This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
Wuhan Zall, the Chinese football club from the coronavirus epicenter, will play on the opening day of the virus-delayed Chinese Super League season, a symbolic start to the delayed season. The club was forced into exile for 104 days after the virus emerged in Wuhan late last year.
According to a schedule released on July 13, 2020, Zall will face newly promoted Qingdao Huanghai behind closed doors in Suzhou, near Shanghai, on July 25. The match will be part of a drastically revamped formula designed to prevent the spread of infections.
The Chinese Super League is split into two groups for the virus-delayed season, in Dalian and Suzhou. Players and staff will have their movements severely restricted during the first phase of the season, and will only see stadiums, training pitches, and their hotel for at least two months.
Guangzhou Evergrande, the champions, will play FA Cup winners Shanghai Shenhua in the season opener on July 25 in the northeastern city of Dalian. Guangzhou head coach Fabio Cannavaro expressed concerns about the fitness of former Barcelona midfielder Paulinho and fellow Brazilian Anderson Talisca, who were stranded in Brazil due to virus travel restrictions.
“Paulinho took part in 10 training sessions, eight of them were about body training, and Talisca has yet to train with the team,” Cannavaro said, according to the state Xinhua news agency. “I think they can (only) regain their best form at the end of this season,” the 2006 World Cup-winning captain added.
