Du Yuezheng "learned" from Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, and reported to China as soon as the beginning of next month

The reporter reported coldly In the early morning of January 5, Beijing time, in the third round of the Spanish Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid defeated Marbella, a team in the third division of the Spanish League, 1-0 away. This was originally an ordinary Copa del Rey match, because of the appearance of Chinese player Du Yuezheng has a special significance. This is the second time that a Chinese player has played against a La Liga team in the Spanish Copa del Rey after more than two years. The last time was Espanyol vs. Granada on 22 May 2022, with Wu Lei coming on as a substitute for 17 minutes.

At present, among the Chinese foreign players who can perform in the European League, in addition to Hou Yongyong, who won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball Award in the Norwegian League A season, only Du Yuezheng of Marbella (Western Association League, third division) and Li Sirong of Dongfang 1919 (Croatian second division), Wu Shaocong, who played in the Polish Super League, has not yet played for the first team. Du Yuezheng, who joined Marbella this summer, has made 10 appearances in the Spanish Conference League and the Copa del Rey this season, totaling 273 minutes, and has also scored one goal, and has been Marbella's main substitute.

In the second round of the Copa del Rey on December 5 last year, Marbella played Burgos at home, Du Yuezheng continued to start, and the team won 1-0 to advance, and got the opportunity to challenge the giant Atletico Madrid in the third round. In an effort to attract more fans, Marbella will be home to the larger Stade de la Rose de Málaga, with a capacity of 30,000 tickets sold out before the start of the tournament. Atletico made good on their pre-match promise to send a full starting line-up, and Marbella was also on the lookout. In the 84th minute, Du Yuezheng replaced central defender Dioli, and there were 10 minutes of stoppage time. Because it was against a La Liga giant, Marbella's overall strength gap was too big, and Du Yuezheng only had 3 touches, 1 pass, 1 confrontation and 1 attempt in 10 minutes of playing time. Marbella, who is in the third tier, finally lost 0-1 at home to Atletico Madrid, who started all the main teams, and it can be regarded as a defeat but still honorable.

After the Copa del Rey exit, Marbella, who are fighting for relegation, will focus on the league. Marbella are on the rise after four consecutive defeats in the league and are on the rise, and Du Yuezheng's playing time is gradually stabilizing. Marbella have five league games ahead of the Under-20 Asian Cup on 12 February, three of which are home games to hope for a point. Marbella has had a lot of injuries in the team recently, Du Yuezheng is already the team's main substitute player, and Marbella coach Bertrand does not want to lose him at the critical stage of relegation.

The Spanish Conference League does not stop playing during the international break, and during the international break in September and October last year, Du Yuezheng came off the bench twice because of the departure of Equatorial Guinea international striker Hanza. During the November international break, the Marbella boss agreed to let Du Yuezheng participate in the Panda Cup, but the team suffered two consecutive defeats. Marbella are currently 12th in Group 2 of the Spanish Conference Liga, just three points above the relegation zone. The coach doesn't want the team to have any more non-injury attritions in the near future, after all, the team is under pressure from relegation, and it is also about his position.

The national youth side hopes that Du Yuezheng will report for overseas training on January 13, and Marbella is unwilling to lose the main substitute striker so early, after all, together with the training camp and the U20 Asian Cup match, Du Yuezheng will not be in the team for a month and a half. Even if it is likely that he will lose the opportunity to play in the following season, Du Yuezheng still very much hopes to participate in this U20 Asian Cup. The concession that Bertrand was able to make was that it was originally released after the league on February 9, and it could be brought forward to the league release on February 2. The national youth plan will announce the U20 Asian Cup squad on February 1, and if Du Yuezheng is unable to participate in the previous training camp, he may not be selected for the squad.