Foreigners are on their way back to play in CSL

SHANGHAI Greenland Shenhua captain Giovanni Moreno has become the latest Chinese Super League foreign player to return to the country, although the kickoff date of the top-tier league remains undecided.

The Colombian arrived at Pudong International Airport last night by a chartered flight. He will be quarantined for two weeks before joining his teammates for training.

CSL foreign coaches and players, including Dalian Pro FC’s Spanish head coach Rafael Benitez and its newly introduced Swedish defender Marcus Danielson, returned to China recently under a green channel policy. Champion Guangzhou Evergrande’s Brazilian midfielder Paulinho also returned by chartered flight last week.

Moreno took off on Sunday. His flight reached Los Angeles first for refueling before arriving in Shanghai. To avoid unnecessary contacts, Shenhua did not send staff to the airport. After taking a nucleic acid test, Moreno was to be quarantined at a designated hotel for two weeks.

According to the club, its captain had initially planned for an earlier return after Colombia lifted border restrictions at the end of April. He thought about flying via Mexico and Tokyo, but couldn’t make the trip as airlines canceled their flights amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Training home alone

The 33-year-old has been communicating with Shenhua’s coaching team online and training at home by himself over the past three months.

Shenhua players were back in Shanghai last week from their 10-day training in Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu Province. The team is still missing its new Cameroon defender Stephane M’Bia, as well as South Korean head coach Choi Kang-hee’s assistants.

According to earlier reports, the 2020 CSL was expected to kickoff in the latter part of July.

The Chinese Football Association sent a team to Shanghai and Guangzhou — two tentative host cities — at the beginning of this month to inspect venues.

However, the previous plan was reported to have been turned down by the country’s sports administration as it doesn’t favor the idea of organizing CSL matches in first-tier cities due to safety concerns.

The CFA is reported to be working on alternative plans for the league matches, which might be held in one city.