Recently, the lineup of candidates for the Golden Ball Award, the highest honor in Chinese soccer for the year 2023, was unveiled, with soccer stars such as Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Tan Long, and Wang Dalei listed. If all goes well, Wu Lei is expected to be the winner of the award. The selection of the Chinese Golden Ball Award not only takes into account the player's personal honor, but also combines the data of his on-field performance. First of all, from the perspective of personal honor, Wu Lei led his team to successfully win the 2023 Chinese Super League title, an achievement that makes him a strong contender for the China Golden Ball Award.
Furthermore, Wu Lei has played a key role in Hong Kong's matches in this season's Chinese Super League, and whenever his team gets into a stalemate, he is always quick to step up and save the day. As a result, he was also honored as the local Golden Boot of the Chinese Super League and ranked high on the scorer list. It can be said that without Wu Lei's outstanding performance, it is difficult for the team to realize the breakthrough of the Chinese Super League title.
On balance, Wu Lei winning the 2023 China Golden Ball Award is a foregone conclusion. It is worth noting that Wu Lei has won the award three times, in 2018, 2019 and 2021.In 2018, he won the award for the first time, for his outstanding performance in leading his Hong Kong side to the Chinese Super League (CSL) title, as well as for his individual CSL Golden Boot.In 2019, he won plaudits for his performances during his studies in La Liga, and in 2021, he won a number of accolades for his similarly impressive performances with the national team.
Now, Wu Lei is expected to win China's Golden Ball Award for the fourth time, which makes him the best among China's active players. However, this also reflects the fault line of Chinese soccer talent. Meanwhile, the much-hyped Wei Shihao has never been able to reach Wu Lei's heights in league and national team matches, which signals that he will play a learning role in the selection of China Golden Ball Award. It is expected that Wei Shihao will have an outstanding performance in next season's Chinese Super League and national team matches, and strive to surpass Wu Lei and win his first career Golden Ball Award in the 2024 China Golden Ball Award.
