At 7 p.m. on May 27, all the soldiers of the Wuhan three-town team boarded a flight under the leadership of Spanish head coach Pedro and flew to Dalian. After more than 5 months of preparations, this “miracle team” set off again. This time they will be greeted by the highest stage of Chinese professional football – the Chinese Super League. On such a stage, the Wuhan Three Towns team will meet again. What kind of surprise will it bring to Hubei and Wuhan fans?
■ “Master of Miracles” has been promoted to three levels for four consecutive years
At 17:00 on December 13, 2021, Meizhou Football Town. With the goals of Malkang and Deng Zhuoxiang, the Wuhan Three Towns team defeated Kunshan 2:0 in the 32nd round of the 2021 China League One, becoming the first team to successfully “rush to the Super League” that season, and Wuhan football also ushered in. A new historical moment – on the stage of the Chinese (men’s football) professional league, with two top teams at the same time. Previously, only Shanghai and Guangzhou had such an honor, but from that day on, this honor also belongs to Wuhan, and belongs to every Wuhan person who is striving to be the first.
In 2018, Wuhan Sanzhen Club, which has been rooted in youth training for nearly 4 years, began to form an adult team to participate in the Chinese Championship League, which is at the bottom of the Chinese professional football league system.
In the 2018 season, the Wuhan Three Towns team advanced to the Chinese Second League from the Chinese Champions League. In the 2020 season, the Wuhan three-town team successfully “rushed to the top” as the champion of China Second Division. In the 2021 season, the Wuhan three-town team will advance to the Chinese Super League as the champion of the Chinese League.
Although the rise of the Wuhan three-town team is rapid, they have gone very solid step by step. After 4 years of accumulation and tempering, in the 2022 season, the Wuhan Three Towns team, who set foot on the Chinese Super League arena, will continue to write their new legends.
■ Chinese Super League recruits strive to make a good start
As a new army of the Chinese Super League, the Wuhan Three Towns team has truly achieved “stupid birds fly first”. They ended their vacation on January 17, 2022, after finishing their full-year competition in late December last year. The players gathered in Wuhan one after another, and the Wuhan Three Towns team also became the first team in the Chinese Super League to start preparing for the new season. On February 9 this year, the Wuhan three-town team ended the Spring Festival holiday, and the players flew to Haikou in batches to start the second stage of training this year. On March 2, the Wuhan three-town team ended the spring training in Haikou. The whole team only rested for a few days in Haikou before directly starting the third stage of training and moving to Foshan, Guangdong. On April 11, the Wuhan Three-Town Team gathered in Wuhan and collectively moved into the “new home” – the Wuhan Three-Town Football Club Training Base to start a new round of preparation and training.
On May 26, Wuhan Three Towns Football Club and Hengkuan International Group reached a strategic cooperation agreement for the 2022 season. Hengkuan International Group was established in 2009 and is headquartered in Hong Kong. It involves eight business sectors: technology, investment, finance, real estate, import and export trade, industry-university-research consultants, cultural creativity and education and training. As a strategic partner, Hengkuan International Group will provide sponsorship and technical support for Wuhan Sanzhen Football Club to compete in the 2022 Chinese Super League, FA Cup and other events as well as youth training-related projects in the three towns.
With the addition of strategic partners, the Wuhan Three Towns team is more confident. At present, the Wuhan three-town team has arrived in the Dalian Division and started training. Pedro said: “As a new player in the league, we will respect all opponents, but the team will also show confidence in the game. We must maintain a humble attitude and at the same time have the courage to fight against the opponent in every game.”
At 20:00 on June 3, the Wuhan Three Towns team will make their appearance in the Chinese Super League. Their opponent is the Hebei team. This game is also the first Chinese Super League game in the history of Wuhan Sanzhen Club, and their goal is to strive for a “good start”.
(Reporter Ma Wanyong of Changjiang Daily)