In the early morning of January 2, Beijing time, Chinese player Li Lei departed from Shanghai and then will fly from Vienna, Austria to Zurich, Switzerland. After less than a month of reunion with his family, Li Lei will restart his European traveling career. A few days before Li Lei's return to the team, his Swiss club Grasshopper just officially announced the introduction of Japanese player, the versatile defender Teruyuki Hara. As a result, Li Lei will face more fierce competition from his team. As Li Lei's contract with Grasshopper Club will expire at the end of June this year, in the next six months, he will not only have to fully participate in training and matches, but also make a calm plan for his future.
The Grasshoppers finished all their matches in 2022 after playing in the 16th round of the Swiss Super League on November 12 last year. Li Lei returned to China for the first time after 11 months since his trip to Europe on January 4 last year, returning to China for a vacation at the end of November.
Off the soccer field, Li Lei is a person who cares about his family and loves life. Li Lei took advantage of the rare vacation to reunite with his family. On the evening of January 1, Beijing time, Li Lei appeared at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and flew to Zurich via Vienna. He is expected to arrive at his destination at 11:00 p.m. local time on the 2nd. He will spend the whole day on the road.
For Li Lei, the challenges faced in 2023 are much more than last year. On December 30th of last year, Grasshopper FC announced through official channels that the Japanese J-League club Shimizu encouraged the club to rent Japanese player Teruyuki Hara. Teruyuki Hara made his J-League debut for Niigata Swans back in 2017. So far, he has played 160 professional matches. As a defender, he scored 5 goals and finished with 8 assists in the J-League. He is a young player with a lot of potential for development.
Grasshopper Club, including Teruyuki Hara, already has three Japanese players, including Ayumu Seguro, a defender who was also born in 2000. Not only are these two Japanese players young, but they can both win, which means that the 31-year-old Li Lei will face stiffer competition for the same position. However, Li Lei has kept a rational attitude about it. "As a matter of fact, from the first day I left home to go to Europe, I was mentally prepared for the brutality of the competition I might encounter, and the challenges and difficulties I actually faced were even beyond my imagination. But now that I'm out, I have to face everything positively. I can't change others, I can only be myself."
According to the plan, Grasshoppers will re-centralize on January 3 local time before heading to Spain for training on the 5th. It is understood that Li Lei's contract with Grasshopper Club will expire at the end of June this year. Due to injuries and other factors, Li Lei's appearance rate in the first part of this season was not high. Therefore, he needs to take a long-term perspective to judge whether he will stay in Europe or return to the Chinese Super League after the expiration of his contract. Of course, an important basis for his judgment is the competition of the Grasshopper team in the next six months.
In addition, the new national football team will be traveling to New Zealand for training and warm-ups this March, and Li Lei may also be called up by the national football team as the only active player studying abroad. Therefore, no matter what, he should try to train aggressively before the restart of the Swiss Super League (late January this year) to maintain his form and win more impressions in the coaching staff.
