Recently, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) officially launched a new overseas study program, aiming to incubate another Wu Lei type player. At the same time, the unexpected situation of being forced to change the venue of the 40-team tournament has also sounded the alarm for China's preparations for the local home tournament of the 12-team tournament, and the emergency plan is being formulated in a tight schedule.
Just yesterday, the voting for the Player of the Month for the Asian World Cup Qualifiers organized by the AFC concluded successfully, with Wu Lei coming out on top with 36.69% of the votes. In the last four qualifiers, Wu Lei played a total of 289 minutes, contributing five goals and two assists. Looking back, Wu Lei's decision to go abroad for further study was facilitated by Chen Xuyuan, then head of Shanghai SIPG (now Shanghai Harbour). Now, Chen Xuyuan, who is the chairman of the Football Association, is overwhelmed with emotion: "Looking back at Wu Lei's journey, I am more and more convinced that his choice is correct, and my decision-making is also correct. He should be encouraged to bravely step out of the country, if not for this step back then, I think he may still be an outstanding athlete, but it is difficult to reach today's achievements."
Wu Lei's success has inspired a new stay in the ocean program, Chen Xuyuan revealed: "A Wu Lei is obviously not enough, we have launched this program, looking forward to the emergence of more 'Wu Lei'. I hope that at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, not one, two, but four, five such players can go out of the country."
In view of the impact of the new crown epidemic, the organization of China's home matches for the 12-team tournament has attracted a lot of attention. The Football Association has set up six special groups around the tournament, and one of their tasks is to study matters related to home and away matches. Chen Xuyuan said: "We must not give up the home advantage for our own reasons. The key lies in how to harmonize the national anti-epidemic policy, FIFA and AFC regulations. This is a factor full of variables. We have to be prepared for everything, if we can organize the home tournament, then we will do it, if we can't, how will we cope?"
In preparation for the Top 12, the Chinese team plans to schedule several high-level warm-up matches, "We have to play several high-quality matches because the Top 12 is very different from the Top 40, and there is a need for several high-quality warm-up matches, which is crucial for our preparation." Chen Xuyuan emphasized.
