19-year-old women’s football international Wang Aifang: My idol is Kroos because his passing is very calm

In an interview with The Paper on October 22, 19-year-old Chinese women’s football international Wang Aifang said that her idol is Kroos.

In this year's national team competition, 19-year-old Wang Aifang performed brilliantly and received more expectations. The young man admitted that the attention from the outside world is not pressure, "but makes me want to show myself more."

At the Yongchuan International Women's Football Championship in April this year, Wang Aifang ushered in a milestone for her national team - against the Thai women's football team in the final, she scored a goal, helping the team win the championship trophy and also ushered in her first goal in her national team career.

In the Women's Football East Asian Cup in July, the young midfielder also got playing time to express himself, and eventually won the runner-up in the East Asian Cup with the Chinese Women's Football Team. However, what probably got her a lot of attention on the Internet was the U20 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers.

In August, when the Chinese team beat Cambodia 7-0, Wang Aifang took a long-range free kick in the 53rd minute. The ball drew an arc and then dropped rapidly, scoring directly. This wonderful goal reminded many fans of Brazilian star Ronaldinho's classic free kick.

However, Wang Aifang said that her idol is actually not Ronaldinho, but the German midfield master Kroos. "Because his passing is very calm." Wang Aifang said that this is the reason why she likes Kroos. Her own playing style on the field is considered by many fans to be quite calm and mature. This part also comes from the role model of her idol. "I usually watch some game highlights, including those wonderful passes and good coordination."

Wang Aifang's football career began in Dalian Sunshine Primary School. Born in Henan, she settled in Dalian with her parents when she was 8 years old. She was selected for the school football team because of her outstanding athletic talent. Soon, after her outstanding performance in the school team, she entered the Dalian Jinpu New District Sports School, and then gradually became a member of the Liaoning Women's Football Team.

Wang Aifang said that her family does not have a "family tradition" of engaging in sports. The reason why she entered the world of professional football was more out of her own interest and love. "Actually, the parents are quite worried. They feel sorry for me that I have to go out (for training and competition) at such a young age, but I still want to go."

After coming to the Liaoning Women's Football Team, Wang Aifang was not intimidated by the tough training schedule. Instead, she found a sense of accomplishment and fun in the challenges. In the past few years, she has grown and improved with the team. Now at the age of 19, she has already worn the captain's armband of the Liaoning Women's Football Team.

Compared with international high-level players, she also knows that she still needs to grow. She said: "In the youth team competition, there may be opportunities to make up for mistakes, but after coming to the adult team, a mistake may make the opponent seize the opportunity, and the confrontation intensity is also higher. So now we need to be more proactive in confrontation, and You have to take the initiative to observe. In the national team training camp, my goal is to do every step steadily, learn from the experience of my sisters, and improve my abilities."

In addition to Kroos as her idol, Wang Aifang also has her own idol among Chinese female football players, and that is the veteran Zhang Rui who has been the main midfielder for many years.

"Growing up, many coaches have used Sister Rui as an example to guide me, and I have learned from Sister Rui since I was a child. Now I also need to improve in many aspects, such as body, passing, defense, offense, etc. For example, in offense, I need to improve my ability to observe passing and play more clearly and calmly. Defense includes hardness, running, and personal ball control ability under pressure. Of course, there are also long shots. I have to improve in all aspects."

"As a young man, I need to improve myself. As a young player, I definitely hope that through hard work, I can stand on the international arena, play for the country, win glory for the country, and achieve good results. The Chinese women's football team is a group that is particularly united and able to fight hard. No matter what difficulties and dilemmas we face, we will all fight and challenge together. "

Of course, for Wang Aifang, the main goal at the moment is to use good performance to gain more playing time and let more people see herself. "(Outside attention) does not put a lot of pressure on me. Instead, it makes me want to show myself more and put forward higher requirements in future training and competitions to make myself better. My current idea is to do myself well first and be prepared for everything."