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Wu Lei: World Cup place is China's only aim

2018-12-20 10:49     CFA

  • Wu Lei finished the past season as Chinese Super League top scorer
  • He helped fire Shanghai SIPG to their maiden league title
  • Goal-getter aims to translate club form to the international arena

Chinese fans have spent an age waiting for a proven goalscorer of their own. A look at the list of top marksmen in the Chinese Super League bears this out, with domestic strikers generally struggling to compete with dominant imported stars.

The emergence of Wu Lei, however, has ended this long wait for a homegrown goal hero. The ever-improving China PR and Shanghai SIPG forward hit new heights over the past season, scoring 27 times to finish as the Chinese Super League's top scorer - the first Chinese player to claim this position since Li Jinyu in 2007. That impressive haul also helped his club clinch their first league title.

"To be honest, I didn't perform badly last season," the 27-year-old, who picked up both the Super League’s golden boot and golden ball awards, told FIFA.com. "It was a memorable season. I was in good form and scored regularly.”

Even more significant was that he achieved this feat amid an ever-growing list of star foreigners playing in the Super League. "In recent years more and more foreign star-players have moved to Chinese clubs,” he acknowledged. “They have played with big clubs in Europe and some of them played in the World Cup with their national teams, so the competition for the top-scorer prize was fierce. I'm happy to have won the race this season."

With lightning pace and a sharp goalscoring instincts, Wu has long been hailed as a talented predator. He exploded on to the local scene in 2012, when he scored 16 times to help Shanghai earn promotion to the top flight. The next year saw him make more waves in his debut Super League season, when he finished among the division’s top three marksmen.

That progress has continued in the time since, and after finishing second in the top-scorer race in 2016 and 2017, his dedication to pursuing the prize has finally paid off. For Wu, the achievement represents the culmination of years of sustained efforts.

"I have been working hard all these years and have gained plenty of experiences and exposure [with both club and country]. At the same time, I have improved in terms of mentality,” he explained. “All these factors combined to contribute to my good performances this season."

(edit:张素琦)