In 2023, Wu Lei was honored with China's Golden Globe Award, his fourth individual award experience. Journalist Yin Bo shared insights on this event.
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Wu Lei's award caused a lot of buzz on social media in 2023, with some people even mocking it. Wu Lei himself looked a little embarrassed about the award, having thought for a while that he might not win after his Super Bowl loss. Although he eventually walked onto the podium, his expression still revealed some discomfort, with joy and calmness hard to find on his face. In fact, this is not only a personal misfortune, but also a weight that the Chinese soccer world cannot bear.
This is the fourth time Wu Lei has won the China Golden Ball Award and the first time he has attended the ceremony in person. The first three times he won the award, Wu Lei was in the Spanish club, the trophy was sent by the organizers to Barcelona. The experience of winning these four awards precisely maps the course of Chinese soccer from boom to bust. I remember his first two awards, the first time because he was the only player in the Chinese Super League to play in Europe's top five leagues, young and talented, much attention; the second time was the highlight of his career overseas, successfully breaking through the Barcelona defense, won the praise of the crowd. However, the third award was slightly embarrassing, when Wu Lei was marginalized in the Espanyol team, but still three times on the list, reflecting the loss of Chinese soccer talent and the trend of the river.
As for this fourth award, with "reluctant" to describe seems no longer appropriate, perhaps "make up the number" or "had to let Wu Lei out as a target", this kind of statement may be This may be more appropriate. Public opinion ridiculed both Wu Lei and the organizers. However, after checking the information, I found that before the final results were announced, the top three candidates in the first round of voting were Wei Shihao, Wu Lei and Yu Hanchao. This meant that the organizers could only choose the Golden Ball winner among the three. Wu Lei, as a starter in the last Chinese Super League championship, was at least a qualified candidate. Wei Shihao is in the top three thanks to his outstanding performance against Thailand in the national soccer preseason, while 37-year-old Yu Hanchao unexpectedly made the list of candidates with his goal in the FA Cup final. If we don't choose Wu Lei, I'm afraid we will be scolded even more by the fans.
Obviously, it's not that Wu Lei had to win this honor, nor that the organizers intended to "pull the general out of the crippled", but that the Chinese players provided a wide range of choices for both the organizers and the fans, and even with the change of the jury, it's still hard to change the situation. The Chinese Ballon d'Or is not an official award, but rather one created by the media. When it was first established, the award was meant to mimic the FIFA World Footballer of the Year and the European Ballon d'Or awards, seeking a balance between official and private awards that would reflect the development of Chinese soccer from different perspectives. In order to support local players and coaches, the scope of the award was limited to local players, excluding foreign aiders and coaches. While the original intention was good, it also led to self-restraint. Nowadays, Chinese soccer is in shambles and the role of the national football team is almost negligible, relying on the league and fans to support them. Therefore, after excluding foreigners, we can only choose the "best". We should not expect too much.
So let Wu Lei move on. It may even be difficult to find candidates for Wu Lei for the next round of selection early next year. If you want to continue this award, either liberalize the restrictions on foreign aid and foreign coaches, or change it to Youth Future Star. The fact that the winner of this selection is not a club or a national team, but a down-to-earth and obscure village super, seems to be a signal. In short, such awards can only really convince the public if the industry is prosperous or at least normal, and the current Chinese soccer obviously can not match the name of "Golden Ball".
