Xu Xin has become a headline story in a leading Chinese sports publication - China get the Atletico bug

Posted Thursday, July 17, 2014 by Marca.com

One of the young home-grown talents training under Simeone at Atlético this preseason is creating something of a stir. The player concerned is Chinese-born Xu Xin, who last season lined up as part of Atlético 'C' and now, as a result of a lot of hard work, has earned himself a shot at playing alongside the best.

Xu Xin joined the 'Rojiblancos' from Shanghai Shenhua, a team with which the Vicente Calderón outfit has strong links within the framework of the 'A Team for the World' project. He is currently attracting a great deal of attention in his home country, where he has become nothing short of a media sensation. His first training session with Atlético's first team has not surprisingly generated much excitement among several big players on the Asian sports media scene.

Xu Xin was, for example, the leading story in the online edition of the football section of Hupu, China's most influential sports publication. The fact that it enjoys a monthly online readership of over 730 million provides an idea of the scale of the splash his being featured would have made.

Xu Xin has become a headline story in a leading Chinese sports publication - China get the Atletico bug

Hupu is not the only media body to have covered the part the young Atlético academy player is playing in Cholo's preseason plans. Private TV channel 'LETV' has also been following the young Asian talent's progress.