As the saying goes, a new official first burns three fires. However, Li Xiaopeng's fire has not yet been lit, will encounter a triple predicament: the assistant coach team is slow to take shape; Allan, Ickerson and Luo Guofu three naturalized players returned to Brazil one after another; Wang Gang, Wu Xinghan, two international footballers unfortunately serious injuries, the season drew to a close in advance.
Assistant coaches to be determined
After Li Xiaopeng became the head coach of the national team, he began to build his own team of assistant coaches, however, so far there is still no conclusion.
He had been expecting Spanish coach Pep to join the team, the two having worked together at the club and having a good relationship. However, Pep, who is in Barcelona, will not be able to join the national team, at least temporarily, due to the epidemic.
Not long ago, Li Xiaopeng specially went to Shanghai to discuss the national team affairs with the leadership of the Football Association, including the candidates for the coaching team. It is reported that at that time has selected a list of assistant coach candidates, but some of them are still serving in the club, is involved in the league, which makes the national team coaching team formation work in a stalemate.
Naturalized players are returning home in droves
After the national team's match against Australia, Alan returned directly to the United Arab Emirates to visit his family, becoming the first naturalized player to return home.
Although Ackerson and Luo Guofu returned to China with the national team, they have terminated their contracts with Guangzhou Football Club and left one after another. Of the four naturalized players recruited by Li Tie's national team, only Jiang Guangtai remains in China to play in the Chinese Super League with Guangzhou.
The returning Ackerson, Luo Guofu and Alan are all currently on vacation and have no football to play. As we all know, it is difficult to maintain the players' status after a long period of time without training and playing, and even if they return to the national team, their competitive status cannot be guaranteed. Especially in the context of the epidemic, it is extremely difficult for them to return to China from Brazil to participate in the World Qualifying Tournament.
Two internationals are out for the season with serious injuries
For Li Xiaopeng, the first phase of training after taking office has not yet opened, it has been a succession of misfortune.
On December 17, Guoan club officially announced: Wang Gang has temporarily left the Guangzhou match hotel and went to a local hospital in Guangzhou to undergo surgery due to a fracture of the front end of the radius bone in his right arm.
Wang Gang was injured in the match between Beijing Guoan and Shandong Taishan, and another international player, Wu Xinghan, also suffered a serious injury, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out of action for eight or nine months. Hao Wei, head coach of Shandong Taishan, said: "Wu Xinghan's injury is a big loss for Shandong and the national team, and he will not be able to finish the game. We judge that he may need eight to nine months to be unable to compete."
