Chinese 15-year-old joins River Plate

Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-05 15:55:42|Editor: mingmei
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NINGBO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- 15-year-old Chinese youth Lyu Sunghao has signed a contract with Argentinian football club River Plate, becoming the club's first Chinese player in its history.

Lyu was born in Xiangshan county, in east China's Zhejiang Province, and plays as a defensive midfielder.

He started receiving professional football training at the age of 11 and soon made rapid progress. When scouts from River Plate visited China last May, Lyu's school took the opportunity to invite them to watch a game that Lyu was featuring in.

"After watching the game, they all thought he was a special talent with great vision far beyond his peers. They then invited Lyu for a two-month trial last summer," said coach Gao Shan.

After the trial, the 15-year-old was unanimously accepted by River's coaching staff, who expressed their desire for Lyu to join the club's youth team after graduating from middle school in June 2019.

Lyu passed a medical exam at River Plate on June 1 and officially joined the club's youth system.

River Plate's academy is known for producing top quality talent, with graduates including Hernan Crespo, Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuain and current Chinese Super League player Javier Mascherano.

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