Chinese League players emerge from the "bubble" after 70 days away from their families

After ten weeks away from their families and loved ones, players and crews of the Chinese Football League clubs were released and out of the "bubble" in which they were placed, as part of the strict health measures imposed by the outbreak of the new Corona virus.

Players, coaches, and medical, technical and administrative staff have not seen their families since mid-July, and they were only allowed to leave hotels for training and matches.

Eight of the 16 clubs participating in the Chinese Super League were housed in one hotel in Suzhou near Shanghai, while the other eight clubs were housed in a hotel in the northeastern city of Dalian.

The new season was scheduled to start last February, but the outbreak of "Covid-19", which appeared in Wuhan for the first time last December, prompted the date to be postponed until July 25.

Everyone can now return to their families after being deprived of seeing their loved ones for 70 days, waiting for the second phase of the Super League to start on October 16 in the same two places, Suzhou and Dalian.

No injuries were reported during the first stage led by Gwangju Evergrande, led by Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro, in the Dalian group, while the lead in the Sogo group went to Shanghai SEPG.

Gwangju R&F coach Giovanni van Brockhurst commented on his experience in the past seventy days, saying, "When you are here before the season starts (and you know it) you have 10 weeks in a hotel here in Dalian, your first thought is: It will be very difficult, It will be difficult for everyone. "

And the former Barcelona star, who finished his team in Dalian's sixth group and failed to qualify for the champion stage, continued, “But now, after 10 weeks, time has passed really fast even though we are all in the hotel regardless of if you are one of the players, coaches, Chinese Federation employees. Football, Personnel, and Media. "

On Sunday, the Brazilian player in Shandong Luneng Moises Lima posted a picture on Twitter of his other Chinese league citizens in the Dalian group, including Evergrande international midfielder Paulinho, writing: "We talk about serious things, we share jokes, we know more about each other's stories, we learn from each other." We laugh a lot, we made new friends. "

"They gave me the strength to make time pass faster and to get rid of some of the anxiety caused by being too far from our families. We face each other on the field, everyone defends his club's colors in the best way, and regardless of the outcome, we continue to respect each other".

He believed, "Without a doubt, after five, ten, twenty years from now, we will remember some stories from this period."

Each team played two games a week, bringing the number to 14 in the Dalian group, led by Guangju Evergrande, with 34 points, 8 points behind Jiangsu Suning II, and 13 in the groups of Suzhou led by Shanghai SEPG with 32 points, 7 points behind Beijing Guoan II before the last day scheduled for Monday. .

The identity of the first four qualified teams in each of the two groups has been decided by the tournament stage, which is held by elimination system from the two round-trip matches between the teams of the two groups (the first group Dalian against the fourth Soju ...) in quarter and semi-finals rounds up to the final (two round-trip matches are also held to determine the champion ).

After the tournament was launched behind closed doors, a small number of fans were allowed to attend matches in stadiums, if in Dalian and Suzhou. The two hotels equipped the teams with everything from libraries and hairdressers to electronic games, but alcohol was prohibited.

The Chinese Federation acknowledged before the start of the season that it was concerned about the mental health of those in the "bubble", and Van Brockhurst touched on this issue by saying, "It was a big task for everyone to stay ready and focused."

"It was very difficult mentally as well," he said, "but everyone can be proud of themselves, in the way we behaved and judged."

The league comes to an end on November 12th, when the champion is determined after the second-leg final match (first-leg in the eighth of it).

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