
Image source: Manchester United social media
In February 2008, Dong Fangzhuo suffered a serious injury from a torn cruciate ligament.
But not wanting to miss the Beijing Olympics, he gave up surgery and chose conservative treatment, and resumed training only one month later.
In the end, Dong Fangzhuo played in the Beijing Olympics despite being injured and scored the precious first goal in the history of Chinese football.
However, the price was missing the best treatment plan, which also caused irreversible damage to his subsequent career.
At the end of the official announcement video, Dong Fangzhuo said that this jersey can enter the Manchester United Museum, which is more commemorative for him than keeping it in his home collection.
This touch of Chinese red in the Manchester United Museum carries the memory that Chinese players can also land in the Premier League, and the national football team can also achieve breakthroughs.
Just twenty years later, this jersey is still a "special one" in the history of Chinese football.
(over)