Espanyol's Wu Lei competes during a La Liga match between Levante UD and RCD Espanyol in Valencia, Spain, March 12, 2022. (Photo by Pablo Morano/Xinhua)
Wu Lei was named 2021 Chinese Footballer of the Year, while Wang Shuang took the Women's Footballer of the Year.
BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Wu Lei and Wang Shuang were named 2021 Chinese Men's and Women's Footballer of the Year at a ceremony here on Thursday, with Shui Qingxia, the head coach of the Chinese national women's football team, granted the Special Award.
The final competition for the 2021 Chinese Men's Footballer of the Year was between Wu, Guo Tianyu and Zhang Yuning. Espanyol forward Wu, who set a goal record for the Chinese men's football team at a single FIFA World Cup qualifying competition, won the award for the third time.
Hao Wei, who led the Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan to a double winner of the domestic league and cup for the third time in the 2021 season, became the first person to win the Chinese Football Coach of the Year for two consecutive years.
Wang Shuang (C) of China breaks through during the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup quarterfinal match between China and Vietnam in Mumbai, India, Jan. 30, 2022. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
With outstanding performances in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers, China's 14th National Games and the Chinese Women's Super League, Wang won the 2021 Chinese Women's Footballer of the Year for the fourth time and became the most decorated player of the award.
Shanghai Shenhua's central defender Zhu Chenjie won the Chinese Golden Boy of the year again after 2019. The 21-year-old footballer has just scored his first goal for the Chinese national team in the World Cup qualifiers. The Chinese five-a-side footballer of the year was awarded to goalkeeper Du Liang of Shijiazhuang Fumei Club in Hebei Province.
Players of China toss their head coach Shui Qingxia as they celebrate after winning the final match between China and South Korea at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Mumbai, India, Feb. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
In addition to Shui, the Special Award was also awarded to the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, which has made great contributions to Chinese football in the past two years.
