Month: May 2020

“The SD Ponferradina, with the objective of expanding its brand, taking advantage of the return to LaLiga SmartBank, has reached a sponsorship agreement that involves the incorporation of Chinese soccer player Leilei Gao. This agreement entails an important economic contribution for the club, in addition to the possibility of opening a link with the Chinese market with broad expectations for the future, “the entity said in a statement, adding that its arrival would not generate “no salary cost” for Deportiva.A surprising return after an early withdrawalLeilei Gao decided to retire in 2011 and it was not until the 2015-16 season when he returned to dress short. They will ask: why did he return? Maybe it was all part of trade agreements, but he hung up his boots for injuries and only he knows if he was prepared at the health level to compete again. Previously, he was one of the great stars of Chinese football, where he played in the Wuhan Zall and in the Beijing Synobo Gouan. However, he left his native country in order to grow and for the arrest of one of his mentors.After that, he played in Australia, in Finland and in the United States before his return to China. There he said goodbye to his stage as a professional footballer, suffering from constant physical discomfort. I was already visualizing a new life, as a physical education teacher and undertaking social projects. From there it passed to Cornellá and has not moved since then from Spain. Today starts a new stage, in Extremadura, with the great mystery of whether he will hit the ball again in official competition.Gao, in the heart of the PonfeGao Leilei, the first Asian player to wear al Deportiva’s shirt, presented himself as a new footballer of Extremadura on Wednesday, which is the team that will visit El Toralín this Sunday in a new day of LaLiga SmartBank. Another twist in the history of the Chinese player, who arrived in Ponferrada raising all kinds of suspicions and he left in January become an informal ambassador for the Bierzo region in the Far East.When the Ponferradina announced the signing of Gao in August, everyone raised an eyebrow. An ultra-known 39-year-old footballer in China, but that in Spain had not gone from having a testimonial presence in Second B with Cornellà and Jumilla, and that on top he paid to have a hole in a professional staff without charging a hard? Of course, it soon became a meme and even raised suspicions about his signing.Nevertheless, Gao Leilei’s stay in Ponferrada had nothing unusual, beyond being the first Chinese player in the almost one hundred years of history of Deportiva and of the constant company of a compatriot in charge of monitoring all the soccer activity of the player, that in fact hardly happened of the trainings.In the dressing room his companions maintained a good relationship with him, who did not hesitate to invite sweets when a Chinese party was celebrated and participated (and organized) willingly at all meals and celebrations of the template. Bolo always said that Gao was one of the team and, in addition, he had something that coaches like: he worked like the one in training and never put a bad face for not entering the calls. But his participation was testimonial: 58 minutes in the Cup.Do youWhy then the fans of Ponferradina took so much love in just six months? Because in the same way that he was integrated in the dressing room of El Toralín he did it in the society of Bercia. Gao was curious to know all the historical, natural and social heritage of the area and turned it into a video that quickly went viral on the internet, in which he explained why he had chosen Deportiva to extend his long career while showing the world everything he had known in Bierzo.Gao’s departure was almost as mysterious as his arrival and, a few days after Bolo said in the press room that he had no news about his continuity or not in the team, the president confirmed that his contract had expired on December 31. Donation for the CoronavirusThe first measure as a result of the signing of Gao by Extremadura has been a donation of both to China to contribute to the country in the Coronavirus protocol. The attacker has donated 100,000 Yuan and the club a lot of ten boxes of protective material. It has not leaked if, unlike his stage in Ponferradina, he will charge in his tour of Almendralejo, but, again, its arrival seems more linked to extra-sports issues than to the performance it can offer on the pitch.Ten games in five seasons !!It has not only fallen into sports ostracism in Extremadura. Leilei Gao signed for Cornellá in the 2015-16 season after several years without competing at a professional level. Perhaps logical for his lack of pace, he only played 16 minutes throughout the campaign, divided into two games. However, he continued in the club and, at least, was satisfied to enter regularly in the call. His daily work was rewarded in the final stretch, when he played 7 minutes against Ebro and 14 against Hercules.2017-18 arrived and, once again, continued in the ranks of the Cornellá. Unlike previous seasons, in this the team competed to promote LaLiga SmartBank, so it did not receive a single opportunity. Who would tell him that, two years later, he would have the opportunity to wear the shirt of a club in the silver category. It would not be with the Catalans, who fell in the Playoff and stayed in Second Division B.There he militated Leilei Gao in the first half of the season, but his lack of minutes and his long stage led him to sign for Jumilla In the winter market. A new football horizon opened for him: of the first ten shocks, he participated in five of them, yes, always from the bench. Even against Atlético Malagueño he played 45 minutes. Neither scored nor attended, but again felt the sensation of being a footballer.Arrival in Segunda and its business in ChinaThe arrival of Gao, of course, It meant for clubs that signed an opportunity at the marketing level and the possibility of incorporating Asian pearls that emerge in local leagues. For example, ABC notes the fact that the footballer is a manager of a training school for more than 5,000 young people learning in China. Perhaps that was one of the compelling reasons that led Ponferradina to risk his hiring. At least, they didn’t hide it. Leilei Gao is already a new player of Extremadura, in what has been an unexpected movement and, even, with surrealist dyes. The Chinese footballer, who turns 40 this year, arrives from Ponferradina, where he has not entered a single call in LaLiga SmartBank. The only opportunity he has received has been against the Peña Deportiva in the first round of Copa del Rey. He played a total of 58 minutes, which was his last participation in the cupper tournament and in the Ponfe in general. Clearly, a player who has not been key with any of his technicians … to anyone’s surprise.The last summer, Leilei Gao signed for Ponferradina without charging a single cent. The reason was a sponsorship agreement that is barely known anything months later. Now, soccer player and club have broken the bond that united them and that is precisely what has allowed Extremadura to undertake his signing even though the market is closed. Of course, given its situation as far as the campaign goes, it does not seem to be a revolting for Manuel Mosquera in search of permanence. The soccer player, yes, trusts in his possibilities: “I don’t come to do a show, I hope to compete like a pro and be valued by everything“. read more