On the evening of November 29, the AFC held an award ceremony in Thailand, and among the many awards, Wu Lei was one of the candidates for the Asian Footballer of the Year Award, which was the most concerned by Chinese fans. Unfortunately, Wu Lei, who has been selected as a candidate for two consecutive years, once again failed, and Syrian striker Helibin finally won the Asian Footballer of the Year.
Why is Wu Lei inferior to the Syrian striker, and where is the difference?
First, we need to understand what are the important scoring criteria for "Asian Footballer of the Year".
1. mvp integral. The number of times you get the best player on the spot.
2. Team performance. National team and club achievements.
3. Fair play. Points will be deducted for red and yellow cards.
4. Number of goals scored. Limited to pk between players in the frontcourt, if the candidate is a goalkeeper with a defender, this item may be ignored.
According to these scoring criteria, Wu Lei's various results should be considered very ideal, helping the club to win the league runner-up, the AFC Champions League top 4, and the FA Cup runner-up. Since 2013, Wu Lei, who has won the top scorer in the Chinese Super League for five consecutive times, has 8 assists in this year's Chinese Super League, in addition to setting a record of 20 best individual Chinese Super League goals. He also scored five goals in the AFC Champions League. These data prove that Wu Lei is one of the best strikers in China today.
But compared to the ultimate winner, Syrian striker Jeribin, he has not been very good this year.
First, the national team's performance was mediocre, and the individual's performance in the national team was not satisfactory.
Like Zheng Zhi's shortlisted candidates in 2015, being dragged down by the national team results is an important reason why Wu Lei did not qualify for the Asian Footballer of the Year. The performance of the national team in the round of 12 is regrettable, 3 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, the 5th elimination of the group, Wu Lei only scored 1 goal in the round of 12 matches, and repeatedly missed single knives and hurried shots in the game have been criticized by netizens. The Syrian national team, which is in the same group as Hribbin, ranked third in the group and eventually qualified for the play-offs. It is worth mentioning that the Chinese team did not win the unpromissed Syrian team in the two rounds, especially the national football team lost 0-1 at home to Syria, and was forced to draw by Syria in the last moments of the away game, both of which hit the morale of the national football team hard, making the national football team directly lose the hope of entering the World Cup, and "fighting for 3" is only theoretically possible.
Second, the club's results were unsatisfactory
Kribinya helped al-Hilal win the AFC Champions League runner-up and the Saudi League title, scoring 10 goals in the AFC Champions League to become the AFC Champions League's top scorer. And Shanghai SIPG, where Wu Lei is located, the results of the "four big empty" clubs are too far apart.
Third, the individual ability is not good, the shooting ability is not strong, and it is still necessary to work to become Asia's top striker.
Wu Lei's performance in the national team and club became a stark contrast, judging the two, the Chinese Super League played 20 goals, the second place in the top scorer list, and the only local player in the top ten, as well as 8 league assists.
And in the national team, Wu Lei faced a goal drought, only scored one goal in the last round of the game against Qatar, scored a goal in 9 games This is not the achievement of a top Asian striker, this year's round of 12 matches, the first game against South Korea, Wu Lei 4 shots, missed a great opportunity, the state is tight, but in the next two games, he only had 1 shot on goal, and missed a single knife opportunity at home against Iran, especially in the second leg against South Korea and Iran, Wu Lei was 0 shots in both games.
Although the individual performance in the national team is uncertain, of course, this is related to the environment of the national team, not only Wu Lei alone, Wu Lei is still the best striker in China, flexible frontcourt running position, keen sense of smell in front of the goal, extremely fast running speed is his advantage, what needs to be improved is the ability to grasp the shot and change, as well as self-confidence. As a fan, I still hope that Wu Lei will let go of the burden and pressure, enhance his self-confidence, and strive to have a better performance in the national team. I also hope that the fans will not be too harsh, give him more encouragement and confidence, after all, a strong Wu Lei is what all Chinese fans are willing to see.
I believe that through Adjustment and Hard Work, Wu Lei will sooner or later be his.