Once on the green field, I saw a flexible and fast figure shaking past the opposing player and shooting the ball into the goal cleanly. This goal not only boosted the confidence of the Chinese women's football girls, but also touched the excited hearts of countless Chinese people in front of the TV.
In just five minutes, the agile female player once again scored a valuable point for the Chinese team, a record that will also go down in women's football history.
This agile player is the former women's international Zhang Ouying, and her life can be said to be accompanied by countless glory and applause. However, such a proud female player was jealous of her talent and left this world at the age of 42.
Although she is gone, the brilliance she created should not be forgotten. Today, let's talk about the story of Zhang Ouying.
Zhang Ouying's love affair with football
Zhang Ouying's fate with football also starts when she was a child, she was born in an ordinary family in Hebei in 1975, and she has been inseparable from football since she can remember.
At school, she was an athlete who would show off her style at the sports meeting, and by chance, Coach Su Shaocai saw Zhang Ouying's flexible figure on the football field, and he took a fancy to her rare talent at a glance.
At the age of 13, Zhang Ouying entered the Zhangjiakou Youth Sports School and officially began his football training career.
Only then did she realize that football cannot be achieved by talent alone, and only by working hard can she improve her football ability.
During her time in the sports school, Zhang Ouying trained harder than others, which made her already talented stand out, and she only got the opportunity to transfer to the provincial sports school after only one year in the sports school.
The competition in the provincial sports school is very great, and the people around him are also training harder, Zhang Ouying did not slack off, and successfully transferred to the Hebei women's football team the following year.
The strength of those who can enter the provincial team should not be underestimated, and when they come to this place where there are many masters, Zhang Ouying's efforts and talents are also insignificant, and he can't help but feel the pressure.
Soon she adjusted her mentality, since others are better than herself, she will try to learn from others to make up for her own shortcomings. Under the training day after day, Zhang Ouying successfully entered the national team in 1993.
Zhang Ouying is 1.65 meters tall, relatively weak compared to other teammates, and has not had the opportunity to play most of the time in the national team.
She doesn't let this slack off, observing her players and opponents in every game, analyzing the pros and cons, and playing to her strengths. Although Zhang Ouying is small, he is more flexible on the field, and he is more demanding in terms of speed in his subsequent training.
She worked hard in the national team beyond ordinary people, and soon carved a path of her own with many things, and what really made her shine was the 1999 Women's World Cup in the United States.
Zhang Ouying finally had the opportunity to participate in the competition during the Bangkok Games, and the women's football girls played well in this game and successfully won the championship, among which Zhang Ouying was the main striker without suspense.
The splendor of life
When the time came to the Women's World Cup in the United States on July 10, 1999, the sun was scorching the earth, and it still couldn't resist people's enthusiasm for the game.
This match is not only highly anticipated, but also the most exciting Women's World Cup in history. At that time, the mainland's sports industry was still in the development stage, and the American team was full of confidence at the beginning.
Not only because the Chinese women's football team is short compared to the American players, but also because the United States is more experienced in training.
What's more, during the World Cup, the Chinese team has to travel to various countries to participate in the competition, and the long flight and jet lag also greatly affect the state of the players.
Soon, the facts made the American women's football team, which has the advantage of being hot and physical, find that this game was not as easy as they imagined, and the players on both sides experienced extremely anxious moments.
Zhang Ouying scored two goals in five minutes, which made countless viewers in front of the screen excited, and also brought a lot of pressure to the American team, which also became the most important stroke of her football career.
The Chinese women's football players cooperate with each other and move flexibly to affect people's hearts, allowing the world to see the strength of the Chinese women's football team, but unfortunately in the end, China lost 4-5 to the United States and won the silver medal.
Although there are regrets, this game has recognized the strength of the Chinese women's football team, and the spirit of hard work has also inspired every Chinese.
In the following days, Zhang Ouying ushered in the prime time of his sports career, shining in major competitions, and won the Asian Cup championship with his teammates.
In order to improve her ability, Zhang Ouying went to the United States alone to further her studies, that is, she met the love of her life Eddie.
Her encounter with Eddie was serendipitous, introduced to her through a friend, and although it was only a brief encounter, the two quickly established a relationship with each other.
At the beginning, Zhang Ouying wanted to participate in the competition, and often traveled to all parts of the world, resulting in them being in different places most of the time and could only rely on mobile phones to get in touch. However, the distance did not defeat the lovers, and the two finally ushered in a happy ending in love.
In the 2007 World Cup, Zhang Ouying returned to her homeland, which was also the last time she participated in the World Cup in her sports career. The results of the women's football team in this competition are not very ideal, Zhang Ouying is in her thirties, and her physical strength and physical fitness are not as good as before.
After the competition, she chose to retire and held a grand wedding with her boyfriend Eddie.
After marriage, he worked as a football coach at the San Diego Elf Club in the United States, transforming his love for football into a new generation of players.
Usually, she is responsible for the training of more than 50 players, getting up at five o'clock every day, leaving work at eight o'clock in the evening, and training for important games. No matter how tired he is, as long as he mentions football, Zhang Ouying is full of strength.
I thought that she would live her life with Eddie and football in such a plain and happy way, but fate made people unfortunately suffer from rare cancer.
A regrettable ending
On March 17, 2018, Zhang Ouying was invited to participate in the youth training seminar of the Chinese Football Association.
At the meeting, she was not abnormal, she was still the confident and easy-going Zhang Ouying, who was actually diagnosed with lung cancer just a few days ago.
It turned out that Zhang Ouying had been away from the motherland for many years, and took advantage of this return to China to come back a few days early and take his children to visit his parents.
At night when she stayed in the hotel, she suddenly had unbearable chest pain, and her friends helped her call the emergency number in time, and after a comprehensive examination, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which is a very rare large cell carcinoma.
This type of cancer can spread rapidly in a very short period of time, when lung cancer is already advanced. Hearing the news, Zhang Ouying was like a bolt from the blue, but reality did not allow him to be immersed in sadness all the time, and he had to cheer up and arrange everything in the future.
In order not to worry her parents, she chose to hide her illness and return to the United States for treatment. Eddie has been doing his best to take care of Zhang Ouying, but even if the family's savings are all spent, it has not been alleviated, and the follow-up treatment costs are also a huge amount of money.
Zhang Ouying's physical condition is also getting worse and worse, her lungs are in severe pain, and she needs to take a lot of painkillers every night to barely sleep. In the later stage, the body is already weak, and even the sense of taste is lost, and even incontinence.
The news of Zhang Ouying's illness was finally known by friends in China, and they all felt heartache and regret for this incident, and even organized a fundraiser for her, wanting to accompany her through the difficulties.
November 2, 2018 is Zhang Ouying's 43rd birthday, on this day relatives and friends held a lively birthday party for her, Zhang Ouying in a wheelchair looked very happy, and her mental state did not look like a terminally ill patient at all.
But who can imagine how much pain that ordinary people can't bear behind such a bright smile.
Fate did not favor this football player too much, although the money raised had been almost raised, but Zhang Ouying's physical condition did not allow her to persist any longer.
The whole treatment process was extremely painful, and she not only had to face the pain of the disease, but also had to endure the side effects of the medication that brought her away.
Even in such a difficult situation, Zhang Ouying still faced it with an optimistic attitude, actively treated and did not give up any hope of life.
The reality is cruel, on December 1, shortly after this birthday party, Zhang Ouying left this world forever. Before she died, she specially told her husband Eddie:
"I have a premonition that I am about to leave this world, please help me change into my national football jersey and shoes, I want to leave with glory."
Zhang Ouying left this wonderful world with glory and love, and netizens at home and abroad expressed their regret as soon as the news came out, and some local residents in the United States also spontaneously came to the place where she was alive to mourn.
In the memorial service, the Chinese Football Association said: "The passing of Ms. Zhang Ouying is a loss for the Chinese football community, and we are deeply saddened by the loss of such a respected football celebrity. ”
In general, Zhang Ouying's life is inseparable from football, from entering the sports school training when he was a child, to entering the provincial team, the national team, and then participating in the World Cup, he insisted on this sport step by step.
Her love for football has created her glory and made her more attached to the world, although many years have passed, Zhang Ouying is still the eternal pride of the Chinese women's football team.
Although her life was short, the spirit and inspiration she gave people will always remain in people's hearts, what do you think differently about this matter?
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia https://baike.baidu.com/reference/2611948/533aYdO6cr3_z3kATPLYzPvwNn6WZdmsuOLVVbtzzqIP0XOpRovyScY64d4o__5pER-Fs5YtbplHxrnyFUpH7vUPIu4wRrQilXXiUDLGzL7n9tgvwpUZ_w