This is how LaLiga players congratulated the Chinese New Year

How long does the New Year congratulate? There are those who will say that until the end of January or what can be done whenever you see a person for the first time this year. But there comes a time when it seems he no longer hits. As the debate is settled by the stars of LaLiga, who these days have been sending congratulatory messages for the Chinese New Year. In addition, they are revolutionizing the Asian country, because they have sneaked into ‘iPartment’, the most followed sitcom there.

SI will not be part of the new strategy of LaLiga to congratulate the New Year to all fans of our football in China, the appearance of several of its players in ‘IPartment’ nothing would have to envy that of Brad Pitt or Bruce Willis in ‘Friends’. The CD Leganés players, for example, have not missed the appointment and we have been able to see them tasting some delicious cucumbers while enjoying the series. But the truth is that it is one of the ways that LaLiga has chosen to approach Chinese fans and celebrate with them the arrival of their New Year. In the country – and throughout the world – they celebrate since our January 25 the arrival of their year 4,717, which commemorates the year of the Rat. It will be, according to his horoscope, an extremely good year in economics and love.

Like the New Year of our Gregorian calendar, the beginning of another year is one of the most celebrated holidays by the Chinese. It becomes, thus, an occasion of recollection with family and friends, so “it is a great moment for LaLiga to approach our Chinese fans and give them a wink through the incorporation of elements of their culture that are close and recognizable to them, ”analyzes the Managing Director of LaLiga in China, Sergi Torrents.

The truth is that this action that they put together with iQiyi, your broadcaster in China, shows that the country is a priority territory for LaLiga, which always seeks to be close to fans, even if they are on the other side of the globe. “That is why we have been celebrating with our local fans for four years such important events as the Chinese New Year,” says the Director of Digital Strategy of LaLiga, Alfredo Bermejo.

In fact, the series in which our players are going to sneak up started 10 years ago and will debut its fifth season in the coming weeks. “Some classic comic clips of the series are related to sports and are well known to LaLiga fans. Therefore, ‘iPartment’ and LaLiga have natural emotional ties, ”he says. Karen Ye, Marketing Director of iQiyi Sports. Even Chinese fans themselves have called broadcaster to invite more local stars to watch and discuss LaLiga matches with fans!

Up to six LaLiga Santander clubs have joined to collaborate with ‘iPartment’ and her star actress Yixiao Lou, which is followed by more than 17 million people in Weibo, one of the most used social networks in the country. As Bermejo himself confirms, this action has become a milestone, since it is the first time that something similar has been carried out with an entertainment series. But it will not be the last collaboration between LaLiga and the Chinese broadcaster, according to Karen Ye herself: “We believe this is a very good start. In the future, we will continue to cooperate with successful entertainment, film and television programs, and work with more celebrities who are fond of LaLiga to interact with their clubs and soccer players. ”

“IPartment” has influenced a whole generation of Chinese youth. Now, through this collaboration with LaLiga, we hope to attract new fans and, at the same time, provide refreshing content to existing ones. The videos of the leading actress of 'iPartment', Yixiao Lou, together with LaLiga players have been played before the games and, in addition, we have invited her and actor Jiahang Li to our set to talk about these sporting events “, account Bei Yang, General Manager of iQiyi Content Acquisition and Executive Producer of the fifth season of ‘iPartment’.

Presence in all social networks

But the celebrations go beyond the videos of players from Athletic Club, Valencia CF, Real Sociedad, CD Leganés, Granada CF, Albacete BP or Real Sporting de Gijón, among others, together with the famous Yixiao Lou . The participating clubs have also recorded an exclusive video congratulating the New Year, so that the fondness for their colors in that country feels included. In addition, exclusive infographics for each club have been implemented along with the videos.

And we all know that during the holidays excesses are committed that, afterwards, must be counteracted by sweat and sport. To achieve this, in this case, our stars will be the perfect trainers for each fan. The players have developed a series of videos exercising like the elite athletes they are, so that on the other side of the planet the fans follow their advice and their rhythm … if they are capable!

All this reaches LaLiga's followers through all the platforms that exist and for having: WeChat, Weibo, Douyin and Toutiao, among others. Weibo, for example, is the most used social network in China, with nearly 500 million active users and surpassing Twitter, its main global competitor. In addition, with more than 1 billion users, WeChat is the most widely used Chinese social network worldwide, with figures very close to WhatsApp.

And if it is already difficult to enjoy art iPartment ’without subtitles, for the Leganés players explain to the boys in the series why they are called picklers. However, now they will have it easier, as when congratulating Chinese fans, because LaLiga, together with the Cervantes Institute, developed a dictionary of common words and everyday use in our football that they can learn and use .