Another joy ‘made in Spain’ for Wuhan

Wuhan is in the news again, although this time it has nothing to do with COVID-19. The Wuhan Three Towns, team led by the Andalusian Pedro Morilla (Seville, 1972), achieved a historic promotion to the Chinese Super League, the soccer elite of a country with more than 1,400 million inhabitants. “They have been very intense days. We are in a bubble and the days are short and long at the same time, but I am happy because we have achieved the goal. When I took the team it was complicated; now it’s a reality“, values ​​Morilla, who has Carlos Nodar (physical trainer) and Marcos Rodríguez (physiotherapist) and the canary on his ‘staff’ Yaki Yen as a great emblem in defense. They reside, train and play their games in Meizhóu, where they rush the final stretch of China League Two (Second Division) with concentration.

Pedro Morilla started the season as sports director of the lower categories of Wuhan Three Towns, but the dismissal of another Spanish as Albert Garcia, who led the team since March 2019 and had been the great architect of the promotion to Second, placed him in July as a firm candidate for the bench. “At first I had doubts because there was talk that they had another coach tied up and I did not want to be an interim. To take the team and be only two games … But I spoke with my trusted people and decided to accept the offer “, discovers Morilla, whose work was soon reflected on the pitch:” We increased the intensity and improved defensive concepts, which is the foundation on which a team must grow. From there we started to gain confidence. There is no secret: we had a good run and that has led us to the Super League. ” In 21 matches at the helm of Wuhan, Pedro Morilla reaped 18 victories, a draw and only two defeats.

Morilla detracts from merits, but it is impossible to ignore that, under his mandate, Wuhan Three Towns had the best winning streak in the history of Chinese professional football: 14. “There came a time when the promotion was a matter of time”, discovers the Andalusian coach, who achieved the great goal of the season two days in advance: “The celebrations here are very different. The Chinese are colder than the Spanish We are in Meizhou, in a bubble with five other teams, and we did not do much either. The players drank some wine and went to sleep later. Little more. ” Nor is a great reception expected in Wuhan, about 1,000 kilometers from the facilities where the promotion was achieved.

Wuhan Three Towns, a rare review in China

When Pedro Morilla landed in Wuhan to work in the quarry at the Wuhan Three Towns, the first team was in the Fourth Division and “it was not important”. “The project was focused on the quarry,” discovers the Spaniard, who entered a club focused on finding great talents who could go to Spain to study and develop soccer. “Even before the pandemic, we sent 110 children to Barcelona. The owner of Shangwen -a real estate company that, together with the Wuhan Federation, supports the project financially-, is a great passionate about soccer and wants them to be able to have an outlet also through soccer. “COVID-19, however, truncated their plans to future and now they are looking for alternatives for the development of their best footballers.

Parallel to the development of the quarry, a project that involves more than twenty Spanish coaches, there was the growth of the first team, which In just four years he went from playing in the Fourth Division to making a name for himself in the elite of Chinese football. “In China there are many clubs with financial problems, but this is not the case with Wuhan Three Towns. This is a healthy club with a very nice project. New investors are expected to enter and, at least in that aspect, we play with an advantage”, Pedro Morilla, who hopes to renew and continue leading the team in First Division, analyzes: “It is true that there is interest in it continuing. If we reach an agreement, I will be delighted because it is being a very beautiful experience. The bad thing is being away from the family, but that’s how football is. It’s the path we’ve chosen. “