The Italian Serie A club, Pomì Casalmaggiore announced on their official website that, in effective on 28 November 2017, the club has terminated the contractual relationship with Chinese player Chunlei Zeng under mutual agreement.
Zeng, who has found little room in the Italian volleyball league due to difficulty in both adapting to the European playing style and local lifestyle in Italy, will be going back home tomorrow. Accordingly, she has already received an immediate offer from her home team- Beijing, to replace the position of Rachel Rourke who was injured.
Due to distinctive physiques, Asian and European style of playing are vastly different. European players with advantage in height and phyiscal strength are generally stronger at attacking and blocking whereas Asian players are better at ground defense and quick attack. To play as an attacker in European league, Asian players have to work extra hard to gain their spot. Same token for European players who wish to play as libero or setter in Asian leagues.
Zeng is not the only Asian players who failed to adapt themselves to European league. Legendary Japanese player Kimura Saori is also one of them who failed to shine as she did in her home country. Nevertheless, we see there are exceptions such as Kim Yeon Koung and Zhu Ting who remain to be one of the top players internationally.
