March 15 - In an interview with Sportsweek, Wu Lei talks about the level of the Chinese Super League and how his role has changed over the years.
Talking about the current level of competition in the Chinese Super League
In terms of the technical and tactical level and the level of game viewing, the Premier League is definitely not as good as it was in 2017 and in the two years in 2018 when the games didn't look as intense and exciting. At that time, the Chinese Super League teams had very strong foreign aiders with whom they trained and played at a completely different pace. Currently, in the Chinese Super League, the overall level of foreign aid has dropped significantly, and the environment for young local players to grow up is not ideal.
How has the drop in the overall standard of the league affected domestic players? Has your role changed?
As a matter of fact, my role has been changing. in 2013, I played in the Chinese Super League for the first time. At that time, the team didn't have any big foreigners. Our brothers and foreigners blended perfectly and I took on more tasks and responsibilities. With the addition of Konka, Hulk and Oscar, my role in front of goal changed significantly, mainly to help them. After traveling in Europe and coming back to Hong Kong, my role has changed in a new way, not only to take on more responsibility in the game, but also to help my younger teammates grow. As I get older, I also actively seek to change and keep trying out new roles and new positions. At the moment, there are many potential newcomers in the Hong Kong team, and helping them and guiding them is a task I have to fulfill.
Let's talk about the national team! In last year's World Qualifier, you equalized the crucial equalizer away in Thailand. At the time, the image of you flying in to scoop the ball against the goalpost was impressive
This is the most basic duty of a striker! The ball is there and if you have a chance to reach it, you should do your best (to hit it in). At that time, I felt that the ball could touch and play in by itself, there was no other possibility in my mind... It's the instinct of a striker and what I have to do for the team.
