My name is Muhammad Shahbaz Ijaz. I arrived in Wuxi in 2024 as an international student from Pakistan at the School of Textile Science and Engineering, Jiangnan University. I attended many cultural festivals here in Wuxi, where I tried food that I couldn't pronounce. I discovered that Wuxi, with its quiet canals and modern skyline, is a city that adopts you if you let it. One of the best memories was the match between Wuxi and Taizhou on May 9 at Yixing Sports Center, with one of my best friends, Waris Ali.
I still remember walking out of Yixing Sports Center last year. I had just watched Wuxi lose to Nanjing. It was a fantastic match — end-to-end, passionate, loud — but losing hurts differently when you've started to love a team. That was my second live football match in Wuxi. This season, I got another chance to watch the football match between Wuxi and Taizhou at Yixing Sports Center with my friend Ali. Same place. Let's go. I didn't hesitate. I had a feeling this time would be different.
Muhammad Shahbaz Ijaz (middle) and his friends pose for a group photo during the match. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
The stadium atmosphere: Electric and unforgettable
Walking into Yixing Sports Center again felt like meeting an old friend. The green pitch glowed under the floodlights. The home fans were already singing — not loudly, but steadily, like a drumbeat you feel in your chest. We found our seats. Not fancy. Just perfect. Close enough to see the players' faces, far enough to watch the whole game unfold. What surprised me most? The families. Kids with painted faces. Grandparents clapping along. Here, the passion was real but respectful. It felt like a celebration, not a war. And the drums. Oh, the drums. A small group of Wuxi ultras never stopped beating them. Every attack, every tackle, every corner — the drums got louder.
Audience cheers for the teams during the match. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
First half — Pure joy, then a shock
The first whistle blew, and Wuxi looked different from last year. Sharper. Faster. Braver.
Twenty-second minute: A beautiful pass split Taizhou's defense. The Wuxi striker ran onto it and slotted the ball into the far corner. The stadium erupted. I jumped so fast I almost knocked Waris's phone out of his hand. We high-fived as if we had scored ourselves. My thought at that moment: "This is it. This is the Wuxi I wanted to see last year." But football is cruel.
Forty-fifth minute (almost half-time): A corner — a scramble. Taizhou poked the ball in. 1-1. Silence. I saw a young Wuxi fan — maybe 10 years old — put his head in his hands. I knew exactly how he felt.
Screen shows the scores between Team Wuxi (left) and Team Taizhou. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
Waris just looked at me and said: "Last year all over again?" I shook my head. "No. Different team. Watch."
Second half — A masterclass
Fifty-eighth minute — The goal
Wuxi's number 10 picked up the ball 25 yards from the goal. No pass on. No runner. Most players would have held it. Not him. The ball rose like it had somewhere important to be. Top corner. The goalkeeper didn't even move. For one second, the whole stadium was silent — stunned. Then absolute chaos. Strangers hugged me. I hugged Waris. We were shouting words that made no sense. My honest opinion: That was the best goal I have ever seen live in Wuxi, anywhere. You don't forget strikes like that.
Seventy-fourth minute — The killer blow:
Taizhou pushed forward looking for an equalizer — big mistake. Wuxi stole the ball and broke like lightning. Three passes. One finish. 3-1.
Screen shows the scores between Team Wuxi (left) and Team Taizhou. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
Game over.
The last 15 minutes were a victory parade. Every Wuxi touch got cheered. Every Taizhou mistake got laughed at (politely — Chinese fans are too nice for real mocking). When the final whistle blew, I didn't cheer. I just sat for a second. Smiling. Last year, I left this stadium sad. This year, I left happy. That's what football does.
On Wuxi's performance: This season, Wuxi is genuinely fantastic. Against Taizhou, they showed three things I didn't see last year: Mental strength — conceding right before half-time could have broken them. It didn't. Individual brilliance — that 58th-minute goal was world-class. League Two? That was Premier League quality. Team spirit — every player celebrated every tackle like it was a goal. That tells you everything. On watching live vs TV: TV doesn't capture the sound of a net rippling. TV doesn't show you the older man behind you who has supported Wuxi for 20 years, crying happy tears. TV doesn't let you turn to your best friend and scream "WE WON" at the same moment. Live football is messy. It's loud. It's expensive to get there. But when your team wins — really wins — nothing in the world feels better. On being a football fan in Wuxi: Some people ask me, "Why do you care about a Chinese club team?" Because football doesn't ask for your passport. Wuxi gave me joy when I was 4,000 miles from home. Waris and I — a Pakistani — found a home in a Chinese stadium. That's beautiful.
Players strive hard on the field. [Photo provided to en.wuxi.gov.cn]
Match rating: 9.5/10 (minus 0.5 only because Taizhou's goal was lucky). Wuxi's season so far: Fantastic. Best team I've watched live in China. Would I go again? Already planning the next match. Advice to other international students: Go to a live match. Find a team. Lose with them. Win with them. It will be one of the best decisions you make in China. And to Wuxi: Thank you for erasing last year's memory. Thank you for that 58th-minute rocket. Final score: Wuxi 3 – 1 Taizhou. Man of the match (my opinion): Wuxi number 10 — that goal alone is worth the ticket price for every Wuxi fan.
Football, I have learned, is more than a game. It is a language that needs no translation. When Wuxi scored that 58th-minute rocket, I didn't celebrate like a Pakistani student or a foreigner. I celebrated like a fan. Just a fan. And in that moment, surrounded by 24,000 strangers who felt like family, I realized something: home is not always where you are born. Sometimes, home is where you cheer. Wuxi gave me that. And every time I hear those drums, I will remember the night my team won, and I belonged completely.
The author is a Pakistani student at the School of Textile Science and Engineering, Jiangnan University. He arrived in Wuxi in 2024.
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