Glory is a reward for tenacity - Wuhan team won the first Women s Football AFC Champions League

Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, May 25th Title: Glory is a reward for tenaciousness - Documentary of Wuhan team winning the first Women's Football AFC Champions League title

Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhao Jiantong and Le Wenwan

goalkeeper Chen Chen, who came on the bench, fell to the ground to save the ball to the left, and the ball bounced out of the small penalty area, and the game ended. After 120 minutes of fierce battle, after 6 rounds of brutal penalty shootouts, Wuhan team successfully won the first Asian Football Federation Women's Football Club Champions League championship.

The glory of reaching the top of Asia belongs to Chegujiang Women's Football Team, Wuhan, and China!

(Subtitle) Tenacious power

"We left the trophy in Wuhan!" Wang Shuang, who equalized the score in the 98th minute of the regular time of the final, shouted after the game. The Wuhan girl could not hide her excitement.

This glory is a compliment to the tenacious sports competitive spirit of Wuhan women's football girls.

In this ups and downs final, the Wuhan Women's Football Team achieved extreme reversals twice. Wang Shuang's "draw" in stoppage time dragged the game into overtime. In the penalty shootout, Wuhan team faced a desperate situation of 3:4 behind after four rounds. Substitute goalkeeper Chen Chen withstood the pressure and saved the points for two consecutive rounds, staged an extreme reversal.

Wuhan Women's Football Head Coach Chang Weiwei concluded after the game: The championship came with a difficult time, bumps and bumps, and it was difficult until the end, and it took a lot of twists and turns to win the championship.

Every member of Wuhan Women's Football Team is the creator of glory: in the final, the starting goalkeeper Ding Xuan had a fracture of the lateral trauma, and the midfielder Chen Ying was also sent to the hospital for injuries to the knee meniscus; veteran Wu Haiyan was still trying hard to tackle and defend; Yao Wei, who was fighting with an injury, was the first to play in the penalty shootout, reflecting the captain's responsibility...

Recalling the journey of Wuhan Women's Football Team's AFC Champions League, they crossed mountains and ridges, opening low and headed high.

As the winner of the top Chinese women's football team (Women's Super League) for five consecutive championships, Wuhan women's football team lost 2 and won 1 in three AFC Champions League groups, barely qualifying for the third place in the group; but in the knockout stage, they became more and more courageous, first eliminating the favorite to win the championship, Urawa Red Diamond from Japan in the away penalty shootout, and then eliminated Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Women's Football Team two goals in the semi-finals, and finally reversed the Melbourne City Women's Football Team in the final to win the championship. After two wins in overtime and penalty kicks in three knockout matches, the tenacity of the Wuhan Women's Football Girls won the championship glory.

(subtitle) Witness at home

The first Women's Football Championship final held at Wuhan Sports Center, 18,715 fans were reported to watch the game on the spot, and they were witnesses of history.

Chen Chen said after the game that it is very difficult to win the championship along the way, and the support and encouragement of fans have given the players great strength.

Wuhan people love football and understand football. In this nearly three-hour fierce battle, the fans always controlled the rhythm accurately and cheered for the Wuhan Women's Football Team. In the stands, the fans played the slogan "Han Female Strong". Before the penalty shootout began, the audience sang "Believe in Yourself".

Melbourne City Women's Football Coach Mattricciani admitted at the post-match press conference that the atmosphere at home in Wuhan has brought great psychological pressure to his team.

Chang Weiwei revealed that both Japan and Vietnam had planned to bid for the semi-finals and finals of the first Women's Football Championship. Finally, with the active efforts of the Wuhan Municipal Government and the club, Wuhan obtained the right to host. Playing women's super-time in Tazi Lake is limited by the influence of the venue and the event. The Wuhan Women's Football Team often only has a few hundred people following and supporting them. Nearly 20,000 people were able to come to the scene this time in the Women's Football Championship final, which surprised the players. With the blessing of home court, the light of Wuhan finally shines in Asia.

(subtitle) The inheritance of glory

award ceremony ends. The audience was still singing "Sonk Rose" loudly; outside the court, the fans who left the court were surrounded by a huge five-star red flag and shouting excitedly.

In the Wuhan Women's Football Team, many players were born in this city and grew up here. Wuhan Wansongyuan Road Primary School, named "Asia Outlook - Authorized School for Men's and Women's Football Projects" by the AFC, has trained many players to play for this Wuhan Women's Football Team.

From the women's Super League five consecutive championships to the first women's football AFC Champions League, behind the Wuhan women's football team's successive breakthroughs is Wuhan's efforts to build fertile ground for the development of the women's football team over the past decades.

In 1999, Jianghan University began to form a women's football team, and women's football training and competitions on local primary and secondary schools were also carried out. In 2001, Wuhan Jiangda Women's Football Club was established; in 2017, Wuhan Women's Football Team successfully made its "success" and stood on the top stage of the Chinese Professional Women's Football League for the first time. A few years later, the team began to dominate the Women's Super League.

After winning the Asian Champions League, Wuhan team will have the opportunity to appear in the first newly established Women's Football Club World Cup, and fight with more world-class teams. Head coach Chang Weiwei has a clear understanding of the gap in strength with European and American women's football team: the team still needs to work hard, and Chinese women's football must continue to develop forward.

The fans at the semi-finals and finals of the Women's Football Team, there are many school team students and echelon players. The glorious moment of Wuhan Women's Football Team's top Asia will inspire them to bravely follow the footsteps of their predecessors and realize their football dreams. (End)