Wu Lei's return and the future outlook for Spaniards
On August 6, the newsflash came that
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
I confirmed that he is about to end his foreign trip and return to Shanghai harbor. Before returning to his home country, Yan Xu, a reporter from the Spanish station of Sports Weekly, started a conversation with a reporter from As newspaper, discussing in depth about the
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
, Spaniards, Chinese national soccer team and many other topics.
"What did I get in Spain?" Yan Xu recalled, "The gains here far exceeded my expectations, I learned how a club that is not a large club operates, the youth academy, women's soccer, the lower leagues ------ It was a learning journey I had not imagined, and for me, everything was full of surprises."
"What do you think is so special about this Spanish team?"
"The team is in a unique environment next to one of the most popular clubs in modern soccer and we have a close-knit family. Although there are sometimes negative aspects that I don't like so much, when we face Barcelona in a game, all the dissatisfaction dissipates and all that remains is unity."
"Can you bring that kind of vibe back to China?"
"It's hard, there's a lot of pretense in the country that it's
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
Fans of people who expect my career to be in trouble are always criticizing and damaging my image. Fortunately, the situation is gradually improving. As the only Chinese journalist covering the Spaniards, these three years have been very tough for me."
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
Will the departure of the Spanish lose a lot of Chinese fans?
"Without Wu Lei, 95% of Chinese fans would leave. They don't do it because they like the club, they do it because they are proud that a Chinese player is playing in this league. Only 5% of Chinese fans will continue to follow Espanyol, that's my opinion."
"If you translate that percentage into numbers, it's probably a few hundred, maybe thousands. But it would be more fans than Villarreal, Betis, Real Sociedad, etc."
"It's only in the three and a half years that Wu Lei has been playing for Espanyol that Chinese fans have started to pay attention to the team. I don't think Spaniards will sign another Chinese player because there are no players of that level in the country."
How would La Liga be in your country without Chinese players?
"It is lucky for the Chinese national soccer team to have a player playing in La Liga. If Wu Lei was born in Spain, with his talent and mentality, he could have reached a higher level. But in China, that may not be the case. Women's soccer is slightly better, but it's not playing very well right now. To be honest, Chinese people prefer to focus on movies and TV programs than soccer."
What is the interest in soccer within China?
"During World Cup qualifiers, unless you win, you get the impression that a lot of people don't really care about the team. Such an environment is not conducive to long-term projects that require patience, calm and determination."
