Giovanni Moreno (R) of Shanghai Shenhua in action during their Chinese Super League match against Shanghai SIPG in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
Shanghai Shenhua will reserve No. 10 jersey this season for a wishful return of former captain Giovanni Moreno, who left the Chinese Super League side after a nine-year spell.
SHANGHAI, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Shenhua head coach Wu Jingui said the Chinese Super League side will keep the number ten jersey unused this season in hope for their former captain Giovanni Moreno's return to the club.
Moreno left the Shanghai side earlier this year after failing to agree to an extension to his deal with the club, putting an end to a nine-year spell to Shenhua fans' great regret.
"Moreno spent nine years at Shenhua, having made so great contributions. If possible, he actually wanted to end his career at Shenhua," Wu said.
"So the club decided to leave his number ten jersey unused this season. We keep it reserved for Moreno, hoping he could come back soon and fight with us," he said.
Giovanni Moreno (C) of Shanghai Shenhua FC vies with Osama Malik (L) and Diego Castro of Perth Glory during a Group F match of the AFC Champions League in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 30, 2020. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)
Moreno's departure is a great loss to Shanghai Shenhua, according to Wu.
"With or without him, Shenhua is a completely different team," he said.
"With him, we don't need to worry about the opposition's corner or set-piece attack."
"Without him, we conceded a goal to a corner kick in a match with a four-tier team several days ago," he said.
Shanghai Shenhua will play their first game of this season against Guangzhou FC on Friday. ■
