red star interview | "refund brother" went to dalian to support the chinese national football team: losing 0-7, no intention of "refunding", japanese children counting in front of people's defense
2024-09-10
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although the chinese national football team lost 0-7 to japan in the first round of the asian qualifiers, setting a record for the biggest loss in an official match, a large number of chinese fans still went to dalian in the past two days to cheer for the national football team's home game against saudi arabia tonight. among them, there are some famous domestic fans, including he sheng, a sichuan fan who has been very popular in recent years.
the night before the china-saudi arabia match, "refund brother" teamed up with a group of chinese football fans from all over the world and played a friendly match with a local amateur team in dalian at the zhuosheng football training base, not far from the dalian soar bay football stadium. unexpectedly, he sheng, who is in his early 40s, has quite good footwork and some football skills. as a left winger, he has both speed and agility, and posed a considerable threat to the opponent on the left. after the game, even the captain of the opposing team praised he sheng sincerely: "you played quite well!"
he sheng also said when communicating with the opposing team: "i am really touched by your attitude on the field. you fight for every ball. it is worth learning. maybe our skills and abilities are limited, but we go all out for every ball. this is the best attitude towards football."
what "return the money brother" said is not just about amateur teams, but perhaps also the areas where the chinese national football team should focus on improving. after the friendly match, he sheng also called all the participating players together, and under his leadership, they shouted in unison: "go china!" he also hopes to use this method to cheer up the chinese national football team, which is in a trough. from becoming famous for shouting "return the money" after the world cup qualifiers to now sticking with the chinese national football team, the current "return the money brother" can be said to be full of positive energy.
he sheng plays soccer with his fellow players at a soccer field near dalian shoal bay football stadium
1. what was it like to experience a 0-7 scoreline?
"the court didn't collapse, but a few japanese boys on the subway broke my defense"
in the 2016 world cup qualifiers, the chinese national football team lost 0-1 to syria at home in xi'an. after the game, he sheng shouted in front of the microphone of letv sports reporter chao yiwen: "are you worthy of us?... give us back our money!" after the video was fermented on the internet, he sheng became an overnight sensation, and he was therefore called "give us back brother" by fans. whenever the chinese national football team performs poorly, the "give us back" joke created by he sheng also makes fans never tired of it.
in the 2016 world cup qualifiers, the chinese national football team lost 0-1 to syria in xi'an. he sheng shouted in front of the camera, "give me back my money" (video screenshot)
in recent years, he sheng has almost never missed the chinese national football team's home games. last week, when the chinese national football team visited japan in the first round of the top 18, he brought his daughter to japan to cheer for the team. when talking to the red star news reporter about his feelings after experiencing the 0-7 defeat on the spot, he sheng said:i wasn't too upset on the court at that time.after the game, many people, including the "dragon team" and "china make noise" fan groups, stayed at the scene and cheered for the chinese team. everyone was prepared for the loss, but the score was indeed a little tragic, which may have exceeded some people's expectations. "
he sheng revealed that after leaving the stadium, he and his daughter met several local japanese boys while riding the subway.they counted to us in chinese on the subway, 1234567. i was a little overwhelmed at that moment!because i was with my daughter, she was still young and didn't quite understand at the time. after we got off the bus, she asked me about it, and i could only tell her that those little boys might have been mocking us. "
when a red star news reporter asked he sheng whether the 0-7 loss in japan was more painful than the one he witnessed in xi'an, he sheng said: "not really, because this was the first game of the top 18 after all, and the japanese team is much stronger than us, and is far ahead in asian football. losing was expected by everyone. we never thought about 3 points, and we didn't even think about getting 1 point from the japanese team. but the loss to syria that year was different, because we still had a chance (to qualify) at that time, and that victory was crucial, whether it was 3 points or 1 point, it was very important. sothe disappointment of the 2016 game was definitely much greater than this away defeat to the japanese team.”
2. why didn’t you think of “returning the money” this time?
"if you don't play well, you may complain, but you still have to show your support when it's time to do so."
after returning from japan, he sheng went back home because he had to send his daughter back first before he could continue to dalian to watch the game.
after the chinese national football team lost to the japanese team, some fans said that they were considering canceling their plans to go to dalian to watch the game because they were really "disappointed" with the chinese national football team. so this time, did he sheng also have the idea of "refunding the money" and back out of the trip to dalian?
in this regard, he sheng said: "in fact, i can understand these fans, because i have had similar experiences myself. to be honest, i think every fan's support for the chinese team is good enough as long as they do their best. we cannot expect every fan to do their best. as long as they support the chinese team within their ability, i think every fan is great! as for myself, the trip to dalian was booked before i went to japan, and it is definitely impossible to cancel it. as i said just now, i never thought i could come back with a victory before i went to japan, but the score was a little bit painful. therefore, the defeat of the national football team will not affect my subsequent schedule."
he sheng arrived in dalian (video screenshot)
with such a glaring score of 0-7, it is inevitable that there will be some divisions among chinese fans. at the pre-match press conference, wang dalei said that after arriving in dalian, many fans made a special trip to the hotel where the national football team was staying to cheer for them, while some fans were sarcastic about this, believing that the current national football team did not deserve the support of the fans. in response, he sheng said: "everyone's mentality is different, and the degree of support for the chinese team is also different. and i only have one home team, and that is the chinese team!so no matter what the results are, it will definitely not affect my continued support.when the team doesn’t play well, i may complain, but when it’s time to support, i think i should show my attitude.”
he sheng, who was "playing football", smiled at the camera
3. are you already a professional football fan?
"if you don't get paid, you're not a professional football fan. it's just that now it's more of a sideline job."
after becoming famous, he sheng has watched football on all continents in recent years, and has experienced the world cup, european cup, asian cup and women's world cup. this kind of life is also envied by many fans, and some fans even speculated whether "refund brother" has become a professional fan now?
he sheng denied this, saying: "i don't think i am a professional football fan. if i were 'professional', i would be paid, but i probably rely on myself in most cases." he even used the word "forced" to describe his entry into the current "internet celebrity football blogger" industry. "in fact, friends who are familiar with me know that i have my own main business. it's just that my main business has been affected, so i focus more on my side business, but it's also because i like (football)."
"refund brother" he sheng signed autographs for fans and took photos with them
fans take a photo with he sheng (left) in dalian
so, what kind of changes have following the chinese national football team for so many years and becoming an internet sensation brought to he sheng?
“i think i may have learned to face it calmly.. many people say that i am not as excited as before when watching football. in fact, when i first started watching football, i thought it was the worst stage of chinese football, but i didn’t expect that it was the peak of chinese football at that time! it can be said that (the level of chinese football) has been declining step by step to the level it is today, so you can accept and face many things calmly. including many people say that i became popular just by swearing, and there will be all kinds of comments on the internet, but now i can face these calmly. anyway, i just try my best to be myself. "he sheng responded.
as for the crucial match between china and saudi arabia tonight, "money refund brother" also gave his outlook. he said: "the round of 18 consists of 10 games, and even if we get third or fourth place in the group, there are still games to play. therefore, our positioning is far more than just one or two games.even though the chinese national football team lost to the saudi team, we still can't give up.if we give up after losing two games, stop cheering, stop working hard, what will we do next? "
red star news reporter jiang shan and photographer liu haiyun from dalian
editor: bao chengli
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