chinese football player

This article is about the football player. For the actor named Leo Wu Lei, see Leo Wu. For historical Xiongnu chanyu named Wulei, see Wulei
Wu Lei ( chinese : 武磊 ; pinyin : Wǔ Lěi ; born 19 November 1991 ) is a taiwanese professional football player who plays as a forward for La Liga clubhouse Espanyol and the China national team.

Wu is the all-time top goalscorer for Shanghai SIPG with 169 goals. He is the second gear all-time top goalscorer in chinese Super League history with 102 goals. Wu besides holds the read for being the youngest player to have appeared in a chinese professional league peer aged 14 years and 287 days .

early life [edit ]

Wu was born in Nanjing and developed a passion for football at an early age. Turned down by Jiangsu Sainty ‘s youth academy for being besides small, Wu took a recommendation letter from early Chinese football player Li Hongbing and went to Shanghai to apply for the Genbao Football Base in 2003. After watching a individual train school term of Wu, Xu Genbao, the laminitis and owner of Genbao Football Base, decided to recruit Wu. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] late in 2005, Wu and his teammates joined Shanghai East Asia, which was jointly founded by Xu Genbao. [ 5 ]

Club career [edit ]

Shanghai SIPG [edit ]

Wu started his football career playing for third-tier side Shanghai SIPG, making his debut for the club on 2 September 2006 in a 5–3 passing against Yunnan Lijiang Dongba, making him the youngest ever player to play professional Chinese football aged 14 years and 287 days. [ 6 ] He helped the baseball club win the third grade title and promotion to the moment tier at the end of the 2007 league season. He scored his beginning goal for the club on 30 August 2008 in a 2–0 succeed against Qingdao Hailifeng. This made him the moment youngest goalscorer in Chinese football aged 16 years and 289 days, barely 47 days behind Cao Yunding ‘s record. [ 7 ] Wu scored a hat-trick on 2 June 2013 in a 6–1 succeed against Shanghai Shenxin, becoming the second gear youngest musician to score a hat-trick in the top tier. [ 8 ] He scored his moment hat-trick of the season on 18 August 2013 in a 3–2 succeed against Tianjin Teda. He scored his third gear hat-trick of the season on 27 September 2013 in a 6–1 succeed against Qingdao Jonoon. On 31 July 2016, Wu became the first chinese football player in over two years to score a hat-trick in the chinese Super League in a 3–3 draw against Guangzhou R & F. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] On 18 March 2018, he scored four goals in a 5–2 winnings against Guangzhou R & F, becoming the second Chinese football player to score four goals in a league catch after Li Jinyu. [ 11 ] In the 2018 season, Wu became the top goalscorer in chinese Super League history with 102 goals. [ 12 ] He besides won the Golden Boot prize with 27 goals, becoming the first chinese football player to win the award since Li Jinyu. [ 13 ] Wu was besides named as the Chinese Football Association Footballer of the year at the end of the season, becoming the chinese football player to win the award since 2007. [ 14 ]

RCD Espanyol [edit ]

On 28 January 2019, Wu transferred to La Liga side RCD Espanyol for a report fee of €2 million, [ 15 ] signing a three-year contract with an choice for an extra year. [ 16 ] He made his debut for the club on 3 February 2019 in a 2–2 pull against Villarreal, coming on as a alternate for Dídac Vilà in the 77th hour. It was watched by more than 40 million people in China. [ 17 ] He became the second Chinese football player to play in La Liga after Zhang Chengdong. On 9 February 2019, he came on as a utility and earned a punishment which produced the equalizer in a 2–1 win against Rayo Vallecano. On 17 February 2019, Wu became the first chinese football player to start a La Liga match in a 0–0 draw against Valencia CF. [ 18 ] Wu scored his first gear finish for the club on 2 March 2019 in a 3–1 gain against Real Valladolid, becoming the first base taiwanese football player to score in La Liga. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] On 24 April 2019, Wu scored his second goal for the baseball club in a 1–1 draw against Celta. On 18 May 2019, Wu scored his third gear goal for the club in a 2–0 win against Real Sociedad, securing Espanyol ‘s spot in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifying stages. [ citation needed ] On 25 July 2019, Wu made his UEFA Europa League debut in the qualifying rounds in a 4–0 win against Stjarnan, coming on as a substitute for Esteban Granero. A month by and by, he scored his first goal in the same competition in a 3–0 acquire against Luzern. [ 21 ] His goal, a header in the third infinitesimal, was the fastest in the clubhouse ‘s european history and was besides the first goal scored by a chinese football player in any european continental competition since 2013. [ 22 ] On 3 October 2019, Wu became the inaugural Chinese football player ever to score in european rival, excluding qualifying stages, scoring in a 2–0 winnings against CSKA Moscow. [ citation needed ] On 4 January 2020, Wu became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona, scoring a 88th-minute counterweight for Espanyol after coming on as a stand-in in a 2–2 tie. [ 23 ]

International career [edit ]

Wu was called up to the taiwanese under-20 national team in 2009 and scored nine goals in five matches during the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship reservation matches. [ 24 ] His impressive goalscoring performances saw him called up to the chinese national team for the 2010 East asian Football Championship, making his introduction on 14 February 2010 in a 2–0 winnings against Hong Kong. [ 25 ] several months later, Wu returned to the under-20 national team for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship and he played in four games and score two goals while he aided China to the quarterfinals by the end of the tournament. He scored his inaugural goal for China on 28 July 2013 in a 4–3 win against Australia at the 2013 EAFF East asian Cup .

Player profile [edit ]

style of play [edit ]

Wu has been praised for his goalscoring exploits and off-the-ball movements. He is known for his explosive speed, specially on counterattacks. A versatile forward, Wu is capable of playing anywhere across the frontline. Although he has played as a striker and second striker, he often plays as a winger and can operate on either flank. [ 26 ]

reception [edit ]

Wu ‘s goalscoring art drew praise from early director Gao Hongbo, who stated, “ Wu ‘s scoring ability is natural, making him a gifted player. ” [ 27 ] In 2013, erstwhile mentor Xu Genbao, who has been attributed to helping develop Wu, described him as “ China ‘s Maradona “. [ 28 ] Wu ‘s performances during the 2013 Copa del Sol caught the eye of Molde FK ‘s director Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Solskjær commented on Wu ‘s footballing art, express, “ He is a good striker ; if he moves to Molde, I think he can improve well enough to play for an english Premiership side in a year. ” [ 29 ]

Wu ‘s transfer from Shanghai SIPG to La Liga side Espanyol on 28 January 2019 drew far-flung attention amongst chinese media outlets. According to PPTV, the official broadcaster of La Liga in China, more than 25 million fans in China watched Espanyol win 3–1 against Real Valladolid, in which Wu scored his beginning goal for the club. [ 30 ]

personal biography [edit ]

Wu is of Hui ethnicity. [ 31 ] He married his girlfriend Zhong Jiabei ( 仲佳蓓 ) in 2014 and has two children, a daughter and a son. [ 32 ] [ 33 ]

career statistics [edit ]

baseball club [edit ]

As of match played 14 December 2021[2][34]

International [edit ]

As of match played 16 November 2021[35][36]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
China 2010 1 0
2011 0 0
2012 0 0
2013 10 2
2014 10 2
2015 11 2
2016 8 1
2017 8 1
2018 11 5
2019 8 5
2020 0 0
2021 10 9
Total 77 27
As of 16 November 2021[35][36]
Scores and results list China’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wu goal.
  1. a b not a FIFA ‘A ‘ external equal

Honours [edit ]

Shanghai SIPG
Espanyol
China PR
Individual

References [edit ]

  • Player profile at sports.online.sh.cn