Coach Li not letting virus uncertainty cloud focus

Team China head coach Li Tie has prioritized discipline both on and off the pitch as his squad readies for World Cup qualifiers under a cloud of uncertainty due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Li and his squad kicked off a training camp in Dubai on Wednesday in preparation for Group A qualifying matches in Thailand at the end of the month that could yet be postponed as the virus continues to spread around the world.

Player discipline and safety have, therefore, taken on extra importance for Li's squad, with PP Sports reporting that the national team has enforced strict rules forbidding players to travel alone in Dubai.

"Despite the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United Arab Emirates being relatively low, the team is still abiding by strict rules as a precaution for the safety of the national team," PP Sports reported.

"Players are not allowed to travel alone, especially to populous areas. The national team is staying in the same hotel as two Chinese Super League teams. But the national team and the club teams are in different sections of the hotel and have separate dining areas. The team is following the highest level of epidemic prevention standards."

China is scheduled is to face the Maldives and Guam on March 26 and 31 in Thailand, before facing the Philippines and Syria on June 4 and 9. However, the Asian Football Confederation is reportedly considering postponing those games until October and November.

Despite the uncertainty, Li is demanding his players maintain total commitment in training.

"Although the schedule of the World Cup qualifiers is still not confirmed, I still hope all the players will remain focused during the training camp here," said Li. "The players should give their best efforts in training and warm-up matches here."

Li has quickly garnered a reputation as a tough task master since being named as Marcello Lippi's successor in January, pushing his players to their limits during his first national team training camp in Guangzhou and now again in Dubai.

From day one, the former Everton midfielder stressed the importance of discipline and "selflessness", with breaches of punctuality and travel protocol not tolerated.

Only defender Zhang Lingpeng and striker Wu Lei were absent from Li's 26-man squad on the first day of training in Dubai.

Zhang is working separately with a fitness coach as the veteran tries to shake off a minor injury, while Wu will not train in Dubai due to his commitments in Spain with relegation-battling Espanyol.

If the March games go ahead, Wu will join his national teammates in Dubai after Espanyol's match against Getafe on March 22, before the squad heads to Thailand together. As a precautionary measure due to the virus outbreak, Thailand has stipulated that Team China must travel as one group, with players not permitted to enter the country individually.

Before heading to Dubai, Li traveled to Spain to watch Wu in action for Espanyol against English club Wolves and Atletico Madrid, taking time to speak to his star forward in person.

"Coach Li visited me this week, and I kept him waiting for too long as I had to do a urine test that day," Wu wrote in his personal blog on Wednesday.

"He shared lots of stories about himself when he played in a foreign country. He gave up many things back home to stay abroad. And he made it.

"He told me his head coach kicked the translator out of the training venue just to help him learn the language. After tough training, he still had to attend language class each week. He forced himself to grow faster.

"Without the internet and smartphones, the learning process for him was much tougher than what I'm facing today. I can feel all the difficulties he faced, and all that will be precious to one's life."