May Day holiday, the pride of our soccer community
Wu Lei (1979-), Chinese footballer
With the help of the Spaniards, he came on as a substitute in the 37th round of the Liga MX, helping his team beat Malaga 3-0, adding to his team's early return to the Liga MX. However, due to injuries and seasonal scheduling, Wu Lei is likely to return home early on May 18 to put in the national team's preparations for the Top 40 tournament.
As the only seed of the Chinese men's soccer team in overseas matches, Wu Lei still chooses to insist on returning to the La Liga with the team, despite the fact that he has not had many chances to play recently. As a matter of fact, the Spaniards are in good shape at the moment, with 77 points after 37 rounds of matches, 23 wins, 8 draws and 6 losses, leading the second division, and only one step away from being promoted to the La Liga. If they can win in the next two rounds of matches, Espanyol will lock the promotion place in advance, and Wu Lei will also get his wish.
According to the Spaniards, they originally wanted Wu Lei to return home on May 24 after hosting Tenerife. However, considering the needs of the national team to prepare for the 40-team tournament and the fact that Wu Lei has not returned home for a long time to take part in the training, the national team strongly requested Wu Lei to return to the team as soon as possible. In consultation with the CFA, the Spaniards agreed to the request.
In order to ensure the safety of Wu Lei on his way back to China, CFA specially contacted the civil aviation department to arrange a special plane for Wu Lei and carry out isolation observation at Pudong Airport. After arriving in Shanghai, Wu Lei will undergo the necessary tests and medical observation, and then go to Suzhou to practice together.
The reason why the CFA and the national team asked Wu Lei to return to China on May 18 is to ensure that he will be able to synchronize with his teammates on May 20 when the national team officially assembles. In this way, the national team will have 10 days to prepare for the match, making up for Wu Lei's lack of participation in training over the past year or so. In addition, Wu Lei will complete his jet lag adjustment before the game to ensure that he is in top form.
While it's a shame that Wu Lei won't be able to stick with the Spaniards until the end of the season, it's obviously more important that he's able to represent the national team and compete for a chance to qualify for the Round of 12.
