In the evening of January 7, China's Football Association officially released an announcement about the new national soccer team training. In this announcement, in addition to the original foreign technical director Kreis, assistant Roy and Italian rehabilitation physician Corti and other international staff, but also ushered in two new foreign coaches - Spain assistant coach Jose Pep and Brazilian physical fitness coach Owen Wilk. However, like many naturalized players, Pep was temporarily unable to arrive in China for some reason to take part in the training session in Shanghai, and it remains unknown whether he will be able to make it to Japan in time to join the team.
According to the announcement released by the Football Association on the evening of the 7th, the naturalized players Jiang Guangtai and Alan, who are currently under contract with the Guangzhou Football Club, as well as Luo Guofu, Ekerson and Fernando, who have already terminated their contracts and have returned to Brazil, have all been recruited by the new head coach Li Xiaopeng. Although Jiang Guangtai has already returned to his home country and represented Guangzhou in the Chinese Super League, there is no definite answer as to whether the other four naturalized players will continue to prepare for and participate in the next round of 12 matches with the team.
It is reported that Jiang Guangtai is currently in China, and despite the uncertainty over the future of Guangzhou Football Club's shareholding reform, there is a strong possibility that he will participate in the national team's Shanghai training and travel to Japan with the team. The four of them, Alan, Luo Guofu, Ekerson and Fernando, are all currently in Brazil. Among them, the first three had represented the national team in the previous Top 12 matches, and they have expressed their willingness to continue to play for their country. However, as they are currently on vacation, it is unclear whether they will be able to participate in systematic training, and the national team is unable to accurately grasp their physical condition despite maintaining contact with them. Even if they return, they will have to travel directly from Brazil to Japan to join the team.
It has long been no secret that Pep, a close collaborator of Li Xiaopeng during his time at the club, has joined the national team coaching staff. However, it is reported that he is currently in Barcelona, Spain. Due to the impact of the epidemic and international travel restrictions, he will not be able to make it to Shanghai on time to meet the team. This means that at the earliest he will have to wait until after the team's trip to Japan before he can make it to the away game to meet up with the team.
In addition, according to the news, 13 local coaches, including 11 former internationals such as Sun Jihai, Shao Jiayi, Zheng Zhi and Zhao Junzhe, will be involved in the coaching of the current national team, but their main task will be to assist the huge player squad in group training. Some of them will leave the national team after completing their training in Shanghai and will not travel with the team to Japan.
